Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I want to take a picture!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
I made laundry detergent!
One of the things I don't seem to be able get as cheaply as I would like is laundry detergent. Don't get me wrong. I get good deals, but laundry detergent is still a bit expensive. And I'm not a brand snob. It doesn't matter which brand is on sale if it's a good sale.
While trying to see where I could cut corners and save pennies, I went on a quest for a more economical way to wash laundry. I found several websites with instructions on how to make your own laundry detergent. I know one of my real life friends does this and also one of my blogger friends. And to tell you the truth, I thought it was a little weird (sorry guys!). I never pictured myself even being remotely interested in making my own laundry detergent....until one site did the math. Their numbers may be a little different from mine, but the final price is going to be somewhat close. I paid about $10.00 for the ingredients to make my laundry detergent and I will use around 2 to 3 Tablespoons for each load of laundry. The recipe that I used (I actually changed it a bit) made 12 cups of detergent. Keep in mind that I will only be using 3 Tablespoons at the most meaning it's going to last a while.
If you are interested in making your own laundry detergent, I have instructions with pictures below. I'm also going to include a recipe for dishwasher detergent. I haven't tried it, but I may after I get through all the detergent I already have. Also, if you are interested in liquid laundry detergent, just type "homemade laundry detergent recipes" into your searchbox (swagbucks if you are a member, if you're not a member you can sign up with the button at the very bottom of my page and earn bucks to redeem on lots of awesome free stuff!) and it should bring up links to several sites with recipes.
Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe
Ingredients:
4 Cups Borax (the brand is 20 Mule Team and you can find this in the laundry aisle in your grocery store. I had no trouble finding it in 3 grocery stores in our town of 6,000 people)
4 Cups Washing Soda (The brand is Arm & Hammer. This is NOT baking soda {totally different}. I had a lot of trouble finding this. My friend said that she gets it at Wal-Mart. I had to special order mine from Ace Hardware. Some grocery stores carry it, not Food Lion, though.)
2 bars of Zote laundry soap (You can also use Fels Naptha or Ivory. This was in the laundry aisle of two of our grocery stores. I didn't find the Fels Naptha anywhere.)
1 container to store the detergent
If you have a hard time finding these ingredients, they are sold on Amazon.com.
Monday, October 18, 2010
18 Month Pictures....FINALLY!
The photographer enticed Chloe Jo to sit in the chair by giving her this bear. She knew I didn't want the props, but it was just a way to get her to do what we wanted. You can tell she wasn't thrilled with getting her pictures taken, but she gave us a few grins and a few very sweet pictures.
Making a break for it!Sunday, October 17, 2010
She's Rebelling









I brought her new favorite toy with us to entice her to smile more. She got this slinky at the doctor's last week.

