DIY: Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've been trying to get back into using some money saving ideas around our home. 

After working full time for 5 years with benefits, I certainly saw a drop when we had kids & I decided to be a stay at home mom-only working part time. I am blessed to have a job that allows me to work from home...but lets face it...I only put in a few hrs a week & needed to find ways to spend less for more! 

I haven't done much at all yet...but have made some choices for our family that have really helped us save. For instance...

I knew that the #1 thing I was going to try & provide was breast milk for my kids...granted that everything went well. My mom didn't have much luck BF & I know several people that didn't produce enough & had to supplement. I'm glad formula is out there because I've even had to use it on occasion...but I also feel blessed that BF worked for me because that is a huge area where we were able to save in that stage of having kids. 

 I also tried cloth diapering when Greyson was 2 months old & haven't stopped. I do use disposables a lot because I only cloth diaper when we are at home or somewhere that I will be able to do laundry (like visiting my parents or on vacation in a home that has a washer) but even cutting the diaper buying in half has been great & there are a bunch of other benefits that come with cloth diapering especially since I am able to use the same CD on my second child!

 I tried my hand at home made baby food, but that didn't really last long since Greyson only ate baby food for 4 weeks before he was on table food. I will see how it goes the second time around!

I should probably do more things to save like using coupons etc. so I recently got this cool app on my phone that has specials for the week & if you buy those you get cash back at the end. That's what I'm talking about! All you have to do is take a picture of your receipt & check mark the things on it you got then money is added to your acount. I am SO not good at clipping coupons or remembering to use them AT the store so being able to do it after the fact is the way to go! 

NEEDLESS to say!!! I kind of do things...half heartedly! haha I mean I have definitely saved us money in those areas for sure but I tend to do what is the easiest. Which is why when I started seeing recipes to make your own laundry detergent, I figured that would be something easy to try. I just NOW finally got around to making it!

 I have gotten a few recipes off Pinterest & one from a friend. Her's lasted about 6 months but this one I found can last around a year to 18 months! 

I basically followed this websites instructions

http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent/

so feel free to check out her website for cute extras!

First, you'll need these items!

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (This is optional but I highly recommend adding it)

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (we chose to do pink for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels Naptha)

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the detergent or cooking aisle (You could also get two 2 lb boxes if you can't find the large one)

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- or use 3-4 bottles of Scentsy Washer Whiffs.Scentsy washer whiffs are my top choice, (they smell out-of-this-world amazing – my favorite isQuiver), but when in a hurry, I opt for the Purex, (which can be found in the detergent aisle).

Those are the website instructions...here's what I did.

I bought the only zote soap I saw so I'll have to get another block next time I'm at the store. I also only got ONE small bottle of purex crystals. I didn't like the scent of the ones the website showed...of course! So when I found a scent I liked better...they only had the SMALL bottles & I think they used 2 large ones! My reasoning in this was the fact that it says fabric softener & I don't usually use softener in my towels etc. so I wanted the nice smell but not a bunch to make much of a difference in the softener part. I usually use Downy Unstoppables because they specifically say it is not a fabric softener so that could be an alternative choice as well! You just might have to buy a BUNCH of those for this amount & those things can get expensive. As far as the optional Oxy Clean...I had about 1/4 of a container left so I definitely used it but if you get a whole container it'll obviously make more detergent.  

SO those are just a few things you'll need to make sure you get in the right amounts if you want to try this out.

I did try the microwave method...I do NOT recommend! You would think it would be super easy & less time consuming. Wrong! Cut it into chunks like so & maybe pop it in the microwave for like 30 seconds just to soften it a bit, but then I would definitely recommend grating it or putting it in a food processor.

The microwave method heats the soap & it expands...a lot! Once it's dry, you just crumble it up & it turns into pink, crumbly soap. Sounded easy...the ONE minute it required ended up taking like 15 to get the whole bar expanded & dry. Otherwise, you have sticky messy soapy pieces left underneath the puffiness. I just pulled the expanded pieces off & kept microwaving till I got it all. Once I started crumbling it, I could tell it wasn't going to be as fine as I wanted...SO I ended up putting it all in the food processor anyway!

Finally looking right! After that, it was EASY peasy!! I even had Greyson help me! =) 

I bought a very large jar at Walmart to store it in. The website mentioned scooping the detergent into the cool purex bottles for storage because the lid acts as a measuring cup with etched in lines, but you'll definitely need a bucket or something else to keep the rest of it in because it made a LOT!

I just started layering each ingredient & Greyson stirred it with a plastic spoon!

He had a lot of fun mixing it up!

