Question for you Laundry Soap Makers...

Hey girls...those of you who made your own laundry soap...do you still like it? I really did at first, thought it make my whites a little brighter and they smelled so fresh, but lately, I think my whites are getting dingier and dingier. Today, I really noticed in my white T-Shirts and the socks...they are just not coming clean. Wonder if anyone else has noticed this, or if it's just me? Not too sure I'm going to make another batch of it if this trend continues. How 'bout you all?

All in a Day's Work!

This is what it looked like this morning. {actually, this is the vanity in the master bath b/c I forgot to get a before picture of the guest bath, but it looks just the same!} Beautiful Oak, but dated...ya know? First I used Liquid Sandpaper on all the wood, cleaning it before I did anything else.

Took all the hardward off...and the doors...and primed with KILZ. That stuff stinks, but it sure works good! I don't always prime my wood furniture, but when it comes to cabinets that are going to get knocked around, I think it's important. It'll get chipped, and if I were to REALLY do this right, I would have gotten a DARK Kilz...so when I do chip it, it won't show white! I just didn't want to spend a dime on this project...so I used what I had on hand. I brushed it on b/c it was such a small project. Normally, I would have rolled the bigger pieces.

Here I go...it's all primed. Gotta wait 1 hr. and I can paint with the real stuff! That's MY kind of project! I really dislike having to WAIT for things to dry! Patience is a virtue...and I'm still learning that one...sometimes the HARD way!

And voila'...the finished project!! Yes, I put 2 coats of black satin on today. Should really have waited and done one coat today and the final tomorrow, but since we aren't going to be using this bathroom, I thought it was okay to proceed.

If it were my KITCHEN CABINETS (AMY!!!), I would put 1 coat on and let the first harden up before the second one goes on!

I'm just sayin...

As soon as I took these pictures, I opened the cabinet door and the drawers so there would be no sticking of paint going on. That would have gotten me a little in a tissy tomorrow!

See that nappy vinyl?? See how it's curling up under the vanity? Well, it's doing that in front of the tub too! PLUS...it's PINK! How old IS this stuff, anyhow?? What are we going to do about that? HMMMMM??

Well, lookie here!!!! Found this on Craigslist, about 5 minutes away from my house, for.....are you sitting down??? {of course you are....you're at the computer!!}

$5.00 a BOX!!!!

Yeppers peppers...that's $20.00 for the ENTIRE bathroom floor...hardwood, prefinished, tongue and groove Oak Flooring! Who'd a thunk?? I'll be sure to take snaps as the project continues, but for now, it's nice outside and my mister is working on his John Deere's...guess that's a good thing, b/c winter will be here before we know it and we'll have to get the cars in the garage! Maybe the hardwood will get laid then?? Ya think? ; )

He never reads my blog, so I can say that, right?

Moral of this story...

Be patient....and you'll find just what you need...at a fraction of the cost if it was new! I love making my home pretty...it really makes me happy.

And when Mama's happy, everyone's happy!

{wish that were always true!}

THE END!

Homemade Laundry Soap

Okay girls...I DID IT!! I just happened to be out of Tide. Kathy (or was it Natalie?) and Carolyn BOTH send me this link last week and I was going to the grocery store the next day. So...I popped myself on in to Big Lots (I did some research on where to find this ZOTE soap) and that store happened to be next door to Ultra grocery store, where I think they might just have all kinds of "old school" stuff. Sure enough, I was able to find all the 'ingredients' I needed in 2 quick stops. I'll give you the price rundown at the end. First, you gotta see this stuff being made! Here's what my shopping list consisted of...

Now, the website where this was found said you could use 3 bars of Fels Naptha, Ivory, Castile or PINK Zote soap. I found all of those at Ultra but b/c the PINK ZOTE was so pretty, I decided to go with that. Also, the Fels Naptha smelled a little more "industrial" to me and I've heard tell that Ivory Soap really isn't 99.9% pure afterall! (horror or horrors!!) The Zote has a very soft, "grandma" smell to it and since I JUST HAPPEN to be a new Grammy, I picked that one! (rocket science at it's best!) When I found these bars, I thought it felt like there were 4 smaller bars in each of these bricks, so I only picked up 2 packages, thinking I had 8 bars on my hands. I was wrong...I just had 2 BIG bars of soap. BUT...since I'm thinking the ZOTE is only used for 'scent', I decided to just make it one bar short. I also thought if my water wasn't warm enough, those little ZOTE shreds would make a mucky paste on my black t-shirts...and that don't make Grammy happy! Here's what this old fashioned soap looks like all unwrapped! Kind of like Pepto Bismol in a bar...but it doesn't smell like wintergreen!

The directions said that I could shred it by hand, but I'm not that much of a naturalist...and opted for the rapid method and whipped out my handy-dandy food processor. This is a very soft, waxy soap (probably all filler!) and shredded really easy. I just cut this bar into 4 pieces to fit in the tube and it shredded like cheese!

Pink cheese...

I don't think I'd like pink cheese, so I wasn't even tempted to nibble on this once!

But OHHH BABY....when it got mixed into the other ingredients, it looked a lot like confetti cake mix...and I WAS tempted to shove some of that in my mouth! I hadn't said any bad words lately though, so I proceeded to the packaging part of it. Sofar, I've spent about 10 minutes...that included getting out my big mixing bowl to mix it in, and set up the food processor AND finding what I wanted to store it in!! I just dumped it all in together and mixed it with my bare hands. Now I have soft hands AND 2 Gallons of homemade laundry soap!!

My packaging isn't nearly as pretty as The "Beehive lady" but I did get it stored in an airtight container. (that isn't a rule for storing laundry detergent, but I like it that way!) For now, I have mine in a 1 gallon Ice Cream container (I had to eat all the ice cream first!), a 1 gallon ziplock bag (that's my idea of a refill package!) and a pint for Ally. (b/c she's out of Tide too, and wanted to try mine BEFORE she invested in all the ingredients and made her own! (chicken...bawk, bawk!) I have NO idea if this will work, if it'll smell good or if I'll ever make it again, but I WILL be back to let you know if I like it or not! In the meantime, if you are brave, here's the 'recipe'!

Homemade Laundry Soap

3 bars Fels Naptha Soap (grated) or Ivory, Castile or PINK Zote bar soap
1 Box Borax- 4 lbs.
1 Box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda- 4 lbs.
1 Box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- 4 lbs.

Grate soap with cheese grater (or food processor) and mix with other ingredients.

For lightly soiled clothes, use 1 T., for heavy soiled, use 2 T. per load.
For the rinse, use 1/2 c. white vinegar to the rinse cycle. No odor, whitens and softens clothes!
No need for fabric softener or Tide anymore!

Here's the breakdown on price, so you can compare if it's worth your time!

Zote soap- .80 each at Big Lots (I read that The Dollar Tree has it too...but then it'd be a dollar...so I beat the price!)
Borax, 4 lb. box- $3.69
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 3.7 lb. box- $2.99 each
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 4 lb box- $2.79

Total cost for 15 lbs. of soap??? $11.87

Cool, huh?