Here's the fun we are having around the home.
Home made cleaning products:
A friend of mine kindly demonstrated some of her favorite home made cleaning products for our Mom2mom group last month.
I may be hooked.
"Why would you make your own cleaning products?" - You may be asking. Or maybe you aren't. But either way - let me tell you!
1. Cost. Phenomenally cheaper!
2. Environment. Am I all into being green and stuff? Um, really not as much as I need to be. But even one such as I, who just threw all of the empty cans for the huge crock pot of super bowl chili away into my trash can (sorry, sorry, sorry!), can recognize that this is good. Chemical free.
3. This one is pretty simple. They work. Yay!
4. Oh - we can't forget - Satisfaction! *Smile*
Okay - here are the ones I love (Oh - and don't let the ingredients scare you - I found washing soda, borax, and Fels Naptha in the cleaning aisle in our store):
Laundry detergent
1 bar Fels Naptha - grated
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Arm and Hammer WASHING Soda
Directions:
If you have a food processor, you can shave the bar soap in about 15 seconds. Add all the ingredients together in a 16 oz. container. Shake well and use 1 Tablespoon per load. Use extra for super soiled clothes or extra hard water.
Breaks down to $0.07 per load!!
Glass cleaner
3 TBSP Rubbing Alcohol
1 TBSP vinegar
Purified water
Directions:
Pour first two ingredients into a 16 oz bottle and fill the rest of the way with water. Shake and spray.
Breaks down to $0.17 per bottle!!
Disinfectant
2 TBSP Borax
4 TBSP Vinegar
3 Cups Hot Water
Directions:
Pour first two ingredients into a small bowl. Take a spoon and make sure that the borax is smooth. Add to spray bottle then add the hot water. Mix well.
Breaks down to $0.09 per bottle!
All Purpose cleaner
1/4 C Vinegar
1/4 C Baking Soda or 2 tsp Borax
(few droops) Dish Detergent
Purified Water
Directions:
Pour first two ingredients into small bowl. Take a spoon and make sure that the borax or baking soda is smooth. Add to 16 oz spray bottle. Add a few drops of dish detergent then fill up the rest of the way with water. Shake until dissolved.
Breaks down to $0.19 per bottle
Baby wipes
1 Roll of Bounty paper towels
2 TBSP Baby Oil
2 TBSP Baby Shampoo
1 good squeeze Baby Lotion
2 C Purified Water
(optional)
Few drops Essential Oils
2 TBSP Aloe Vera Gel
3 Vitamin E capsules - prick with needle and squeeze out
Directions:
Bring 2 C water to a boil in pot. Add oil, shampoo, and lotion (+ Aloe Vera if preferred). Stir until fully dissolved. Turn off heat. Cut the paper towel roll in half with bread knife. Place halved roll into 4 Qt. round plastic container with lid (Folgers coffee ones work best or Ziploc storage square container). Pour soapy mixture over roll. Place lid on and wait about 5 minutes. Flip container over and wait another 5 minutes. Pour out excess liquid and remove cardboard tube from center of roll. pull wipes from center.
Breaks down to $0.01 per wipe!!
*******************************************************
To be honest, I have always been a bit of a Huggies snob when it comes to wipes. They are so nice and thick. That helps when you are dealing with a really yuck-o diaper. So, I still have Huggies wipes on hand for those really bad diapers. BUT - I have these on hand too, and it ends up helping me go through the other wipes half as fast. The home made ones DO clean well and they smell really good.
Home decor:
Shamelessly stole this idea from my friend Hayley. When we visited them last summer I absolutely fell in love with her amazing, warm, classy, and homey decorating skills! I loved the white lights she had, accenting particular areas of their home! Her recent blog posts on "white light love" influenced me to try it too.
They make me insanely happy.
Crafting fun:
The Valentine's Day crafting has begun. Not like I always do Valentine's Day crafting - or that I will do more, but hey, it sounded good anyway. ;)
Today me and the boys
Let me introduce you to ~ The Love Boat...
Such fun! Now they are making cards and sticking them in the back - where we put a little slot for such things. Thank you very much Family Fun Magazine!!
4 comments:
Well aren't you the crafty one!
Actually, I have white lights above my kitchen cabinets that stay up year round. They make me equally happy.
I have (briefly) looked into homemade cleaning supplies....the lack of chemicals is very attractive to me, but it boils down to "I just don't have the time to do this right now, even if it is cheaper." I will definitely be stashing these recipes away for future reference, though--maybe someday when I'm not working allllll the time??
And oh golly...that LOVE BOAT is too stinkin' cute!
These are the BEST homemade cleaning recipes I think I've ever seen! Wow! Could I pretty pretty please ask permission to use these recipes for a Thrifty Thursday post? I'll give credit to you or your friend...or whoever it should go to! If you could let me know sometime (even after your birthday frivolities) that would be great! Thanks!
Wendi...I'm embarrassed...in my attempt to use words with more than two syllables and comprehendable by toddlers, I used "frivolities" instead of "festivities". Your birthday celebrations are not frivolous by any means but should be lived and enjoyed to the fullest! :) Oops! I'll stick to my toddler lingo!
Post a Comment