Homemade Washing Soda

A common laundry detergent ingredient :)

Well Mother Nature, you sure had your own plan for today and I really didn't appreciate our electricity going out because of you just as I went to go start typing my post for today!

The other day I went to go make another batch of laundry soap and found I was out of washing soda. I am about 50/50 between my homemade laundry detergent and Norwex laundry detergent ... I love the no fillers for some of the sensitive skinned family members but I LOVE the price of my homemade detergent. But since I was completely out of laundry detergent altogether and I couldn't wait for a new bag of Norwex to arrive, I made a point to run out over my lunch break the next day to pick some washing soda up.

However, to my disappointment our Target didn't carry washing soda, WHAT?!? Now most of you would have just grabbed some other laundry detergent but of course that would be way too easy for this girl! Instead, the crazy thought "I wonder if I could make it" entered my mind (oh ... Homemade Day by Day you have really created an addition here, heehee) and sure enough while standing in the laundry detergent aisle at Target I did a quick internet search and BINGO.

The initial recipe I found was from One Good Thing by Jillee but I really enjoyed Penniless Parenting's chemistry explanation! Now I am no chemist and I would like to do more research on this, but I did give it a try! This would for sure be a great alternative for when washing soda isn't available.

I'm sure there was a much more graceful way to do this :)

Homemade Washing Soda

2 cups of baking soda (1 - 16 ounce box)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread baking soda onto cookie sheet (preferably one with an edge). Bake for 1 or more hours until all the baking soda has turned into washing soda. 

I baked mine for 2 hours after dinner one evening and I am thinking I could have gone longer according to Penniless Parenting's comparison, but for now I am pleased! 

Cost comparison - $0.50 for 2 cups homemade washing soda vs. $1.39 store bought

What's in Store

As we are recovering from life comatose from this last week and a half of holiday fun and family time and dwelling in the moment of New Year's Resolutions (which I truly enjoy the opportunity each year to make a change, but I don't limit myself to only make a change at the start of a new year), it's relaxing to think back over the past year and get excited about what is to come.

Life is the perfect balance of learning from the past, living in the moment, and being open to opportunities of the future ALL at the same time. I try not to dwell on the past, but I do appreciate that each new day we are given is a great opportunity to make it better than than the day before. I realize I need to slow down sometimes to enjoy the moment we are currently in. AND I need not to worry about tomorrow but I do need to listen to God's whispers because His plans for my tomorrow starts with how I obey Him today.

2015 holds things that actually happened and 2016 will bring dates of specific happenings we can plan for but there will also be so many unknowns along the way. As I reflect and ponder at the start of this new year, I can only get excited about what's in store.

Highlights of 2015 - started a blog + started a new job + #4 began pre-school + welcome another niece AND nephew into this world + everything in between

Looking forward to in 2016 - turning 35 ... it's just another number in my mind, but some may see this as a milestone :) + #3 will start kindergarten + hopes to finish my Homemade Day by Day challenge + LOVING GOD + loving people + keeping life simple

For the Blog: To Do - Make - Replace - Share

mascara

mozzarella

ciabatta bread

butter

blush

almond extract

more freezer meals

Young Living distributor
italian seasoning

pumpkin pie spice

chai latte

cream cheese

bearawicka (a family favorite of the Mr.'s dad's side ... have a recipe ... need to try this out)

cough drops

concealer

blush

sunscreen

bug spray

donate hair

dryer balls

velveeta

lipstick

eye shadow

Bar Keepers Friend (kitchen sink cleaner)

bar soap

shampoo (not no-poo)

conditioner

bacon

taco sauce

apple butter

enchilada sauce

queso

ice cream
make and take classes

liquid hand soap

dish soap

chicken bouillon

cheese (any variety)

fruit snacks

crockpot meals

coconut milk

granola

granola bars

sourdough bread

wine

sauerkraut (I love this stuff, but never buy it since I'm the only one that'll eat it!)

marshmallows

hard candy

biscuits

gravy

farm fresh eggs
uses for shea butter
uses for beeswax
uses for aloe vera gel
uses for coconut oil
uses for activated charcoal

... and the list goes on but I need to make myself stop :) 

What's something you would add to the list?

Homemade Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap

Now that #1's basketball and #2's baseball is over, I am looking forward to having some "extra" (if there is such a thing ... heehee) time to get back to blogging! 

My mind-set still continues to be simplify the ingredients and make what I can from "scratch" for less than what I could buy it at the store.

4 batches worth of homemade laundry detergent

I've tried a couple different recipes over the years for laundry detergent, powdered and liquid, but this is the one I've settled on. It's easy and cheap (like and love!). The ingredients pictured below cost about $12 and there is Borax and washing soda left for 2 more batches. I am sure this one is a very popular on Pinterest, but I borrowed my recipe from a teacher friend who has five children so I knew it had to do its job well! In addition, she informed me that she started only using this in her older machine but has now been using this in her high-efficiency wash machine for years!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 cup Borax

1  cup washing soda

1 bar of Fels-Naptha, shredded and/or chopped

Shred  (I used my Kitchenaid shredder attachment) or chop bar of Fels-Naptha. Combine the Fels-Naptha and remaining ingredients in food processor and chop until well blended. Use 2 tablespoons per large load for your top loader or front loader. 

