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Well, I ran out of my first batches of dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent yesterday.  As soon as the kiddos were down for their naps today, I grabbed my handy dandy book so I could try two new recipes.

How convenient that both recipes called for the same basic ingredients: baking soda, washing soda, and borax.  I also needed a bar of soap and some citric acid.  With my five ingredients in hand, I headed to the kitchen to make my detergents.

The dishwasher detergent took me all of 2 minutes to make.

2 cups washing soda

1 cup borax

1 cup baking soda

citric acid

Just measured everything out and dumped it all in a bowl.  Stirred everything together, and wall-ah!  My dishwasher is running as we speak.

The laundry detergent took a little more time, only because I had to grate the bar of soap.  

One bar of Dr. Bonner's Soap (I used peppermint this time)

1 cup washing soda

1 cup baking soda

But, within 10 minutes, I was able to make the laundry detergent, get Coralyn a piece of gum, remind her that I was working right now and not going to play with her, take a picture of my book, redirect Coralyn yet again, and type this blog post.  A productive start to nap time, I would say!!! 

Now, to deal with my relentless daughter.  I have a feeling that might not be as quick as making my homemade detergents.  Definitely not as easy!!! :)

Pleasure Reading

Somehow, when you're not forced to read, reading (and researching) becomes so much more enjoyable.

No deadlines.  No pressures of a paper to write.  No red ink all over the paper you spent weeks (okay, maybe just days, or hours, but still...) working on to make it perfect.  No grades at all.

Just pure fun!

I am pretty excited about the pleasure reading I will be doing (in all of my "spare" time).

I hope to learn more about how to make our home (and bodies) healthy, strong, and SAFE!

The Price Is Right {It's My Body Edition}

I also wanted to see how much I had saved by making all our own personal care products.

Shampoo: $4.10

Body Wash: $6.98

Toothpaste: $0.40

Deodorant: $1.14

Hair Gel: $0.10

Hand Soap: $4.42

That's a total of $17.14!

If I had gone shopping at Wal-Mart for the same items, I would have spent around $18.24.  I usually get Suave type-products, so I would have spent a little bit more if I were one to usually buy "higher end" personal care products.

So, I guess I only saved about $1.10!  BUT, a dollar is a dollar.  That's a cup of coffee at church! :)

I am also happy to know that all my personal care products are chemical free, and that is priceless!!!

The Price Is Right {Mrs. Clean Edition}

I know that I saved money by making all my own cleaning supplies and personal care products, but I wanted to know exactly what kind of bargains I got!  So....I figured up the cost of each cleaning product that I made this past weekend.

All Purpose Cleaner: $1.25, including $1.00 for the spray bottle!

Baking Soda Scrub: 5 cents

Glass Cleaner: $2.25, including $1.00 for the spray bottle!

Furniture Polish: $2.60

Mold/Stain Remover: $1.40, including $1.00 for the spray bottle!

Toilet Bowl Cleaner: $1.40, including $1.00 for the spray bottle!

Carpet Cleaner: $1.40, including $1.00 for the spray bottle!

Dish Soap: $2.50

Laundry Detergent: $4.40 for about 64 loads, 7 cents a load

Pre-Treatment Stain Remover: $1.25, including $1.00 for the spray bottle!

Total Cost: $18.95

If I had gotten it all at Wal-Mart, I would have spent about $36.94.
That's a savings of $17.99!!!!

If I took away the cost of the spray bottles (because I will keep reusing them), I would have spent just $12.95, for an even bigger savings of $23.99!!!!

Common Sense Giggles

"Soap and water and common sense are the best disinfectants."  ~ William Osler

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul."  ~Yiddish Proverb

Here are the recipes I used for dish soap and hand soap:

Dish Soap




1 1/2 Cups Hot Water
1/2 Cup Liquid Castile Soap
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Washing Soda
Essential Oil





Hand Soap




1 Bar of Soap (5 oz), shaved (made about 2 cups)
1-2 Tablespoons Vegetable Glycerin
1 Gallon Water
Essential Oil

Getting Personal

After the girls were in bed, I whipped up some personal care products.  It actually wasn't as hard as I had anticipated, though I haven't attempted to make the lotion yet.