By the time we finished, most of my jar was full. You can see just how big it is with Greyson sitting next to it! Had I put ALL the ingredients in it, I'm sure it would have been closer to the top. I will probably add more Oxy clean & the other bar of pink soap eventually.

He was pretty fascinated with it...when I took his picture he even told the soap to "say cheese!"

I am using the purex container lid as my measuring scoop. The neat thing about this is that you only need 1-2 tablespoons of detergent PER load!! One for regular loads & 2 for extra dirty or bulkier loads. That is where the cost effectiveness comes in. You don't use much & it still gets your laundry clean & smelling good! I used 2 T on a large load of towels & gotta say...I'm pretty happy with it. 

It works in HE washers (which is what I have) & only costs approximately $28 based on doing about 6 loads of laundry a week...that makes it last up to a YEAR! If you end up doing 4 loads a week it could even last to 18 months & you might have spent $28-$30 tops!

I definitely wanted something that was easy, lasted a long time & cheap! My main concern & the first thing most people think about is the smell. At least that's the first concern my husband had! The pink Zote soap has a good smell, oxy clean has a good smell & of course any scent beads you put in will have a good smell. The nice thing about that is you can choose your own scent! The rest of the ingredients didn't really have a smell so it all works together. I've heard that using felsnaptha soap instead of the zote soap smells more like tide but I guess anyone could experiment with the scents & find what works for you!

Now I know there are a hundred other DIY house hold items I could make to save money...I am slowly but surely adding different things to the list. This is just a simple one that took me about 30 minutes to make (because of all the microwaving) but would actually only take a few minutes if you process the soap first then add everything together! I'm already impressed with it...now instead of buying laundry soap I'll have more money to actually makeover my laundry room! Oh wait...I'm supposed to save money right?? =)

DIY Bookshelves & Crystal Baby Mobile!

I'm really behind on sharing some of the projects I have worked on for the kids rooms. Mainly these pallet bookshelves & a window project I've had done since we lived at our old house! The window will have to wait a little longer until we hang it & I can show the finished product.

For now, I can at least show you his super cute book shelves!

{Pallet Bookshelves}

We started out with some plain old pallets that Matt brought home from work.

He cut them to make 2 shelves & used a crowbar to take a few slats off & hammered them into place.

Then I cleaned up the wood & clear coated them to make them look nice, but still rustic. No stain, no paint...just natural. As you can see...we made these SO long ago...it's been a little over year since we finished these.

Finally, a few months later, Matt got around to hanging one...yeah...one. It was a lot bigger process than we thought because we had plaster walls behind this paneling at the old house. Matt broke off one of his bits in the wall in the process! Not good! You can see how little Greyson is here...he still looks like a little baby! He loves being front & center to help daddy =) 

We enjoyed our one bookshelf for awhile & then had to take it right back down to move...good thing we didn't put the other one up! 

Here is the finished product at our new house! We had to wait until the room was painted, & we still have some decor to add above the shelves, but for now, they are working, functioning bookshelves & Greyson loves them!

See how much he's grown since these were done?? We can be such procrastinators!

 One thing that didn't take me long to make was this baby mobile for the nursery. I made Greyson's mobile before he was born, so I knew I would make something this time too. On days when I had to wait on Matt to help with bigger projects...I focused on smaller things.

The nursery has been pretty easy to decorate & majorly cost effective...I haven't had to buy hardly anything! I'm using all the same furniture from Greyson's nursery & upgrading him to his "big boy" room. Plus most of the decor & other items I'm using I already owned...with the exception of 2 or 3 things & some little crafty accents I bought from my aunt =) So I figured one little DIY item couldn't hurt & I used lots of 40% off coupons to make it!

{DIY Crystal Baby Mobile}

I have seen several crystal mobiles on pinterest & since I like the chandelier vibe it gives off, I knew I wanted to make one of my own. 

I started with a wire wreath frame (about $2) & wedding crystals from Michaels. I already had burlap, craft paint & some embellishments at home so those were the only things I had to buy. I painted the green frame a cream color to match the room so when you look up at it, it's not so dark & unfinished looking.

 I bought the crystals 2 separate times to use my coupons so it made it way cheaper. I didn't feel like stringing individual crystals on fishing line or string like I have seen done before...too time consuming, so these wedding crystals are a great alternative! They are used to drape in floral arrangements etc & come in long strands so I just took them apart & attached them to the frame.

