Last week we had the kids open houses and school started this week. Tomorrow will be the first day that all three kids are back in school. Getting up at 6am is totally worth it for a day of peace and quiet. I love my kids, but it's gonna be nice to have the day to myself.
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Home Made Laundry Soap
A friend let me try the home made laundry soap she made and I really liked it. I followed her advice and looked up the "recipe" on The Duggar Family. Here it is:
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - Regular Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!
I found the ingredients I needed in the Laundry isle at Walmart -
I also bought a hand held cheese grater for the bar of soap. It wasn't too hard even though I nicked myself on my thumb lol...and it cleans easy. To melt the soap in the water on the stove, I used an old pot that I was going to toss. This will now be my soap pot =) To put the final laundry soap in I bought a 5 gallon paint bucket with lid at Walmart too. To stir it all together, I used the end of my broom.
I bought 3 bars of the soap and a box each of the Arm & Hammer and Borax... with the cheese grater and paint bucket I think I spent about $15.00 total. I can tell this bucket will last A LONG TIME and I still have 2 more bars of soap left and tons of the Arm & Hammer and Borax too... this is definitely a lot cheaper than buying laundry soap in the store. Only buying fabric softner is going to be great...
Here is the laundry soap after I mixed it all, but before I let it sit for the night. The next morning when I stirred it, it was like gel.
Tell me your home made cleaning products!! Share your tips and "recipes" =)
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - Regular Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!
I found the ingredients I needed in the Laundry isle at Walmart -
I also bought a hand held cheese grater for the bar of soap. It wasn't too hard even though I nicked myself on my thumb lol...and it cleans easy. To melt the soap in the water on the stove, I used an old pot that I was going to toss. This will now be my soap pot =) To put the final laundry soap in I bought a 5 gallon paint bucket with lid at Walmart too. To stir it all together, I used the end of my broom.
I bought 3 bars of the soap and a box each of the Arm & Hammer and Borax... with the cheese grater and paint bucket I think I spent about $15.00 total. I can tell this bucket will last A LONG TIME and I still have 2 more bars of soap left and tons of the Arm & Hammer and Borax too... this is definitely a lot cheaper than buying laundry soap in the store. Only buying fabric softner is going to be great...
Here is the laundry soap after I mixed it all, but before I let it sit for the night. The next morning when I stirred it, it was like gel.
Tell me your home made cleaning products!! Share your tips and "recipes" =)
Friday, September 23, 2011
Makes Sense Doesn't It?
Been seeing this around Facebook so I'm gonna comment on it here.
"Dirty dishes prove I feed my kids, full trashcans prove I've tried to clean, messy floors prove that I let my kids have fun, piles of clothes prove I keep my kids in clean clothes, a messy bathroom proves that I bathe my children! So next time you walk into my house and see a mess, think twice before you judge!!! keep this going if you are a parent"
Dirty dishes prove I feed my kids - I didn't realize it was so hard to wash a dish when you're done! If you wash them as you dirty them, they don't pile up. Makes sense doesn't it?
Full trash cans prove I've tried to clean - No, full trash cans means you're too lazy to take out the trash. When the trash gets full you take it out of the can, tie it up and put it in the big trash can for trash day. This helps keep the nasty smell out of your house and the bugs away. Makes sense doesn't it?
Messy floors prove that I let my kids have fun - Or it could just mean that you are too lazy to sweep and mop and pick up toys. Or too lazy to teach your kids to clean up after themselves. Or both. If you keep the clutter to a minimum it is easier to keep it clean. Have a basket designated to toys downstairs and have your kids pick up after themselves when they are done playing. Then you won't be embarrassed at your mess when someone pops by unannounced. Makes sense doesn't it?
Piles of clothes prove I keep my kids in clean clothes - Not really. Do your laundry as it gets dirty and you won't have tons of it to do all in one day... teach your kids to put their clothes away. Piles of clothes are just place for bugs to hide. Keep the clothes clean and put up and it teaches your kids about responsibility in the long run. Part of a good lesson down. Makes sense don't it?
A messy bathroom proves that I bath my children - all it does is prove you're too lazy to clean it up. How messy can a bathroom get from bathing anyway? Is it that hard to hang the towel when you're done or put the toys up so they can dry and not get moldy? Who wants to bathe in a nasty bathroom? No one that I know... makes sense doesn't it?
On that note, I don't judge people based on the way their house looks.. Lord knows I have my "messy" moments, but not all the time and I don't make excuses for it. If my place is messy it's because I was lazy and didn't clean it. Not because I have kids.
