So I've always been curious about making my own laundry detergent--I go through a big bottle of that stuff in no time, and I hate to keep forking out the money for it. I was talking to a friend the other day who makes her own, and her recipe only calls for 3 ingredients, plus water. Sounded simple enough--thought I'd give it a try, and I actually think I'm going to like it. The recipe I used is posted online
here--The Duggars on the TLC show use it and seem to be super thrifty, yet clean. I figure that if anyone knows how to make laundry soap, that mama probably knows better! (She's going on her 19th child, so I hear!) I used the recipe for the liquid detergent--she says it's the best deal, so I believed her! So, it took me all of maybe 5 minutes to melt the grated bar of soap in water and mix it all up. I then let it set up overnight--made a congealed, strange texture which looked a little strange, truthfully, but it smells nice and clean. I stirred it up and poured it into a used laundry soap bottle that I had, and tried it out this morning. My clothes look and smell clean enough for me, so I'm happy! Best part--I didn't do the math, but I read that this stuff costs 2-3 cents per load. I seriously think if might even be less--it made sooo much detergent! I'm going to be using this batch alone for probably a year! If you're interested in making your own, I couldn't find the Fels-Naptha bar or the Washing Soda at Walmart--had to go to Dillons to get them, but these are cheap ingredients--under 10 dollars for lots of months worth of detergent. Oh--and if you're looking for a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, I've heard Walmart has them to give away in the bakery dep't--they get their icing in the buckets and like to get rid of them after it's used up.
Sarah begs me to let her cook with me almost every day. Here she is, making some cinnamon and nutmeg muffins--pretty tasty! I love it that she never gets tired of being in the kitchen. Doing dishes is still a great treat for her. I wonder how many more years it'll be before I can turn kitchen duty entirely over to her???
...and another college-aged special friend, Jade, who came along with us...
...and her favorite teddy bear bride...
...and of course we had to stay to watch her play at lunch recess. Robbie and I stuck around to watch Levi play kick ball--his new favorite recess game--but I forgot to get any pictures of him...bummer! He's really getting into this game, and comes home lots of days will stories of who made the highest kick (I guess Zachary kicks the highest), when Levi caught Zachary's ball and got lots of praise from his teammates, and the like. Love these kids!
We had a great time at the pumpkin patch with our church on Friday night--hayrack ride, pumpkin picking, corn maze, bonfire, chili feed, ... I think my kids were made to live on a farm. Levi loved throwing sticks and hay in the fire and making sparks fly up into the dark sky. Fun times!
So I've always been curious about making my own laundry detergent--I go through a big bottle of that stuff in no time, and I hate to keep forking out the money for it. I was talking to a friend the other day who makes her own, and her recipe only calls for 3 ingredients, plus water. Sounded simple enough--thought I'd give it a try, and I actually think I'm going to like it. The recipe I used is posted online here--The Duggars on the TLC show use it and seem to be super thrifty, yet clean. I figure that if anyone knows how to make laundry soap, that mama probably knows better! (She's going on her 19th child, so I hear!) I used the recipe for the liquid detergent--she says it's the best deal, so I believed her! So, it took me all of maybe 5 minutes to melt the grated bar of soap in water and mix it all up. I then let it set up overnight--made a congealed, strange texture which looked a little strange, truthfully, but it smells nice and clean. I stirred it up and poured it into a used laundry soap bottle that I had, and tried it out this morning. My clothes look and smell clean enough for me, so I'm happy! Best part--I didn't do the math, but I read that this stuff costs 2-3 cents per load. I seriously think if might even be less--it made sooo much detergent! I'm going to be using this batch alone for probably a year! If you're interested in making your own, I couldn't find the Fels-Naptha bar or the Washing Soda at Walmart--had to go to Dillons to get them, but these are cheap ingredients--under 10 dollars for lots of months worth of detergent. Oh--and if you're looking for a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, I've heard Walmart has them to give away in the bakery dep't--they get their icing in the buckets and like to get rid of them after it's used up.