I love neutral colors & always had an idea of what I wanted to do in a nursery if I ever had a girl. Even when I ended up having a boy, I still used most of those same ideas like my cream & white furniture, rustic accents & decor. I have had lots of burlap on hand ever since & use it for so many things. It was a no brainer that I needed something to go around the wreath frame & since I already had other burlap accents in the room, I tied this in. To create a "ruffle" all I did was pull one strand of the burlap to make it bunch up...being careful not to break it on the other end. It worked out perfectly! I just attached it to the frame & then hung my crystal strands.

I used a thin twine string to hold it up giving it more of that rustic feel, but the crystals make it seem girly & elegant. I embellished it just a tiny bit with a burlap rosette & a little craft tag I got from my aunt. 

 Matt hung it up for me in a corner of the nursery with a simple hook. It is a little heavier than normal with all the crystals, so I wasn't really comfortable hanging it over the crib. Especially with longs strands that a tiny baby could get tangled up in! So this won't be serving much as an actual mobile over her crib. 

I placed it a little behind our chair so that she can still look at it & enjoy it while I feed or read to her. We still have a shelf to hang near the chair so it won't look so lonely up there =) & the only other thing we bought was ONE shade of gray paint! No, that is not a darker gray or tan color...it is the same color as the other wall!

 I have always loved the color gray (being so much into neutral...I should probably try to branch out more) & it was the color we painted our living room at our old house when Matt & I first got married. Matt rarely likes to buy a sample paint to test on walls before painting because it costs just about as much as 1 gallon! SO after we painted it, the room looked A LOT like this picture is showing here! It was definitely in the tan family. Gray is just one of those colors you have to be careful with...I have seen it look blue, lavender, & tan...just to name a few. 

To be more clear, here's a little sneak peek of our nursery accent wall. We tried to pick something light & went with the color called "Grayish". I love creams & tans next to it, but every now & then a picture like the one above will distort the color. Also, during the day it leans more towards lavender...like the photo below...but its ok because it IS a girls room! =) 

We wanted an accent wall so we could use part of the existing paint color. The previous owners had just painted this room the perfect shade of cream that matched all my nursery furniture!! I wanted to utilize it someway but didn't want to leave one whole wall cream, so we left the bathroom & closet all cream & accented this wall with a stencil. I love how it turned out! We had very willing painters tackle this for us & for beginners...they did an amazing job! 

We will eventually change the fan out to a white or cream one since that one is obviously overbearing...but you just gotta have a fan in your bedroom living in Alabama! So that will be the last thing we have to buy. 

I'm excited to finish this nursery, but again...you know us! I probably won't get around to sharing the final details until months later. I have a really neat cast iron bed that we bought the first year we were married...one part of the frame was broken that Matt STILL hasn't gotten around to fixing! We always thought about using it in a little guest room at our old house...now, it's the perfect bed for baby girl to grow into & since the room is so big, it definitely needs something else in there. I'm happy to say that the bed has finally made it to the shop after 7.5 years...now lets just see if it makes it back home in the next 2-6 months! =)

Decorative Growth Chart

Finally another project is complete!

Even before I was pregnant I thought these charts were so cute. It's the perfect addition to decor in your house & something to treasure espeically when you are just starting a family. I am so excited to see Greyson's measurments throughout the years & any siblings that we add in the years to come.

 Pinterest had tons of different versions so its definitely easy to make yourself. We start lots of projects but you never know when they are going to get completed...as you can tell we are horrible procrastonators. I wanted to get this done before Greyson was even born but that obviously didn't happen! A year later it was in the works so thankfully we got it finished before Greyson turned 2 so we can measure him at 1 year old. LIFE happens & we basically work on things as we can.

 

However, this week we have gotten quite a bit acomplished so in the next couple days I will have yet another project to post about =)

 

Here's what we did to make our very own decorative growth chart.

Matt got a peice of wood that was cut when we built our barn, had it plained, stained a semi-dark color & then we put a clear coat sealer on it.

 

It sat in the garage like this for a few days so we could paint both sides. After that Matt took care of all the measurments. We liked the "ruler" look so we kept it pretty plain & traditional.

 

Greyson kept a pretty close eye on things =)

 

I ended up hand painting the lines & used stencils for the numbers. I'm not really a perfectionist, but I wasn't sure painting the lines was the best thing to do. They wouldn't be straight & the paint tends to differ with pressure of the brush...I tried a few lines, wiped them off & did a few more, but there was just no getting them perfect without purchasing a paint pen. Matt thought it looked neat to have it hand done so after some convincing we decided that was the way to go. It actually turned out really neat looking & the lines still look the "same" even if not one is alike!

 

We found the perfect place for this large piece in our upstairs hallway. There was an odd space beside our bathroom door & it fit perfectly.

