DYI Week!

It's been a busy week back at work, but it was really great having a "schedule" again!

Last week I was home and got so much stuff done, but could have taken another week off to do more!

I completed my Valentine Swap cards for my Meetup Group on Tuesday and finished up 75 card fronts to swap at Regionals in 2 weeks!  I may or may not do another 25 but am happy I finished what I did.

There were a few other projects I did last week that I REALLY wanted to share with everyone. 

If you click on the word "recipe" highlighted in blue, it will take you to the website where I found these DIY's, so credit can be given to the proper person!

I don't know about you all, but every time I go shopping, I'm disgusted with the prices of things that are a staple on everyone's shopping list!  Now, while I won't/can't make milk, eggs or even toilet paper, for the obvious reason that I live in an apartment, I figure there has to be some ways to save some money in other departments of my shopping list!  So I joined Pinterest and found tons of "pins" for websites about

Do It Yourself  (DIY) cleaners, which you know can be costly!

The first one I came across was one for handsoap refills!  Now this recipe is fairly large, so I cut it by a 3rd.  I actually had everything I needed to make it so I pulled out my big pasta pot, a whisk, a grater and a bar of Ivory soap, which comes in a package of 3 for about $1.00.

I grated the soap and stirred it in the pot with 4 cups of water.  Cooked it on about low- medium heat until the soap was disolved, turned the stove off, covered it and let it sit over night.  The next morning I turned the stove on and warmed up the thick concauction and added another 8 cups of water and mixed it well.

I let it cool a little then poured it into a gallon jug and let it sit open to cool completely!

THAT WAS IT!

Almost a gallon of handsoap to refill my bottles from one bar of Ivory soap and 12 cups of water! 

All for about 35 cents!!  WHOOHOOOO!!!!!

Well by then I was hooked so I started looking for more DYI cleaners and came across a couple for homemade laundry detergent!  Now if you are like me, spending $12-15 or more on a gallon of liquid laundry detergent makes me crazy!!!  Well this one will basically cost you around $8 to purchase the ingredients, but get this, you won't use all of it so you will be able to make more out of what you purchased, minus a new bar of soap (approx. $1.20) for each batch!  It basically boils down to costing around $1.50 to make 5 gallons of liquid laundry detergent,which then boils down to about a penny per load!  

That's right ONE PENNY per load!!!!! 

So for this DIY cleaner you need the following:

A 5-gallon bucket

1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

4 cups water

All except for the bucket, are pretty easy to find in the laundry isle, just look on the top shelf, in most cases!  Most people are looking eye level and don't see it, or wouldn't know this gem of a recipe to even know what they were for!  And by the way, the Fels Naptha soap is a great pre-treater for stains...even on the pot I used that I normally make brewed tea with!!

Ok, so this recipe is fairly easy to make and can be used in both front loading (HE) and top loading washers!

It is low in suds, but does the job and smells great to boot!

1.  In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat,

melt together the grated soap and water until the soap is completely dissolved.

2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full of hot water. Add the washing soda, Borax and melted soap mixture.

Stir well until dissolved (I used a my whisk).

3. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot water and stir well. Cover and let sit overnight

The finished mixture will resemble a loose, liquid form of Jello

You could also add 50 drops of essential oils but I like the smell without  it!

Now the recipe I got says to fill your soap dispenser (say an old Tide container)

1/2 with water and half with the soap and shake well before each use.

But I think if you just cut the amount per load in half, respectfully,

then you wouldn't have to do this last part.

Hers:  For front load washers, use 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup per load.  MINE:  1/8 cup

Hers:  For top load washers, use 1/2 cup-5/8 cup per load.  MINE:  1/4 cup

I also found a recipe for a dry laundry detergent using the same ingredients, minus the water and cooking part!

1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1 cup Borax

1 cup A&H Washing Soda

Grate the soap, mix with the other ingredients and store in a cute jar if you have one!

This one says to use one tablespoon per load!!

When and if I ever finish up the liquid laundry detergent,

I'm going to try the dry one so I can save some space and time!

Well I hope you like these DIY recipes as much as I do!

Happy Crafting!!