Era Might Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Dollar Store, the only way to shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 a 2" ball of crumbled up aluminum foil in the dryer will eliminate static cling :) I'm going to have to try that. Thanks. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zabbazooey Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 How easy is it to do this? I am interested in saving money but also extremely lazy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 SUPER EASY Assuming u have a food proccessor... Get three bars of Fels-Naptha. Grate them with the food processor. Then put the choppy thing in and pulse until it's pretty chopped up. In a big container mix that, a box of borax, a box of super washing soda, 4lbs of baking soda, ad a 1 lbs., 3 oz. container of oxy clean. Mix it really well. Use the scoop from the oxy lean for your new detergent. The cost is about $0.04/load. Most store bought is about 3 times as much... It takes me all of 10 minutes to make... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 SUPER EASY Assuming u have a food proccessor... Get three bars of Fels-Naptha. Grate them with the food processor. Then put the choppy thing in and pulse until it's pretty chopped up. In a big container mix that, a box of borax, a box of super washing soda, 4lbs of baking soda, ad a 1 lbs., 3 oz. container of oxy clean. Mix it really well. Use the scoop from the oxy lean for your new detergent. The cost is about $0.04/load. Most store bought is about 3 times as much... It takes me all of 10 minutes to make... Yes! This is basically how I do it as well. haha I might use more FelsNaptha, like 4-5 bars instead of 3. It depends on the day and what I have on hand. One box of washing soda, one box of borax, and one large (4lb) box of baking soda (they sell it at Walmart right next to the washing soda). I generally still keep my OxyClean---I actually use SunOxygen, it uses less (the scoop is smaller) and is cheaper, but works just as well---in a separate container because sometimes I use it to scrub on stubborn stains before throwing them into the wash. I know some people take the powdered mixture and melt it down on the stove with water (gallons...) to make liquid detergent, but I've decided that's an unnecessary step and a hassle. Keeping it powdered is more compact, too (or at the very least I don't have to make it as often). I keep it in a 3 gallon Rubbermaid container. This amount lasts months and months. If you don't have a food processor you can get one fairly cheap (around $30 for a bigger one with different attachments) at Walmart or Target. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough to grate/chop the soap up pretty fine. This site breaks the cost down really well (I've been winging it since the first few times I made it, so I googled to find someone else who had already done the math). For about $20 (more or less depending on where you shop and if you have coupons) you can do about 500 loads of laundry. A large container of Tide does less than 1/4 of that and costs almost as much. http://happymoneysaver.com/making-your-own-laundry-detergent-worth-the-cost/ This lady says it lasted her family of 6 10 months. I haven't counted, but I'd say that sounds about right for how long it's lasted my family of 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 (edited) Another DIY. I don't buy Windex. I just use a little cheap spray bottle I got from Walmart (near the hair care aisle) and add some vinegar and water (50/50, or close to it... I'm notorious about not really measuring) and use that to wash windows and mirrors. It's amesome. Also, to clean my showers and tubs I use a big spray bottle (you can get them at Lowes or Walmart in the cleaning aisle) and use a mixture of dish soap (I use the store brand equivalent of Dawn) and vinegar. 1 part water, 1 part, vinegar, 1 part soap. Works fantastic. Sometimes I don't even scrub. Edited June 30, 2013 by IcePrincessKRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 I am going to try the windex substitute...I just got a big ole gallon container of vinegar.... Lol That stuff does everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 Do u have a HE washer? I wanted to throw in another bar to the laundry detergent, but I worry about it testing too sudsy. And I flipping love the smell of Fels-Naptha....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 My great-grandmother first taught me the vinegar-window-washing trick when I was about 15. She actually used straight vinegar and crumpled newspapers. I know it doesn't sound practical at all, but it totally works. I find the spray bottle is easier to use, and I just tend to use paper towels because I don't always have newspaper on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Do u have a HE washer? I wanted to throw in another bar to the laundry detergent, but I worry about it testing too sudsy. And I flipping love the smell of Fels-Naptha....lol I don't. I have a regular old top loader (which I've gone back and forth on, but I really like being able to fill it up and pre-soak things). I don't think Fels Naptha creates a huge amount of lather, though, so I think you'd probably be ok to add an extra bar. I wouldn't add much more than that just to be on the safe side. I've used the bar to scrub stains before, and it didn't really foam up all that much. Plus, there is such a high soap to powder ratio that I don't think one extra bar will make a tremendous difference. Even liquified it didn't suds up much. I do really like the smell of FN. I've been using it for so long, and used unscented detergent for years before that, that now when I smell a regular laundry detergent it's almost too much scent and can be kind of nauseating. There are some that I still think are really nice, but others just hit you so hard it's ew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestertonian Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Cool tips for keeping towels fluffy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pwuzm0GiiC8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 My great-grandmother first taught me the vinegar-window-washing trick when I was about 15. She actually used straight vinegar and crumpled newspapers. I know it doesn't sound practical at all, but it totally works. I find the spray bottle is easier to use, and I just tend to use paper towels because I don't always have newspaper on hand. That's what we did in the convent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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