 

 

Matt is the expert when it comes to hanging things especially on our plaster walls. I left all the technical stuff to him. He figured that the once the nails were in & hung it would hang a little off from the exact measurments...we were extremely pleased to see that every inch was dead on! He made sure it was super secure so that Greyson wouldn't pull it off the wall...he has tried a few times & it isn't going anywhere! We are talking about adding on to our house in the next couple years so this piece might make its way downstairs to our family room, but for now this is where it will stay.

 

It turned out SO good & we are really happy with it!! Matt has said multiple times how much he likes it...so another project is checked off the list & we can move on to all the other ones we want to accomplish!





Burlap Banner

     If you can't already tell, I love burlap!

After I made my curtains (which you can check out here), I knew I wanted to use burlap in different areas of the house. It is just so functional & makes things look rustic but adds a bit of charm to any modern decor. I bought 3 more yards at a local Walmart & plan to make quite a few things.

So far I've made Greyson's name banner for his first birthday party...

...and I cut the 3 yards in half to make this table runner for the rustic table in our den. I love that it adds a little something extra but with no fuss & it was super simple. We had 2 black benches made for extra seating & when our table goes from 6ft to 9 ft they definitely come in handy =) The plant in the center was from my inlaws for my grandma's funeral & surprisingly is still alive & well. I'm not sure how I've managed that!  I also just added the little corner bumper (if you are wondering what that is) because Greyson & his friends keep cracking their noggins on this particular end of the table. I hope it helps! 

I've just recently added some seasonal banners to my collection of burlap uses & wanted to share them.

First I measured one of the stencils on the fabric to decide the size I needed. In order to get a straight cut across the fabric, I use a neat little trick by snipping one of the fibers in the burlap where I would cut & then pull that one strand of thread out through the fabric. It leaves a straight "line" where that one piece of thread was & all you have to do is follow it with the scissors. 

I used acrylic fabric paint in white & some stencils I had on hand that I got at Walmart. I didn't necessarily want to have "scrolly" letters so I used the stencil as a guide & modified the letters to what I wanted.

I used a round sponge "brush" to blot the paint on & some craft paint brushes to fix & finish the edges. I didn't use a lot of paint because I wanted it to have a shabby chic look & not be too "bright" white. Plus sometimes using too much paint of light fabric can make it curl or distort while hanging. 

I made 2 banners...one for Spring & the other for Fall. 

When you think "banner" you normally think of the triangle cut outs but I like changing that up sometimes. With Greyson's name I used circles & for the -SPRING- banner I made a tag like shape. I first saw the tag shape on a blog I follow & thought it looked neat & different. It is just squared with the upper corners cut at a diagonal. I left some fringe from the fabric on the bottom to give it a little something extra. For my -FALL- banner I just did the regular triangle cuts, but I didn't like how big they turned out. The letters I used are about 3-4 inches tall so I trimmed them down to the size I wanted. I wasn't sure how it would look cutting some of the letters but I thought it turned out neat so I kept trimming.

I have 2 sizes of twine on hand...a thicker rope type twine & a string like twine. I didn't want to weigh it down too much so I used the smaller twine. You can thread the twine through the burlap like I did on Greyson's name banner, but I absolutely LOVE these tiny little clothes pins. I think they are so cute & this is usually what I use when I hang up any type of banner. 

It's that easy! I just adjusted the letters to the center of my mantel & wala!

Cute, inexpensive & crafty =)

I plan to use the rest of my burlap in a picture frame or two & monogramming is definitely on my mind. There are just so many things you can do! If you have any great ideas I would love to hear them!

Greyson's Birthday Party

{Greyson's Birthday Party}

Held: December 27, 2012

At: Our Home

(photo Sears portraits- Adorable shirt by Shelly St. John...check out her face book & etsy site here)

Greyson's first birthday was Dec. 9th, 2012. Since Matt's family lives near us, we had our mini party for him on his real day, but his REAL party wasn't held until 2 weeks later (after Christmas) when more  of the family was in town. 

I don't think it mattered to him much WHEN it was, but having both sets of Grandparents here made it extra special. 

Some families think having a big birthday party for the first one is a little over the top since they won't remember it. I made my decision based on the time of year Greyson was born & the fact that my family lives so far away. Since they (most likely) won't be in our area on his real birthday every year, this was really the only time I could plan to have it late (when it really wouldn't matter) & have the most people included & involved. It just worked better for us! The older he gets we'll still have nice parties & I'm pretty sure there will be a pony involved at one point...but in my eyes, this is the only party that will have this much work & details going into it. 