I use this on everything except the Mister's socks due to sensitive skin and my Norwex cloths. I have always had to use free-everything laundry detergent on his socks and I haven't taken the chance to see if this would be okay for his feet. If I had to guess this version of homemade laundry detergent may not be the best if you have sensitive skin (which would make for a great post). However, Norwex recommends using their laundry soap for their products, so since I absolutely love my Norwex cloths and taking good care of the Mister I will continue to sparingly use :) their laundry detergent for these items. 

Cost comparison: I am still working out the cost per load, but initially the three and a half jars pictured above cost less than $7 and if this lasts me as long as a $14-$25 for 100+ loads of store bought detergent does then I'd say it's a win!

Updated 10/31/16 - I now use this on EVERYTHING including the Mr's socks. :) 

Homemade Stain Remover

How to Make Your Own Gel Stain Remover

We have become very dependent on our stain removal process for quite some time now. With having four kids to cloth and not good about dealing with stains when they are fresh, stain removal has become a dreaded but very important task. My mindset has developed (yes, developed ... it hasn't always been this way) into a very waste-less one and it pains me when I am going through a freshly washed load of laundry and I end up tossing a quarter of it to the side because of stains. Let me give you a little script of what goes throw my head when this happens :)

-----

Annoyed Me: Ugh! What do they get themselves into?!?!

Literal Me: Who knows? They are kids, what do you expect?

Annoyed: I don't know, but now I have to spend extra time getting these stains out!

Literal: You know you could just turn those into play cloths and replace them.

Annoyed: We just bought that shirt last week!

Literal: Oh, right ... well that was a waste of money.

Annoyed: AND TIME! So frustrating.

Literal: I guess we need to get the stain remover out and get to work on our stained-stashed clothes (the pile that has accumulated over the course of the last week or two). 

Annoyed: Yeah, but I don't have TIME today, do you think we could wait another week?

Literal: Maybe, but #2 (he's the messiest) is running low on shirts.

Annoyed: I know, it was worth a try to procrastinate longer!

Literal: So go get the stuff?

Annoyed: Fine!

-----

The cat's out of the bag, I'm the crazy mom who talks to herself because sometimes I just need a grown up to bounce ideas off of! Please tell me I'm not the only one that has these types of conversations with themselves! ;-p

Before I continue, let me just make a statement in defense of my laundry soap, "I've tried different laundry soaps (and I hope to find a homemade version) and I in no way find my laundry soap guilty for not doing it's job ... I blame the children!" heeehee! If you have a laundry soap that get's out EVERYTHING the first time, please share your secret. 

We use 3 products for stain removal, Shout, Dawn, and Fels-Naptha. I did just recently purchased some Norwex Stain Remover but I haven't used it enough to compare it. Depending on the stain type we will use one of these or a combination of them. I have been researching how I could make my own version of Shout and Dawn so be sure to keep an eye out for those posts, it gets me excited (eye-roll allowed, I can get excited about the silliest things) just thinking about the day I find something that works just as good and is easy to make!

I came across Fels-Naptha years ago when I was responsible for washing the Mr.'s entire baseball teams' new white pants after every game ... still not sure how it ended up that way or that I was so willing to do that (I'm just thankful I am no longer doing this)! For all you baseball moms and dads out there, you know that red baseball dirt is a PAIN to get out, so we trialed and errored until we found this miraculous soap. I started out using the bar, getting it wet, and rubbing the stain which works really well, but sometimes a little extra elbow grease was needed with a brush and I really didn't like the little pieces of soap I end up with when using a bar of soap. So I reverted to using this method instead.

gel stain remover using Fels-Naptha

Homemade Stain Remover

1/4 bar of Fels-Naptha (found with the laundry soap)

2 cups of HOT water

1 wide-mouthed pint sized glass jar

Use a cheese grater or food processor to shred the Fels-Naptha. Place shavings in glass jar. Add hot water, don't overfill. Secure the lid. Shake gently until soap is dissolved. Allow to cool. Gelled and ready to use. Apply desired amount to stain. Use a scrub brush or toothbrush to rub in. Allow to set for 10-15 minutes. Launder as usual. For tougher stains, allow to set for longer and reapply as needed. 

original stain after a few washes without pretreating

homemade gel stain remover

scrub-a-dub with a brush

after one application and one wash

after second application and setting for few hours

after second wash

The stain is still barely there, but much better than it was! And in all reality these baseball pants are going to look like the first picture in a matter of one inning anyway :)

As for a container, I prefer the wide-mouthed pint jar because it's easy to get to the bottom of the jar. I will usually make one bar worth of stain remover and use 2 quart sized jars and then transfer it to the smaller one.

Cost: $0.97 (Walmart) for 1/2 gallon of stain remover