Loving my Homemade Laundry Soap

I am sure by now if you watch the Duggars or read any of the blogs out there, chances are you have heard of people making their own laundry detergent. 

Well, I have finally joined the ranks and am SO glad I have!  I have made about 3 batches now and plan to continue on as long as I can find the supplies. 

I actually made a batch of homemade liquid laundry many months ago and but didn't care much for it.  I had used Ivory soap instead of the soap the recipe suggests.  I also diluted it, like the recipe calls for, but it turns out I prefer to not dilute it so much. 

This recipe is so easy, so cheap and not full of harsh chemicals.  Here it is:

• 4 Cups - hot tap water
• 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar ( I have only been able to find these at Walmart and when I do I buy several now because evidently I am not the only homemade laundry soap maker round these parts : )
• 1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• ½ Cup Borax

I start by boiling my water, then I grate the bar of soap (I use my handy dandy food processor for this). Once the water gets good and hot I add the soap into the saucepan. Then stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Next, fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.  This whole process takes about 15 - 20 minutes tops.

The most time consuming thing about making this laundry soap is that you have to let it sit overnight to gel, which is really not a huge deal at all. 

Once your soap has sat overnight it is ready to use.  Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser or empty milk jug.  The other option, which I didn't like as much is that you can half full with soap and fill the jug half full and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use.

Either way you do it, it will gel.  I feel like it gels more when you don't dilute it as much.  Depending on whether you decide to dilute it or not you will end up with either 5 ot 10 gallons of laundry detergent for a fraction of the store bought stuff.  Yippee, aren't you excited!  I know I am! 

I am sure that many of you are wondering if this stuff really gets the clothes clean, and my answer is a definite yes!  I have 2 little boys and it gets their stuff clean - that kinda says it all right?  You may also be wondering how it smells, well my husband has not complained.  When I would buy the store bought stuff, I'd get the fragrance and dye free stuff and he used to say that his clean clothes smelled like feet : ) So far no smelly feet comments so I aqm thinking we are doing good. 

I L-O-V-E Yardsales!!

I have been a yard sale girl for many years.  I love getting things for a bargain.  Why pay full price when I can find something for so much cheaper. 

Most Saturday mornings I am up and out the door, usually by 7 or 7:30 am.  I like to be early, but not too early.  The early bird does get the worm when it comes to yard sales.  Most of the time I go solo, sometimes Computer Girl goes with me and occasionally we all go

The Lord has majorly blessed us through yard sales.  I can not even begin to to tell you about the very nice clothes that we have got for the kids at.  I mean really NICE stuff.  I am especially thinking about all the long sleeve button up dress shirts and corduroy pants that I have found for Alpha Boy.  Yard sales are a great place to find church dresses for my girls.  Games for the kids... yard sales.  Books, books and books....you guessed it, yard sales. 

I have a general route that I drive through the neighborhoods and I normally stop even if the yard sale looks like a dud.  I have found some great things at yard sales that don't look like much.  For instance, a few months ago I was out with Computer Girl and we found a yard sale.  This guy had a small table and that was pretty much it.  BUT we stopped and I got a cast iron griddle that I have been wanting for a while.  These things are $50 new, I paid $5 for mine.  I am still excited about this one! 

In addition to my normal route I will usually check Craigslist.  Several weeks ago, I came across a yard sale that had lots of HOMESCHOOL books!  Can I tell you I loaded up on science and history readers, as well as a microscope and some math manipulative's, for like $25 total!

Yard sales that have kids books are a dime a dozen.  Yard sales that have homeschool books seem to be a rarity, but I found another one today!  I got a few grammar books, science readers and some great history books.  Most of the history read alouds that I got are about  $10-20 each, if purchased new.  I got the following books for a TOTAL of $16:

• George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster
• The World of Columbus and Sons by Genevieve Foster
• Poor Richard by James Daughtery
• Of Courage Undaunted by James Daughtery
• From Sea to Shining Sea for Children: Discovering God's Plan for America in Her First Half-Century of Independence, 1787-1837 by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
• The Light and the Glory for Children : Discovering God's Plan for America from Christopher Columbus to George Washington by by Peter Marshall & David Manuel

We are pretty set for American History next year!  Isn't that a blessing!!

So when people have asked me questions like, "Is it really worth getting up early and going to yard sales?" or "Do you find anything good?" My answer is Y-E-S!!!  Some people think that yard sales are full of junk but really there aren't.  Yard sales are full of great treasures, you just have to be willing to go find them.  I have found some amazing things at yard sales and am so thankful for them!! 

Do you have any yard sale tips?  What great things have you found lately from yard sales?