"Dirty dishes prove I feed my kids, full trashcans prove I've tried to clean, messy floors prove that I let my kids have fun, piles of clothes prove I keep my kids in clean clothes, a messy bathroom proves that I bathe my children! So next time you walk into my house and see a mess, think twice before you judge!!! keep this going if you are a parent"
Dirty dishes prove I feed my kids - I didn't realize it was so hard to wash a dish when you're done! If you wash them as you dirty them, they don't pile up. Makes sense doesn't it?
Full trash cans prove I've tried to clean - No, full trash cans means you're too lazy to take out the trash. When the trash gets full you take it out of the can, tie it up and put it in the big trash can for trash day. This helps keep the nasty smell out of your house and the bugs away. Makes sense doesn't it?
Messy floors prove that I let my kids have fun - Or it could just mean that you are too lazy to sweep and mop and pick up toys. Or too lazy to teach your kids to clean up after themselves. Or both. If you keep the clutter to a minimum it is easier to keep it clean. Have a basket designated to toys downstairs and have your kids pick up after themselves when they are done playing. Then you won't be embarrassed at your mess when someone pops by unannounced. Makes sense doesn't it?
Piles of clothes prove I keep my kids in clean clothes - Not really. Do your laundry as it gets dirty and you won't have tons of it to do all in one day... teach your kids to put their clothes away. Piles of clothes are just place for bugs to hide. Keep the clothes clean and put up and it teaches your kids about responsibility in the long run. Part of a good lesson down. Makes sense don't it?
A messy bathroom proves that I bath my children - all it does is prove you're too lazy to clean it up. How messy can a bathroom get from bathing anyway? Is it that hard to hang the towel when you're done or put the toys up so they can dry and not get moldy? Who wants to bathe in a nasty bathroom? No one that I know... makes sense doesn't it?
On that note, I don't judge people based on the way their house looks.. Lord knows I have my "messy" moments, but not all the time and I don't make excuses for it. If my place is messy it's because I was lazy and didn't clean it. Not because I have kids.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Make Everyday Chores Easier!
I know we all love tips on how to get things done faster and easier around the house so I'm sharing tips from one of my fave magazines - "Womans World"
Dusting-
*save time by stopping the dust before it comes in... 80% of dust comes in on your feet, so if you have a good doormat by every entryway you will cut down on dust! It says if you put the right mats down in the right spots you can cut dust in your home by 50%...something like this mat outside will help -
*investing in a pro tool will help with large and hard to reach places and cut cleaning time too -
Doing laundry-
*skipping the softener... not only does it cost money and add another step, but it also harms your clothes... softener adds a coating to your clothes that weakens the fabric and accelerates fading...
*don't sort your clothes by color... separating clothes automatically requires you to do at least 2 loads when sometimes you don't have to... just add a cup of white vinegar to the wash water and your colors won't bleed b/c vinegar sets in your colors
Washing dishes-
*don't rinse your plates... not only does it waste time and water but it can actually make your dishes dirtier.. dishwashing detergents are designed to bind to food and if there isn't any for them to grab onto they aren't effective... so instead of rinsing, simply scrape the food off and let the dishwasher do the rest
*cutting out a cycle or two.. skipping the pre-rinse cycle ((unless they are super dirty with dried on gunk)) and skipping the cycle for pots and pans will save time and energy...
***feel free to add your own tips in the comments =)
Dusting-
*save time by stopping the dust before it comes in... 80% of dust comes in on your feet, so if you have a good doormat by every entryway you will cut down on dust! It says if you put the right mats down in the right spots you can cut dust in your home by 50%...something like this mat outside will help -
*investing in a pro tool will help with large and hard to reach places and cut cleaning time too -
Doing laundry-
*skipping the softener... not only does it cost money and add another step, but it also harms your clothes... softener adds a coating to your clothes that weakens the fabric and accelerates fading...
*don't sort your clothes by color... separating clothes automatically requires you to do at least 2 loads when sometimes you don't have to... just add a cup of white vinegar to the wash water and your colors won't bleed b/c vinegar sets in your colors
Washing dishes-
*don't rinse your plates... not only does it waste time and water but it can actually make your dishes dirtier.. dishwashing detergents are designed to bind to food and if there isn't any for them to grab onto they aren't effective... so instead of rinsing, simply scrape the food off and let the dishwasher do the rest
*cutting out a cycle or two.. skipping the pre-rinse cycle ((unless they are super dirty with dried on gunk)) and skipping the cycle for pots and pans will save time and energy...
***feel free to add your own tips in the comments =)
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