i have been trying to figure out how many hours i spent in the last year on pinterest. . . and it is not a pretty picture.
i justify it by the many things i have learned. somehow, before pinterest, i thought the only thing you could find online were crafty/sewing things (can we say 'tunnel-vision'?). pinterest opened up many new areas-- food, cleaning, organizing, photo tips, etc.
wow! you can find ANYTHING on the internet. so many ideas, so little time. . .
and one of the things i have actually tried is my very own laundry soap-- super cheap and less chemicals than store-bought kind.
i have seen many, many come across my pinterest board. the one that i tried and really liked was originally found here.
here are the ingredients:
borax (available at wal-mart, stain-remover aisle)
arm & hammer super washing soda (available at wal-mart, stain-remover aisle)
fels-naptha (available at wal-mart, stain-remover aisle)
grater
bucket
long spoon
i tried a small amount first. and it works great! my clothes are just as clean as my tide washed clothes.
my next goal was to make a LARGE batch-- like a year's worth of the stuff. (food storage and money savings all wrapped up together!)
i got myself a 5 gallon bucket and filled it-- 9 cups washing soda, 9 cups borax and 18 bars of Fels-Naptha, grated.
from what i have read, the liquid kind is actually cheaper, but seemed like a lot more work. and somehow, my math came out quite a bit cheaper than the original post suggests. here is my math:
4 gallons of laundry detergent= 1024 tablespoons
10 loads per week x 2 tablespoons per load = 20 tablespoons per week
20 tablespoons x 52 weeks per year = 1040 tablespoons per year
20 tablespoons x 52 weeks per year = 1040 tablespoons per year
18 bars of soap- $17.46
1 box borax- $3.76
1.5 box washing soda- $5.25
total- $26.47 per year
grocery store brand- $17.99 for 110 loads
5 bottles per year-
total- $89.95 per year
by my calculations, $.05 per load for my new, improved, self-made laundry soap.
ta-da!
I also tried the dishwashing soap-- didn't work so well. it clumped up and left a film on our glasses. we do have pretty hard water though, so perhaps that is why.
i recently saw an updated version that looks promising here. i might try it again someday. . .
one last tip i found that works really well: use a dryer sheet to cleam soap scum-- say what?
but it truly works! like a charm.
so, what is your favorite pinterest tip?
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I also tried the dishwashing soap-- didn't work so well. it clumped up and left a film on our glasses. we do have pretty hard water though, so perhaps that is why.
i recently saw an updated version that looks promising here. i might try it again someday. . .
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one last tip i found that works really well: use a dryer sheet to cleam soap scum-- say what?
but it truly works! like a charm.
so, what is your favorite pinterest tip?
Seriously? Dryer sheet to clean soap scum? I NEED to try this!!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I've stayed away from pintrest because I don't need another internet pastime keeping me from my sewing room. On the same hand, I love it when people share great things that they've found there because I don't have to use it.
ReplyDeleteI've made the dry homemade laundry soap. I loved it and used it but I've recently changed over to this laundry cream/mousse:
http://thewhitesilkpurse.blogspot.com/2010/10/laundry-soap.html
It's not as labor intensive as the liquid soap and doesn't have the dust factor of the dry. The dust factor was really bothering me. I read the comments on that post and did it all on the stove with a whisk and used it immediately. I love that there's no dust and it doesn't take as much space to store as the 5 gallons of liquid.
I'm going to try the dryer sheet thing right away! I've never heard of that! Thanks for the tip!
This is the recipe I use too and I LOVE it!! (Actually, I use half ivory soap and half fels-naptha because the fels-naptha is so strong smelling, and it works great!) I pinned your post on pinterest too. I cannot believe you grated all of those bars of soap at once! I would love to do it all at once like you have but I'm not sure I could do that much grating at once! How awesome that you only have to do it once a year. Thanks for the math to prove that it is SO worth it. I think the powder is better for HE washers, and yes, way easy!
ReplyDeleteI am excited to try it. Where do you buy the ingredients?
ReplyDeleteKnow that you have these tips, you can be savvy shopper when visiting warehouse clubs. Commercial warehouses help companies store goods in one centralized location so that the wares can be easily transported to their destination. Centralized storage reduces the cost of transporting the goods to various markets and makes it easy to process orders. Depending on the needs of the business unit, it can opt for one of the three types of warehousing facilities: Private, Public or Contract. Procurement means to obtain or get by effort a certain item. Naturally, this means how you obtain the materials and supplies in your warehouse. Supplement Warehouse Some Basic Facts Concerning Vitamins The least known and more East Coast and South chain. It's right in between Sam's and Costco it tend to be less crowded and well thought out. It has a deli for lunch meat, I like this.
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