The Poor Girls Guide to Living Rich- Part II

Ok, so as promised, I am going to post only about tried and tested products that you can make yourself.  We have finally gotten to use our homemade color safe (NON) Bleach.  This recipe is safe for all fabrics EXCEPT silk and wool.   I have a toddler who is now 13 months old; and, if you've had a toddler in your home, you'll know what they can do to clothes! His clothes get outrageously dirty from playing outside and eating.  Finally, we've tried our homemade bleach on the laundry. When we let this sit on the clothes with the stains, the stains not only went away, but everything seemed brighter!! We also added some to the wash which seemed to help make all the laundry brighter! So, finally, here's how you do it:


HOMEMADE COLOR SAFE (NON) BLEACH

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Using a clean, bleach container or gallon jug, mix 2 cups hydrogen peroxide with llukewarm water (enough to fill up the container with room to shake the mixture with out risk of spilling). Simply, mix and shake! After the two are mixed together, this is ready to go! You may also put into a spray bottle to use for pre-stain treatment.  




Now, for the recipe that all my friends have been waiting for. HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT! First, I tend to spend $4-8 on a bottle of laundry detergent.  These 32 load bottles are costing me between 12.5*-.25* per load.  Along with the cost, my son has very sensitive skin and the doctor recommended using detergents that we safer for his skin; thus, my reasoning to make my own laundry detergent. Ok, so here we go!


HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT

Ingredients: 
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha or Ivory Bar Soap
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 Borax powder
You will need a large container you can mix everything in and leave overnight.  We used a large pot, but a 5-gallon bucket or other container will work. 
**All ingredients can be found in the laundry soap isle. Please note that washing soda is different than baking soda!**

Grate the bar of soap then add to a pan and 6 cups of water. Cook this until the soap melts.  Combine the washing soda & Borax with the liquid soap and mix until everything is dissolved.  In your container, combine mixture with 4 cups of hot water and mix again.  After you have mixed this, add 22 cups of water and mix.  After this, let the mixture sit overnight.  Use around 1 "capfull" from your laundry soap container (or 1/3 cup) for a load.  So you know, this soap will not be completely liquid, nor will it be solid gel.  For us, it was a lumpy, liquid.  We also had ours sitting overnight outside with the temps in the garage cold, so you will want to take that into account. If you want to add some essential oil to make the detergent smell differently, you may also add a few drops of whatever you would like. For me, when I purchased all the ingredients, I spent $5~ however, I didn't use very much of any of the ingredients.  Due to using 1/3 of the bar of soap, I can make this 3 times. So, this is pretty cheap and makes a large quantity. Broken down, this will cost you less than .02* per load depending on how much you use and what brands you buy!

For an stronger soap you may want to add more Borax or washing soda.  The washing soda helps to break up grime.  

Now, on a different note, do I have any other couponers out there? I have been using coupons since we got married in 2008; but, last year, thanks to my friend Heather, I started using free websites to help get the best bang for my buck.  Because of my coupon obsession, I'm going to start keeping a monthly tally of how much we have spent on groceries, how much we have saved and ideas of what we have purchased. My next blog will be in regards to coupons, ideas, and ways to save.  Until then!