DIY Laundry Soap Revised

For almost two years now I've been making my own
laundry soap and fabric softener, it has saved me a
lot of money and it gets the job done like any store
bought products do if not better. ;-)
My sister got me started, she made a batch for her
family and shared a gallon with me...from there I've
tried different recipes and tweaked them until I found
the one that worked for my family.
I've blogged before on how I make it BUT I had to
revise it just a bit.

All the recipes I found use a

five gallon bucket, I don't

have room for one so I cut

it down to two jugs.

My washer is small so I wash

2-3 loads a day, and my

soap lasts me for about four

months using 3/4 of the cap full.

"Two Jug Laundry Soap"

4 cups boiling water

1/4 bar Fels-Naptha

4 Tbsp. Borax

4 Tbsp. Washing Soda

2 Tbsp. Oxi Clean

4 Tbsp. Purex Crystals

2 Jugs (2.34qt) reusable

I grade my lil' piece of soap bar

and add it to the boiling water

stir until all the soap is melted.

Add half everything to the two jugs;

 2 Tbsp of Borax, 

2 Tbsp of Washing Soda, etc.

Once the soap has melted I

add half of it to my jugs,

shake a little to mix everything.

Then I fill with hot water half way 

(about 4 cups) give it another

good shake and let sit over night.

It will gel up and you take a 

spoon and stir really good

and add more water to fill jug.

Before every use give it a good shake.

Hair Cuts for FOUR

My boys were past do for a hair cut...it's over $10 for one now, so I try to help
the pocket book out by doing it myself from time to time. They didn't want a
hair cut, they hate it...but daddy said he would hold them down and "SHAVE"
them if  something didn't get down about their hair!!! So at lunch break, I dug
out all my things and started with lil' man, I had planned to go outside with the
mess but the wind picked up and was strong.
It's not every day I get someone to take a picture of me. ;-) Lil' man was okay
with the idea of a picture...but the older boys not so much, they didn't want a
picture with the "sissy apron". LOL
Well, the whole time I was cutting, baby girl was CRYING for a hair cut as well,
so I had to make her feel better by putting the "sissy apron" on her and making
it *look* like she was getting a hair cut JUST LIKE THE BOYS! :-)

Lil' man went first

 

She was all excited

 

Two Favorite Spots...

"Too Blessed, Too be Stressed"

 

My two "hillbilly" boys

 

My two "silly" babies

 

For the past three weeks since we got over here in this dead

town in Texas, the kiddos have found their favorite places

to play...the older boys stay in a ditch behind the camper

and as for now has water in it and they have been catching

frogs and crawfish just about every day. And then my two

younger kids love to play in the cool dirt under one of the

slide outs of the camper...MUD and DIRT!!!

 

My "homemade" foam hand soap

 

With all that MESS I never could keep hand soap, until

now...my awesome sister gave me a recipe and I made

my own hand soap with just a little Dawn and water, and

it works GREAT! So now I can wash off the kiddos before

they come in and I'll never run out. ;-D

 

A "foam" hand wash container

fill the bottom with Dawn, (about 1/2" deep)

and then fill the rest with water







I prayed for rain...

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still

growing up is like

shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."

~Phyllis Diller~

 

 

For the past few days we have been getting some rain which

was MUCH needed, it's been so dry and everything was

beginning to die...well, God sent us some rain and cool

weather as well and it's been so nice this week, that is...all

but the MUD the kiddos keep getting into and tracking through

the camper every day!!!

 

I wash two loads of laundry a day, maybe more and one goes

on the line my sweet husband put up for me, which has been

so nice to have. And if you have a front loader then you know

the smell they have, so I make up my own "Clorox Anywhere"

and after washing in the morning I spray the door and inside

and it has been helping a lot. :-D

 

"Clorox Anywhere"

1qt. spray bottle of water to cap full of bleach

and then I put just a little vinegar as well.

 

Last year I found a new way (well, new to me) of folding the kids

sheets and putting them away to where they were easier to get out

and less space. My mother-in-law showed me this trick, you fold

the fitted sheet up with the flat sheet, this has HELPED me so,

now I only need to grab four piles to make up the beds and no

more looking for matching sheets or getting two fitted ones!!! ;-D



TIY Helps

"Be industrious and frugal,

and you will be rich."

~Benjamin Franklin~

~Laundry Soap~

4 cups hot water

Bar of soap

(Fels-Naptha or Castile)

1 cup Washing soda

1/2 cup Borax

1) Grate the bar of soap. Start heating the water and add the grated soap.

Stir continually over medium heat until soap dissolves and is all melted.

2) Fill a five gallon bucket half full of very hot water. Add the melted

soap, washing soda and borax. Stir well until all the powder is dissolved.

Fill the bucket to the top with  more hot water, stir well and cover and

let sit overnight to thicken up.

3) You can add about 30 drops of essential oil once the soap has cooled.

4) Will be very thick, stir it to break it up and pour into old liquid laundry

jug or milk jugs for easy use. Use 1/2 cup for top load machines (appro.

180 loads) and 1/4 cup for front load machines (appro. 360 loads).

~Liquid Fabric Softener~

3 cups vinegar

2 cups hair conditioner

6 cups water

I've been trying to save us a lil' money from time to time, still saving

so we can buy some land...Lord willing we plan to build. ;-D

Been in this camper life for 1yr., 3mths. and 2wks. now...and the kids

are ready to get out, I may have days I wish I was in a "firm" place or

dream of working in my flowerbeds from time to time, but I'm thankful

we are together as a family right now.