Homemade Laundry Detergent LIQUID and POWDER Recipes

Homemade Laundry Detergent: Liquid & Powder Recipes

Why do I make home-made laundry detergent? Cause it saves me money (costing only pennies per load) without compromising on the cleaning power! It's way better than the bargain priced laundry detergent I've tried. I like its cleaning ability even better than the Tide brand.

Don't worry, it doesn't cost an arm 'n leg and you don't need a bunch of crap to mix it up. The first time I made a batch, I only spent a lil over $7.00 on the ingredients and I'm on my 3rd five-gallon batch already! But I really won't know the exact figure until I run out of ingredients. And I've got enough supplies to make much more if I just buy a few more sticks of soap!

Here's my simple homemade laundry detergent recipe for a liquid batch (dry powder recipe found at bottom). And remember, for the liquid version, most recipes will come out goopy and clumpy and my first time it was runny. This is normal. You can just give it a stir if it's still in the large bucket. Or if you've put it in a smaller, used laundry bottle, just give it a shake each time before using.

Cleaning supplies needed (All found at Wal-Mart):

1. 1 cup of Borax, cost around $3.00
2. 1 cup of Washing Soda (not baking soda), also costs around $3.00
3. 1 bar of soap called fels-naptha, $0.97, (found right beside the other two ingredients in the laundry section) or you can experiment with using other kinds if you wish. I also use a bar of Oil of Olay from time to time. But I've heard that heavily perfumed soaps are not great. Although I haven't had a problem yet with my experiments.

Okay now onto the mixing part. For the mixing, please note that you will need

• a 5 gallon bucket
• a grater
• a whisk
• a regular cooking pot
• measuring cup

First off, you will need to grate your bar of soap.

Then place that in a cooking pot with approximately 2 cups of water and boil it until it dilutes and turns to a smooth, soapy soup mixture. Then take off from heat.

Next step is to pour your diluted soap into your 5 gallon bucket, along with 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda. Mix it all up good with your whisk. Then fill the rest of your bucket with warm water. Mix again to make sure all is smooth and runny with no clumps. That's it! Just stick the lid on (if you don't have a lid, use plastic wrap!) and set aside for 24 hours. Then it's ready to use. Simply scoop out 1 cup per load of laundry and enjoy~

For a simple dry powder mix of homemade laundry detergent here's what you need:

1. 1 box of Borax
2. 1 box of Washing Soda (not baking soda)
3. 1 bar of soap called fels-naptha, (found right beside the other two ingredients in the laundry section) or you can experiment with using other kinds if you wish. I also use a bar of Oil of Olay from time to time. But I've heard that heavily perfumed soaps are not great. Although I haven't had a problem yet with my experiments.
4. 2 cups of powder oxy-clean (totally optional) but I love it.

You mix the entire box of Borax, the entire box of Washing Soda and the optional oxy-clean with the bar of grated soap. Yep, that's it! As you see here, the hardest part of this recipe is grating the bar of soap. Easy as pie. And the mix is so strong that you only need to use 2 tablespoons per load of laundry! It will go forever. Well, maybe not forever but a lot farther for your money. And that's what I'm after. Saving Money without compromising on the cleaning power.


~Please note: For the liquid mix, I've been experimenting again and have been now pouring around 3 cups of fabric softener to my liquid mix (before putting the lid on the bucket.)But keep in mind, this raises the cost of each batch a little. But it adds softness and a wonderful smell~ I got this idea from seeing that some detergent in stores says "with fabric softener." And so far it's been good, although I've noticed that the mix doesn't set up as thick. It kinda stays runny, but I don't mind because it's easy to transfer the mix through the use of a funnel to my smaller, used laundry containers.


And also, if your mix doesn't seem to set up, don't worry, you can still use it. There's nothing wrong with it. Sometimes, I didn't whisk mine enough and it stayed runny and once it came out clumpy.All types of water are different such as hard-water and such. Basically, it's your mix, make it as you will. As long as it is cleaning my clothes and saving me money, I love it.
I also read somewhere that if your clothes have a stench you can always add a a dash of baking soda, yes baking soda this time, to your water and that will take care of that. Hey~ I just might add a cup of baking soda to the mix also next time... who knows? Guess I will see what happens.

The History of Valentines Day

 

♥♥ The History of Valentines Day ♥♥

Valentine's Day, or as some say, Saint Valentine's Day is celebrated by people throughout the world on February 14. It is also known as lovers holiday. Whatever you call it, one thing is for sure, love is in the air.

According to Wikipedia, Valentine's Day was named after two early Christian martyrs whose names were Valentine. It wasn't until later in the High Middle Ages (1000–1300) when Geoffry Chaucer, an English author and poet, added the "romantic touch" to the holiday.
Love today is expressed in many different ways such as by the sending of love notes called "valentines", to those special someone's. Or you may elect to send a more elegant gift to show your affection such as flowers or candies. Often adorned on traditional packaging of these gifts you can find brightly colored hearts and images of Cupid.

