A few weeks ago, my sister shared how to make homemade laundry detergent. Well, I made it and it turned out to be thicker than I wanted and I didn’t have a stock pot big enough for the experiment so I decided that perhaps, a powder was a better solution for us. I don’t mind powder and my machine has a special place just for the powder so that plenty of water rushes through the detergent to dissolve it. (more…)
Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent
The ingredients
Used stand mixer to shred the soap
After processing it
Homemade Hand Soap
Homemade hand soap and canning jar soap dispenser
Grated bar of soap in a stock pot
Blending it to get the right consistency
As promised, I’m back to tell you how I successfully made my own hand soap recently. I found the recipe on Pinterest, but tweaked it a little to what should be a foolproof method for everyone. Also, at the end of this post, I will show you where to go to learn how to turn a canning jar into a soap dispenser–a double dose of fun!
I am going to read your minds and answer three questions about making hand soap before you ask them: yes, it works great, yes it’s cost-saving and yes, it was easy! Although I’ve listed four ingredients here, it really can be made with two simple ingredients–a bar of soap and water.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
I read the Duggar’s book, 20 and Counting, a couple years ago. In that book, they offered a recipe for a powdered laundry detergent. But, I’ve always been partial to liquid detergents, so I never tried making it. That book planted a seed of desire to try making my own detergent, so when I saw a recipe for a liquid version on Pinterest, I was all ready to try try it. It took me a little time to track down all the components that I needed, but last week I finally brewed a batch, and am very pleased. As well, I tried a couple easy recipes for fabric softener, and have been very happy with them as well.
Thift Store Shopping Tips
Rachel came to visit us in Charlotte this past weekend with her youngest and we had a great time! My daughter had so much fun with her cousin and we had a great time just showing Rachel our life in Charlotte. On Sunday afternoon during nap time, we went to a local thrift store. I found this store about 9 months ago and have been dying to go back. However, it’s not in the nicest part of town so I was reticent to go by myself. So I dragged my sister as my body guard and we embarked on the journey. For those of you in Charlotte, the thrift store is Value Village on Central. (more…)
Starbucks Frappuccino
You might be wondering what Starbucks frappuccino is doing as a topic on a Thrifty Thursday. Starbucks is anything but thrifty. Even with coupons, these little jars can cost more than I’m willing to spend. But they are oh, so good! So here’s my thrifty solution – make it yourself! (more…)
Refill Swiffer Wet Jet Bottles
I love my Swiffer wet jet. I don’t like the cost of replacement cleaning solution. For the longest time, I thought they were impossible to open, refill and close again. But one day, I was able to unscrew it without a problem. So now I refill my wet jet bottles with Pine-sol and water. If you need a little help opening the bottle, try this method on YouTube. (more…)
Cleaning a Wedding Dress in the Bathtub
Working the soap into the hem
Can you see the dirt along the hem - it's gone!
Hanging to dry in the shower
My husband and I have been married for 8.5 years. Due to living far away, I’ve stored my wedding dress at my parents house. We finally managed to get it to our house only to find that it was filthy. We hadn’t bothered to have it cleaned after the last time I wore it (and I did wear it twice – we had a reception about 5 months after the wedding). Not only was the bottom of it dirty and greasy, but there was some sort of food stain that looked like chocolate sauce right on the front of it. (more…)
Mint.com
When we returned to the states, I wanted a good budgeting software without the hefty price and that’s when I stumbled on Mint.com. Not only is it good, it’s free! Intuit purchased it at some point so there’s also a good name behind it. It’s easy to use, keeps us on budget, sends us alerts when we’re spending too much and downloads all of our account information into one place. Best of all, it’s on the internet so I can access it from anywhere. There’s also an Android and iPhone app.
So if you’re looking for a great way to manage your money, check out mint.com and see what you think.
DIY Message Center
I used plexiglass for the writing surface
I used scrapbooking supplies to embellish
Magnetic clips hold the center together
For a while, I looked for a message center that had all the things I wanted. I had my eye on a Pottery Barn one, but found it WAY too expensive for my budget. We had a piece of plexiglass sitting around and I thought, hmmm, that would make a nice message center. So I assembled my supplies and got to work. (more…)
Making Cloth Diapers
Pocket diapers made from old t-shirts
Pocket diaper with insert
A look at the pocket
When I was pregnant with my daughter, a friend of mine was really into making her own cloth diapers and she convinced me to make my own. Because we were living in Germany, cloth diapers were expensive and we didn’t have as many choices and disposables were expensive too. So I embarked on the diaper making journey of a lifetime. (more…)