Homemade Cloth Diaper Laundry Detergent

We have been using cloth diapers for nearly a year now and happy to say it is going quite well. We have been making our own liquid laundry detergent for a while, but found that we wouldn't be able to use in on our cloth diapers. The soap in the liquid detergent will build up residue and keep the diapers from absorbing well over time. So I had to find a recipe that would be compatible with cloth diapers. After searching online I found a number of recipes. Finding that they were all different in their own way I adapted them to create my own.

I have been using this recipe for as long as we have been cloth diapering. I have found it has been working very well. I will save my laundry process cloth diapers for another post, but for now I will share the recipe that I have been using.

All you need are three ingredients:

• 2 cups Borax
• 2 cups Washing Soda
• 2 cups Oxi Clean

Mix well and store. I saved back an empty coffee can and gave it a fresh look to store my detergent in and use a scoop from a baby formula jug. When I begin my wash cycle I just add one scoop for a small load and two for a large load. All three ingredients can be found in the laundry soap aisle at your local grocery store.

Hope this works for you like it does for me. Enjoy!

Homemade Tooth Paste

Home made tooth paste? Really? Yes, really. And simple too! I have found many different ways to make it, but I ended up doing it this way, because it just made more sense to me. After some trial and error I feel have reached a mixture I am happy with.

Just mix equal parts coconut oil, xylitol, and baking soda. I did 1/4 cup of each. Then I added about 18-20 drops of spearmint oil to take the edge off the saltiness of the baking soda as well as to make my mouth feel fresher.

COCONUT OIL:  Has anti microbial and anti viral properties.

XYLITOL: Is an all natural sweetner, and is helpful in reducing plaque, has antimicrobial properties, and helps prevent tooth decay.

BAKING SODA: Plaque remover, whitener, cleans teeth and gums, helps prevent infections, and neutralizes acids in your mouth.

SPEARMINT/PEPPERMINT OIL: Adds to taste and helps take away the saltiness of the baking soda. It is also and antiseptic and helps remove bad breath.

As you can see it has a consistency similar to mashed potatoes. Just scoop onto your tooth brush to use. I will say, it takes a little getting used to. If you expect the same sudsy bath you give your teeth with regular store bought tooth paste you will be disappointed. But your teeth will feel clean after using it.

My husband was a little unsure at first, but soon was on board. Our son, well, not so much. But we'll keep working on him. If your kids still swallow their toothpaste I wouldn't really recommend the use of essential oils until you have researched them and are comfortable in doing so.

Enjoy!

Homemade Dish Soap

In an effort to save money and to rid our household of harsh chemicals I have been making my own cleaning products. My first experience was my own laundry detergent. I have since made my own soap scum remover. My latest endevor has been dish soap.

I looked for a long time trying to find a recipe that made the most sense and this recipe is the one I decided to try. It includes only four main components and was rather simple to make:

I used Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, found in the laundry detergent aisle, Kirk's Castile bar soap, Tea Tree Oil essential oil, and white vinegar. The recipe I followed actually used liquid Castile soap, but I used the bar soap and just grated it. I also doubled my recipe so I don't have to make it that often.

Make sure to let it cool completey and stir well to make sure the soap dissolves into the mixture. There won't be a lot of suds, but I noticed I really didn't have any. I could see the soap was mixed well in the water, but suds have always made me feel like the soap was "working".  I have read, however, that you may have a better chance of suds if you have soft water. We have hard water so that is probably my problem. 

Cost wise this was very inexpensive. The Castile soap was $3.39 for three bars. So one recipe would be $.56. The washing soda is $3.24 for 55 oz. and we are only using 2 TBS! So you can see how extremely minimal the cost is to make.

I thought it worked pretty good. My dishes seemed to come out clean. I will keep you updated as I use it more, if you try it yourself please feel free to comment and share your experience!

Hope you enjoy!

UPDATE: In an effort to mix it better, I ended up making really foamy. I thought that the foam would go down like usual, but it stayed. I have still been using it. It is a little harder to squeeze out since the foam is so thick. Not sure if that was suposed to happen or not!

Homemade Soap Scum Remover

Well, thanks to Pinterest, I have found an amazingly simple recipe for homemade soap scum remover! It is free of all those harsh chemicals that you don't want to breathe normally let alone while pregnant! The only two ingredients you will need is blue liguid Dawn dish detergent and white vinegar!

The recipe that I found at  http://www.lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/ calls for 1 cup vinegar microwaved for 2 minutes and then add 1 cup Dawn to spay bottle. I didn't need that much so I just mixed equal parts to get the amount that I thought I would use. Obviously if you use less, then you should also decrease the microwave time as well.

Spray on your shower walls and tub and let sit for a couple hours and then sponge off! It is so simple and it works extremely well! I would highly recommend that you try it!

Enjoy!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So in an effort to save money I decided that a good place to start would be making some of the things I need myself instead of buying from a store. One thing I do a lot of is laundry. Having a three year old it is hard to avoid.

I found a recipe online for making homemade liquid laundry detergent from http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/ by Crystal Miller. The recipe is simple, easy to make and seems to work well. I have a front loader and was concerned about how things would wash up, but I didn't seem to have a problem.

For the recipe you will need: 

•  a bar of soap, I used Fels Naptha. You can also use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirks Hardwater Castile or Zote bars.
• Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
• Borax
• water
• bucket, I used a 5 gallon bucket (I figured bigger was better so I didn't make a mess)

First, start by grating 1/3 of the bar of soap you have choosen. I grated it in the large sauce pan I would be using. Then add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap shavings melt. Then add 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup Borax until they dissolve. Remove from heat.



Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket and add your detergent mixture. Stir.  Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water and stir again.

Then let the mixture sit for 24 hours.





After the 24 hour waiting period you can then pour your mixture in an clean empty container to store. Shake before using. 1/2 cup per load should work for normal wear washes.

Hope you try this! It was not hard at all to make and did not take long to do either. Save yourself some money and make your own!

Enjoy!