If we have more children I'll plan to do bigger, more details parties on the FIRST birthday & go easy on the rest. Makes my life a little less complicated in the long run! =) 

Theme: Sock Monkey's & Vintage Toys

I have always loved sock monkeys (we had one when we were little) but when I saw the newborn sock monkey hats, I knew I had to get one for Greyson's new born photos. Since then I always had this theme in the back of my mind & planned to use one of those photos at the party. With in that year, the sock monkey theme got so popular! It was easy to find lots of things out there to use for the party. 

I wanted something different than a cowboy theme, because that will come up eventually =) 

I also got another hat for his 12 month shoot & tied that in with his newborn photos. In addition to the sock monkeys, I had vintage toys that also reflected the theme of my baby shower up north! 

I had so much fun planning & making things for this party. I put some of my own special touches in the details & I absolutely loved how everything turned out!!! 

So without further delay...here is Greyson's party!

Smash Cake

 Candy "Bar" for the favor bags

Drink Table-  Coke & Root beer in glass bottles =)

 Hot Chocolate bar on a cold December evening! 

Peppermint marshmallow stirrers! 

Photo timeline banner (Newborn - 12 months) & gifts

 We did the gifts first so everyone could see him open everything instead of waiting till the end of the party. Plus, there is such thing as "too much birthday" & we knew giving cake before presents would be a disaster! 

Family & Friends at the party. We had around 25-27 people in attendance. Some friends were out of town, couldn't make it, or ended up sick...we missed them but it was still pretty full! I didn't get pictures of everyone but I'm so glad they all came =)

Menu:

Sloppy Joes & BBQ ham on small dinner rolls

Jalapeno cheeseball & crackers

Deer Bologna, cheese & crackers (compliments of my dad bringing it from PA)

Sweet pickles

Macaroni & Cheese (made by Karen Blankenship...which is always amazing!)

Cocktail weenies in sauce

Chips & French Onion dip

Banana Pudding (made by my mother in law...it's the best!) 

Chocolate & Vanilla cupcakes & smash cake (from Pell City Coffee Company...amazing!)

 Singing Happy Birthday! He was very quiet & looked around at everyone as I brought the cake out. He blew on his candle & kept blowing but had to have a little help to blow it all the way out.

He loved "smashing" his cake! He got icing everywhere, but managed to eat a good portion of his cake =) This one was less messy than his other birthday cake that had blue icing...-_-

The Kids favors (I had 8 total) 

Included:

Pencil pinwheels

Vintage toy- Small Wooly Willy game

Glow Stick

Bubbles

Candy

 The next day I took a picture of Greyson with his banner. Hence the PJ's!

Nana was leaving so we had to get a picture of Greyson sitting in his new rocking chair! 

{Special Thanks}

A HUGE Thank you to Richelle Ritchey (Aunt Chelle) for all of her hard work in making this day AWESOME! Not only did she take all of the pictures
(& spend an entire day or days editing them)
she also designed & ordered the Birthday invitations, ran errands for me, helped cleaned, wrote on all the notecards...etc. etc. etc!! She helped in pretty much every area to set up for the party. I could not have done it all with out her help. She is so talented & I'm so glad she was able to be here & be such a big part of Greyson's day. My brother (Uncle Brandon) also helped Richelle run the errands & watched Greyson part of the time =)

My mom (Nana) pretty much helped plan out the menu, helped me shop for everything, made almost all of the food & got it ready & set out. She also helped get things set up, picked up & watched Greyson while I was running around. Dad (papa) even gave Greyson his bath before the party & helped Matt move some of the furniture.

My best friend Emily Powell let me borrow what seemed like a never ending list of things from the high chair, to serving dishes! She helped with the set up, sprinkling of the cupcakes (among other things) =) & did a BUNCH of the clean up at the end of the party. She was a HUGE help all around & her husband, Matt, also helped carry & load all of these items as well as watched the kids & kept things "under control" haha for the most part =) 

Other friends & family helped with the food & also gave Greyson so many wonderful gifts for his party. We didn't have one thing duplicated all the way through Christmas & his birthday combined! 

A sweet friend of mine (Brenda) gave me a "time capsule" for one of my baby shower gifts. We have added special things to it all year...from his party we added all the cards he got & several of them had money in them. We plan to keep the money & cards in tact so that one day during another milestone of his life (we're not sure how old he will be, but MUCH older) we will give him the time capsule as a keepsake. 

I am so grateful for all the many friends & family that have added so much to our lives. Each one is special & means so much to us. We have been blessed more than anyone will ever know & praise God for all His goodness to us. This party wasn't just a celebration of Greyson's first year, but a THANK YOU to all those who have had a part in his life so far. From babysitting, to play dates & everything in between...we had a great year!