I am not 100% sold on all of these recipes, but I am certainly willing to give everything a try to see how they work.  If they need tweaking, I can always look for some new and "improved" recipes.

Here's what I have for right now:

Shampoo





1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Liquid Castile Soap
2 Teaspoons Jojoba Oil
Essential Oil








Body Wash



1 Tablespoon Steel Cut Oats (optional)
1 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Citric Acid
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (you can use any kind of oil -- olive, grapeseed, almond, jojoba)
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 1/2 Cup Liquid Castile Soap
1 Teaspoon Guar Gum (a thickening agent)
Essential Oil(s)



Deodorant






1/4 Cup Baking Soda

1/4 Cup Cornstarch
5 Tablespoons Coconut Oil








Toothpaste





6 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Glycerin
1 Tablespoon Hydrogen Peroxide
Essential Oil for taste








Hair Gel





1 Teaspoon Unflavored Gelatin
1 Cup Warm Water
Essential Oil

If you have recipes for any of these personal care products that you use and absolutely like, I would love for you to share!  And if I stink or have bad breath, please let me know that too!  I will be sure to find a new recipe right away!!!

Laundry, Laundry, Laundry

All of our clothes are never clean at the same time.  Even on the days I do the laundry, at least 7 items are still dirty.  Either they somehow manage to escape the trip to the washer all together, or as soon as I put the clean clothes and towels away, I am opening the drawer to get them right back out again.  It's as if Coralyn plans when she will make a mess: she watches me carry the basket of her dirty clothes downstairs, waits until she hears the click of the washing machine door, and then spills her yogurt and blueberries all over herself.  And Kellah must think it's absolutely hilarious to see my face when I have just started the load of all her dirty diapers, put the last clean one on her, and then she poops!

Needless to say, I am in need of quality laundry detergent (and pre-treatment/stain remover)!!!  BUT, I don't want to spend an arm and a leg to keep my girls' clothes clean.

Here's what I made and am praying will work small miracles, every single day:


Stain Remover

1 C Water
1/2 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Hydrogen Peroxide








Laundry Detergent

1 Bar of Soap (5 oz), shaved (makes about 2 cups)
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax

Back to the Basics

Making your own cleaning supplies is really quite simple.  You only need a few basic ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand and use to bake and cook with on a normal basis.

Somehow knowing that I am using some of the same ingredients for my cleaning supplies as I do for banana bread and chocolate chip cookies gives me a great peace of mind.  Especially when we were laying out all the materials we needed to make the cleaning supplies, and I look over to see Coralyn sucking on the spray bottle.  Granted, it was brand new, but still...  If she were to get the itch to play with the spray bottle again later, when it did have one of our homemade cleaning solutions in it, I wouldn't have to call 911 or Poison Control.  Not that eating or drinking a mixture of baking soda and vinegar is going to taste all that great, but it's not going to tear her insides to shreds or burn her eyes out either.

So, here are the cleaning supplies I made and what's in each of them:

All Purpose Cleaner (Disinfectant)

   

Water
Vinegar

I didn't measure anything for this one.  I just filled the container about 1/3 full with vinegar and then added water until the solution reached the "fill line."






Scrub

Water
Baking Soda

Again, I didn't measure anything out exactly.  I just some baking soda in my container and then added a little bit of water to make a nice paste.

I can use this on my nasty spills and stains in my oven, or anywhere in the house really.  Just put the Baking Soda Scrub on the dirty area and let it sit for a bit.  Then, spray with my All Purpose Cleaner and wipe the area clean.




