Archive for 12/21/11

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Dryer Sheets

From: http://searching4hiddentreasures.blogspot.com/2011/02/home-made-laundry-detergent.html


DRYER SHEETS:

Ingredients:

1 container of your favorite fabric softener  (or better still, click here to learn how to make your own!)
a bucket
water 
2 sponges

Directions:

Pour fabric softener in bucket.  Add 2 parts water.  (Fill your fabric softner container with water twice and add to bucket.)  Mix well.  Throw in your sponges.  Ring your sponge out and add it to dryer with your clean, wet clothes.  Return sponge to mixture when clothes are dry.  

There you have it!!  Life is easier already!  =)

  My "dryer sheets".  
I really have issues when it comes to doing laundry, so I made my bucket as pretty and colorful as possible and believe it or not, it helps me out.  ;)

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Homemade Fabric Softener


You need:

  • 8 cups white vinegar 
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
  •  1 cup baking soda 
  • Essentials oils of your choice (like lavender, lemon, orange...)
Directions:

In a big bucket (this will be fizzy) mix vinegar and water.  Slowly add baking soda; stirring constantly.  Use a funnel to pour this mixture into a gallon size container.  Add 1/3 teaspoon of essential oil to the gallon container.  For a stronger smell you can add more.  Shake before each use.  Add about a half a cup to a whole cup to the fabric softener dispenser depending on the size and content of your load.

You can add 3-5 drops of eucalyptus or tea tree oil to the dispenser along with the fabric softener to kill bacteria, mold, and viruses.  

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Dish Washing Detergent

From: http://searching4hiddentreasures.blogspot.com/2011/06/dish-washing-detergent.html


All you need:
1 cup Borax  (found in the laundry detergent aisle)
1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda - not baking soda.  It's better than baking soda at breaking through grease and grime.  (also found in the laundry detergent aisle)

Sift through any clumps.  Store in a jar or storage container.  keep lid sealed tightly while stored.  Put 1-2 tablespoons in soap dispenser per load.  
                                                                                                                 
For a rinse aid, you can use distilled white vinegar in the rinse compartment.  White vinegar is really good at cleaning glass and cutting through water spots.

And there you have it...free Dish Washing Detergent! (if you already had the borax and washing soda)  You can't beat that!!  I love saving money!!!!  

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Homemade Liquid Dish Soap

From: http://searching4hiddentreasures.blogspot.com/2011/07/homemade-liquid-dish-soap.html
 See how nice and thick it looks! 

Ingredients:
  • 1 quart (8 cups) of water
  • 1/2 bar of your favorite soap  (I use Ivory, but you can use castle or whatever you like best.)
  • 2 cups of vinegar to cut the grease  (I suppose lemon juice would do the trick too, but citrus takes the shine out of your silver ware too, so I use vinegar.)
Directions:

Boil water on stove top.  Grate your bar of soap (I use my food processor) and add it to the boiling water.  Mix well.  Let simmer.  Remove from heat and mix with electric mixer.  Be sure the soap and water is mixed well so that it doesn't separate.  Return to stove and simmer a little longer.  Remove from stove and add vinegar (or lemon juice).  Mix with mixer again.  Let cool a bit.  Pour into whatever container you want to keep it in and let it sit for a while to thicken. (Be careful not to pour HOT liquid into a plastic container as it could melt the container and/or burn you.)  Mine fit into a 14 ounce bottle with a tiny bit left over.

(You probably don't need to mix as much as I did, but I didn't want it to seperate and I already had the mixer out - so why not??  You can play with it and do your own thing.)

There will not be any bubbles.  We have grown so accustomed to seeing bubbles that we don't feel we've cleaned anything without them, but we must remember bubbles don't clean things.  Soap does! 

Also ~ If your soap ends up a little too thick, you can simply dilute it with a little water until you like it.