Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Rathbone]

I have severe eczema so ... crossing my fingers that I don't react badly to the new detergent.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Rathbone - Are you using the liquid or powdered version of homemade detergent? I am thinking of trying the powdered recipe first.

My homemade dishwasher detergent has been working! Yay!

 

[Rathbone]

I am using the liquid.

 

[weesy68]

Did someone already post the 'recipe' in this thread? I haven't had time to read the entire thing.

My husband and I have both been unemployed this year. We shop once a month then try to only get absolute basics like milk afterwards. We shop at ALDI, so much cheaper than anywhere else near us. We grow lots of our own veg, have ten chickens for eggs (although they are molting right now, bought eggs this week for the first time in a year), we fish, we swap kids clothes with friends, shop at Habitat for Humanity/Restore for wood, paint, furniture. We used to live in NYC and refinished lots of furniture we found out on the street on garbage night, it's amazing what people consider trash. I coupon now, buy in bulk, and have way more self control than I thought was possible, I walk past all the make up counters, shoe racks, and other goodies that got me into debt in the first place. My home and my childrens' future are far more important to me than frivolous things. I've had to grow up financially, it's been painful, but very overdue. It's almost a game to me now, how much I can save. Each year I am expanding my vegetable plot, this fall I have been harvesting seeds, and hope to have very little outlay whatsoever next year. Composting is a large part of this plan. Next year I intend to start canning.

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

For those who are having allergic reactions to any of the homemade laundry soaps; you can switch out the laundry bar you are using in your recipe. I use Fels Naptha in mine, but if any of us had an allergic reaction, I would rinse that family member's clothes really well in a vinegar rinse in the washer, then switch the bar soap in my recipe to a gentler bar. Some people use bars from the body soap aisle (Ivory, maybe...) or bars they make themselves. Talk about ingredient control!

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
There are several out there, just google home made laundry soap here is one

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

Yep! That's basically the recipe I use, only I don't make it into a liquid. I don't see the point in adding all that water to make it heavier and goopey, plus it takes up more storage space. I guess it's all personal preference, though.
(I make this for my mother, too, who uses a front loading machine and has had no problem with it dissolving)

I multiply the recipe on that linked site by 3 and add a cup of baking soda, too. I've heard those with hard water should also add some salt, but I don't recall how much. All of the ingredients I am able to get at WalMart in the laundry aisle. They're usually all together, so if you find one, all three should be right there. Usually they're close to the bottom shelf.

I use a gallon size ice cream bucket to keep my laundry soap in. I use the food processor to grate up a bar of Fels Naptha, then switch to the lower blade and finely shred the soap along with 1 1/2 cups of Borax (this makes it into a nice thick powder). Dump that into the bucket and add 1 1/2 cups of Washing Soda and 1 cup of Baking Soda, mix well and you're done. Use 2-3 Tbsp per load. I make 3 times this amount to fill a gallon bucket. Some people leave out the baking soda, and some people like to add OxyClean or some other color safe bleach powder to it. I just add OxyClean to the loads that need it and save a bit of money. I'm also not opposed to using bleach if the whites get to looking too dingy. If it's summer-time, though, I much prefer to leave them out in the sun for longer than usual. I left a sock load out there for a couple days a few months back!

And for a rinse aid I use a vinegar mixture to get out any residue left on the clothes. You can use about a 1/4 cup of vinegar in the rinse, but I found a recipe online that I like. It works for me, so I stick with it. I use an empty gallon size jug of vinegar, measure 1 cup baking soda into it along with 1 cup warm water, and shake around to dissolve the soda a bit. Now sloooooowly add 6 cups of vinegar. If you do this too fast you will get a volcano in your sink! It will foam as you pour. Once the vinegar is in, add in 7 more cups of warm water. You can also add 10-15 drops of essential oils if you like. I like lavender and tea tree oil for it's clean scent and antibacterial qualities, personally, but it's really not necessary. Once everything is in, resist the urge to shake the jug! Heeheehee... I wasn't thinking and flipped the jug once to try to gently shake the soda from the bottom. The pressure built up and when I carefully peeled back the cap I had a fizzy fountain all over my kitchen window. The kids thought it was hilarious.

Ah, well... I chalked that one up to a science experiment.

Anyways, I leave this on the laundry shelf for a day or so before using it, leaving the cap 1/2 on, just kinda pushed down on one side. Then after a day or so I turn the jug over and give it that gentle shake to get the soda off the bottom. It fully dissolves soon thereafter. Use 1/2 cup per load in the rinse. If you use a dryer you can soak a washcloth in the rinse aid, let it air dry, then use it as a dryer sheet. It will last several loads.

Being the mom of 5, I have found this saves us a ton in laundry detergents & fabric softeners.

 

[Kassaundra]

Never thought of keeping it dry, since I've always used liquid laundry soaps (even before making my own) I may have to try, but not sure what I'd use to mix it I don't have a food processor. I have a blender / mixer combo (oster)

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

You could use a cheese grater to get the initial grating done, then put it in the blender with the Borax for the final shred. I would think that would work just as well, just use smaller amounts at a time.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
Thanks that's what I was thinking too. I also have what I call the blender on steriods. My Gma gave it to me it is a larger stand alone blender it has two seperate blenders one for dry and one for wet, it came w/ a recipe book for whole foods eating, it was ridiculously expensive especially considering she just used it to make smoothies. I think you can even grind grains with it.