Glass Cleaner

1 Cup Rubbing Alcohol
1 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Vinegar (or ammonia, if you want)

I made a double batch so that my spray bottle would be full.  Lawrence put it to use right away on our microwave door.  :)




Furniture Polish
l
1 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice

I made a double batch again and just used an empty Olive Oil jar for my container.  When I dust, I will just put some of the Furniture Polish on my rag and then wipe down my coffee table, end tables, dressers, bed frames, etc.





Carpet Cleaner   

1/4 Cup Borax
1/4 Cup Salt
1/4 Cup Vinegar

I had 1/2 cup of salt and figured I could just use it all up for this recipe, so I doubled everything.  Having an in-home daycare with 5 small children running around and playing all day, I am sure that I will put my Carpet Cleaner to good use!

I can also sprinkle Cornstarch on a stain, let it sit for a bit, and spray my Carpet Cleaner on it.  Then, rub the area clean.









Toilet Bowl Cleaner

We ended up having to mix up the solution in the bowl  first.

1/4 Cup Baking Soda
1 Cup Vinegar

You can turn this recipe into a science lesson with your kids.  I knew that adding baking soda and vinegar together would cause some foaming, but I was not prepared for the "volcano" that  erupted out of my spray bottle!  Next time I might just sprinkle baking soda directly into my toilet bowl and then spray my All Purpose Cleaner (with vinegar in it) on top of the baking soda.  Same concept.


Bathroom Mold/Stain Cleaner
   
1/2 Cup Hydrogen Peroxide
1 Cup Water
Cream of Tartar

I will use this to clean my bathtub and shower, as well as any difficult stains on my bathroom and kitchen floors.



Now we're all set to be both clean and SAFE!

Divin' In

Well, we have dove in, head first, and begun our journey to rid our house of chemicals and make everything we can on our own.

This afternoon, we headed out with our recipes for homemade cleaning supplies and personal care products.  Even with our extensive list of ingredients, we were able to get everything we needed at Price Chopper and Mother Nature Health Store.  Oh, and a quick stop at Dollar Tree to grab a few more spray bottles.  When everything was said and done we had spent about $100.

Here's what we got for our money:

Furniture Polish, Dish Soap, Pre-Treatment Stain Remover for Clothes
Glass Cleaner, All Purpose Cleaner/Disinfectant, Baking Soda Scrub
Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Mold/Stain Remover for the Bathroom
Carpet Stain Remover, and Corn Starch (which you can sprinkle on stains)

Lavender Laundry Detergent and Apple Cider Vinegar (for fabric softener)

Almond Hand Soap

And I would have been able to make dishwasher detergent too, but I didn't realize we only had about 1/2 cup of salt in the cupboard (which I used for another recipe).  So, once I get some more salt, I can make a large supply of dishwasher detergent as well.

I also couldn't find any beeswax to make lotion or chapstick, but I think I did pretty good for one night.  

I started around 7 and was done at little before 10.  BUT, I had two little "helpers" for the first hour and was only able to make all of my cleaning products.  Then, we decided that after a full day, with no naps for anyone, that bedtime sounded like a fabulous idea.  So, we stopped to get pajamas on and teeth brushed, read our Bible story, said our prayers (Coralyn even chimed in tonight and it was precious!), and went through our ritual of good night hugs and kisses -- first hugs from Coralyn with her feet and then "real" hugs with her arms.  After that, I took Kellah to her room and put a few dabs of lavender essential oil on her chest, nursed her, and finally laid her down in her crib.  Before I could get back to the kitchen to start working again, Coralyn came out of her room, saying she was scared.  I checked the closet doors with her to make sure it was indeed only a shadow and then tucked her back into bed.  At last, I resumed my "do it yourself" adventure!  Working by myself, I was able to whip up the rest of my homemade personal care products in just over an hour.  AND put everything away.  

Now, I just have to find a spot to store all of these supplies that I have left over.

Yeah, I think we did pretty good for $100.  Not only did we get A LOT of stuff, but even more importantly, all our cleaning supplies and personal care products are free of chemicals!  I think I am going to sleep good tonight, knowing that I am doing the best I can to take care of my family and keep them clean and healthy!