Cupid, according to Roman mythology, is said to be the God of erotic love and beauty. When researching Cupid in the Wikipedia encyclopedia, I discovered Cupid to be the son of goddess Venus (goddess of love) and God Mercury (messenger god).

Don't forget your special one this Valentine's Day. Keep up with the times and send out mass e-cards. Or take it back a notch to the more thoughtful days. By sitting down, thinking of the person, and mail out a heartfelt, handwritten "valentine." Either you choose, remember, it's the thought that counts. ♥♥

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Author: Chordboard

Train Station Wood Hanging Sign 3.99

Train Station Sign

I started off with some long, skinny pieces of wood I had saved

from a previous project.

First, I drilled two holes at each end.

Then I used my laser and designed

the wording.

After burning the lettering in,

I took a gold tone, paint marker and

highlighted each letter.

This is just to give a dimensional effect.

And also used some twine to make the

hanger.

Lastly, I brushed some black on the edges

to give it a more rustic looking effect.

I've made a few and these will be

in my Booth #555

(B-LC555)

in the Morehead, KY Peddlers Mall

for $3.99 each.

           

          

      

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Halloween Mason Jars with Wooden Pumpkin Spoons

 

HALLOWEEN MASON JARS with Wooden Pumpkin Spoons

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Hey ya'll!

Here's a Halloween themed idea for those plain ole' Mason jars you may have.  And if you don't have any on hand, Walmart and even the Dollar General stores carry them in cases.

Plain jar before

The Halloween themed Mason jar looks like it has a lot going on. Really it was pretty simple.

Okay, so first off we need to clean the outside of the jar with a little bit of alcohol.  This will remove all dust, lint and crap so it will have a good, sharp finish.

I just wiped it down with a paper towel dipped in the alcohol.

Okay then just paint the inside of the jar a color you want to pop. I choose the Cinnamon color from Folk Art craft paints.  

Oops, this is a pic of another one I painted Cinnamon on the outside. But anyways, just paint the orange on the inside if you are going for the look of my top pic, or vice versa if for another. 

And for the outside I went with antique white.

 

Okay, I've switched up the pics somehow of the inside and outside, but this pic shows the white inside. But remember you want the white on the outside if you want it like the jar at the top of this page.

For some reason I've vice-versa'd the pics.

Okay, anyways, after you have painted a good coat on the outside in white, and its dry, take some fine grit sandpaper and sand it. 

And you'll start seeing this.

I like all the scratchy type marks.

And wipe all the dust off then add one coat of sealer. I like the varnish in satin.

And let it dry then decorate it with burlap strips, a bell

                         

      and some of my pre-made  

Halloween Themed Wooden Spoons.

And here it is finished:

And here's the other one I just finished up.

See ya'll next time,

-Lisa

Previous Similar Crafts

And Halloween Pumpkin and Ghost Wooden Spoons

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Easy Tree Display for Craft Booths

EASY Christmas Tree Display

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EASY CHRISTMAS TREE DISPLAY

This is a very simple design, so don't worry. Even though it looks complicated, you'll see it's definitely not.

I started out with some plain pieces of pine boards from our local home goods department store, Lowes. Here's what they looked like. I grabbed a few in different sizes.

They come in various widths and lengths.

Then I just free handed, in pencil, some tree edges right on the board where I'd cut them out with a jigsaw.

 This is the shape of the edges you want to create.

Painted it a forest green all over and then dry rubbed on some black streaks for contrast.

The box I had found was perfect for a base. So I sit the base inside the box and screwed on the flat piece of lumber to the bottom. Just to make sure it had enough weight to hold it down in place while standing.

It was just an old rough piece I had on hand. It worked great. I didn't mind the previous existing nail holes to the right.

And to make a hanging spot for hooked items,

I just tapped in some small steeples, or some call them large staples.

They are just U shaped and strong enough to hammer in with ease.

Leave them sticking out far enough so you can hang items though!

And that was it!


Don't let the thought of it being complicated keep you from trying it.
It was really a simple cut out.  The hardest part was finding a box for the bottom and then screwing on an extra flat piece of wood for the base to stand strong.

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

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Vintage Snowman Light Bulb Ornaments

 

Snowmen Light bulb Ornaments

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I have taken both new and vintage Christmas tree glass bulbs and painted them up as snowmen.

Their sizes are approximately:

Height: 3 Inches; Width: 1.5 Inches; Depth: 1 Inches

I have hand painted each Christmas bulbs with various Snowmen faces and expressions and then attached craft wire for easy hanging.

These are best displayed as a set. So, I tend to make a lot of them to sale.
A tree full of these would look awesome.

I do hand paint new ones each week, so no two are ever exactly alike. And that is a bonus

to making handmade gifts. Each and every one is unique.

Great to decorate with or to give as gifts separately. 

And adorable as cute tie-on gifts to top wrapped gifts with.

If you have any old bulbs on a strand that don't burn, anymore give this a try.
You can also buy brand new bulbs, this size in packages of 5 at Walmart and Lowes.

Happy Crafting!