Martha Stewart Wanna Be

For a few months I've been making my own laundry detergent.  And I must say I love it and it works just as good, if not better, than the name brand All we had currently been using.  I love it because it works and, in the end, equates to 1 cent a load!  How could you not love that?!  :)  Ever since then, I've been trying to find other things I could make at home, so I've been doing a little research.  I'm not going overboard, but I did find where you can make your own fabric softener, dishwasher detergent, and body soap.  I just wanted to share the recipes I have found with y'all, in case you are wanting to save some money!  With a 2nd child on the way, I'm all about saving money anywhere we can!!

Laundry Detergent

Like I said, we've been using this for a few months now.  It's great and takes maybe 5 minutes to make.  In the end you'll end up with about 2 gallons of detergent and you only use 1/2 cup per load.  It's great and I would recommend it to anyone.  All the ingredients can be found at walmart, in the same spot, by the detergents.

• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap
• 1/2 cup Borax
• 1/2 cup Washing Soda
• Bucket with lid

Grate the soap and put in sauce pan.  Add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap is melted.  Add the washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups of hot water into bucket.  Now add soap mixture and stir.  Add an additional 1 gallon (which is 16 cups) and 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for 24 hours to gel.  It will be a gel but that's the way it's supposed to be.  Try it and see if you like it!!

Dishwasher detergent

I've used this only once but it's just as good as the expensive detergent we buy at Sams.  This is also very cheap and you use 2 of the same ingredients from the laundry detergent.  This is kept in powder form and you use 1-2 tablespoons per load.  And all these ingredients are found at walmart too!

• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup borax
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup citric acid or 2 packets of lemonade Kool Aid (I just use the kook aid)
• 1/2 - 1 cup vinegar

Combine all the ingredients and shake to mix.  Add 1-2 tablespoons to dishwasher cup and then put 3 drops of Dawn in before closing the door.  Splash 1/2 to 1 cup vinegar in bottom of machine. Close door and push start!!

Fabric Softener

Did you know vinegar can be used to soften clothes?  We haven't actually seen the results yet but we used the vinegar in our last washer load.  I'll let you know how it works.  But you can't get any easier than just plain white vinegar!!

• 64 ounces white vinegar
• 55 mL fragrance oil (optional)

We have an HE front loader so we just filled the fabric softener cup up and didn't measure.  I can't wait to see how the clothes turn out!!!

Body Wash

I haven't tried this one yet but it's next.  Once we get low on our supply I'll make it and see how it turns out.  Body wash is expensive!!  Excited about the possibility of making our own.  I actually found 2 recipes to try, one uses bar soap and the other uses castile soap and glycerin.  The second is a little more involved but might be more moisturizing, I don't know.  

First recipe:

• 3 bars of Dove soap, grated
• 6 cups of water

Put on the stove on medium heat until dissolved.  Transfer to glass bowl or jar and allow to cool, then pour into bottle of choice.  It apparently thickens as it cools.  

Second recipe:

• 1 cup filtered water
• 1/4 cup liquid castile soap
• 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerine
• 12-15 drops of essential oils (optional)

Mix ingredients into squeezable bottle and that's it!  Sounds interesting and I'm not sure if it thickens but it says it lathers nicely.  I'll try both and see which one I like better!

So there you go, a few things on my DIY list!!  I think it's pretty awesome I can make these things for my family and save money while doing it!  Let me know what you think!!