Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Homemade Laundry Detergent without Borax
I am so excited to share with you today the best homemade laundry detergent that I have ever made! I have tried and failed several times to make my own laundry detergent but I could never get it right. It was either too lumpy, too much measuring or just didn't work. I have so many different kinds of powders to combine, I need to purge now. I have found the perfect recipe!
A while back I stumbled upon an amazing blog called Bren Did. She has several natural cleaning solutions and I loved her recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent. I decided that when I was done with the detergent I was using (which was Mrs. Jones Soapbox and does work wonderfully..but does have borax in it) I was going to try and make Bren's version.
So I finished up our detergent and ordered my materials. Because I do not want to copy the recipe on this site, I am only going to list the materials I got and where I got them for your reference.
*Assume all links are affiliate links. Learn more here. Thanks for your support!*
Amazon
Kirk's Castile Soap - $2.18/bar
Washing Soda - $8.99/box
OxiClean Baby - $13.95/tub
Target
Epsom Salt - $3.18/4 lb {this is optional in the original recipe, but I added it in. Between smelly gym clothes and baby stains, I need all the extra help I can get}
Baking Soda - $1.24/2 lb
Total Cost
My total cost was $35.73. About $15 more than Bren's. Next time, I will go out and purchase all of my products from stores when I am on my last container so I will not be rushed.
I also made a TON of this! It will def be more than 320 loads. I am keeping a tally of how many loads I get using 1-2 Tablespoons per load and I will update back :)
My Assessment
Ease of creation - This was super simple after you get over the 'grating the soap' part. I just sat down in front of a good Netflix show with my soap and grater and grated away. After you process the soap into smaller bits {I use an old processor for that} it's just a matter of dumping and mixing the rest of the ingredients. I like how I didn't have to measure, I just poured. I used a large container that used to be used for laundry detergent to mix. Then I just put it in storage containers. Super Simple
Smells be gone? My husband stinks. Let me clarify..when he goes running, his clothes smell so bad that you can smell them from outside the laundry room, with the door closed. My old homemade laundry detergent did NOTHING for this smell. I actually had to add in TSP in order to take the smell away. With this one - it work wonderfully! I did add the vinegar into the fabric softener space to help and I am glad I did! It's just an extra helper for the laundry detergent.
I am so happy that I found this recipe! Bren provides a free printable recipe card to keep on hand. I printed it out and laminated it so I can start a 'natural cleaning recipe ring'. Thanks Bren for posting a great detergent!
Happy Cleaning!
Deep Cleaning the Baby's Nursery
In our home, we do spring cleaning a little differently. I don't stress myself out to try and deep clean our entire home in one to two months. I have never done this, but with a toddler running around, it is even more difficult to imagine trying to get that all done! It may work for some people, but not for us. In our home, we manage our spring cleaning by designating a room or group of rooms to be deep cleaned every month.
My daughter's room is the room that is to be deep cleaned this month. It is also the focus for my project organization this month. Coincidence, maybe...
Happiness is a {green} clean stove
I don't know about you, but there is nothing better than a clean kitchen. I think of the kitchen as the heart of the home. This is where you spend time cooking food for your family, sit down and talk over food and wine, and it is just so warm and cozy. So when my kitchen was a distater area for the last couple of months, I decided not to wait for April {with Operation Project Organize} I needed to fix it NOW!
.jpg "Cleaning the kitchen stove with non-toxic cleaners is the best {and easiest} way to do it!")
DIY Foaming Dish Soap Dispenser
I am sharing with you another brilliant idea from my husband. {Really glad I married an engineer} He brought you the "clean getaway" for your leftovers, now he is bringing you the foaming dish soap dispenser.
I love Bath & Body Works foaming hand soap, especially lemon, in the kitchen. One day, my husband just filled an empty one up with dish soap and loved it! It is super easy, so I am sharing it with you today.
After you add your soap, slowly add warm water until the bottle curves. You need to leave room for the foaming mechanism. If you don't, it will just overflow.
Take your empty foaming hand soap container {you really can use any foaming hand soap container, they all have the same way to make it foam} and peel off the cover. I soaked mine in warm water for about 15 minutes and peeled the label away in the water. Peeling it away in the water really helps to eliminate the need for goo gone since the gummy backside comes off with the label. {This is not a necessary step, but I don't want guests to misuse it as hand soap, plus I will add a label to make it pretty :) }
After the label is peeled away, I filled my soap up to the first "B" on the bottle. I used Mrs. Jones Soapbox's Soapy.
One day I will add a label to it, but today was not that day.
Now your sponge is all ready to be soaped up! This may just make cleaning dishes easier....maybe.
Cleaning for the Holidays - Bathrooms and Laundry & a Giveaway
The holidays are tough. Buying the perfect present, trimming the perfect tree, decorating the house enough {but not too much} and baking the cookies without burning them. With all that stress, we add on hosting guests. Even if you are like me and do not host any major holiday events at your house, I am sure you have family that stops in or friends coming by to say hi and exchange gifts. So, we are under pressure to keep our house "guest-ready."
Cleaning Tip: After I am done scrubbing a toilet, I leave the brush in between the bowl and the seat to allow it to dry before putting it back into the holder. Wet/Dirty Brush + Dark Place = Disgusting Mold and Germs.
Soft Cleaning Scrub
During that laundry cycle, it smelled amazing! We usually use unscented detergent when we buy it, but I do love the smell of clean, lightly scented clothes and sheets. Since the scent is due to the essential oils used in the product, I have no need to worry that it is not safe against even my daughter's sensitive skin.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Today I am sharing with you how we are using Mrs. Jones Soapbox products in our home to keep it clean simply and naturally.
A while back at our Mom's group, one of the members shared information on how we can keep our homes safe from dangerous chemicals in our cleaning products and cosmetics. Since then the EWG {Environmental Working Group} has been a permanent resource for finding household products that I can safely use in my home without the worry that my daughter will be ingesting any toxic chemicals. I still find that even in the "safe" categories, there are toxins that need to be worried about.
I have tried over and over to make my own cleaning products and laundry detergent, but none ever seemed strong enough to really clean well. This is where Mrs. Jones Soapbox comes in.
Mrs. Jones Soapbox prides themselves on being made with all natural, safe ingredients. They are even mixed and crafted by hand. I love that when you look at the ingredients on the label, you can not only pronounce it all, you know what each ingredient is!
And how pretty are the containers? No need to hide the dollar store spray bottles!
Check out her comparison chart to see which of her products can replace commercial cleaners.
Toilet Bombs
I have tried and failed at making my own toilet bombs. They ended up being more of a mess than a cleaning product.
From my previous experience with Toilet Bombs, I thought there was no way that any would ever really work. Then these Toilet Bombs from Mrs. Jones Soapbox showed up in my sample kit. They really are everything I thought my homemade ones would be, just actually working.
From my previous experience with Toilet Bombs, I thought there was no way that any would ever really work. Then these Toilet Bombs from Mrs. Jones Soapbox showed up in my sample kit. They really are everything I thought my homemade ones would be, just actually working.
I simply dropped the toilet bomb in the toilet and let it fizz. When it was done, I dipped the brush into the water and used that to clean the rest of the toilet. It was cleaning the yuck off, but I was a bit skeptical that it really was "clean". After I brushed the toilet down, I actually had baby duty {she woke up early from her nap} and when I went back to the toilet 10 minutes later, at the top of the water, around the rim there was dirt. Actual dirt collected around the sides. At first I thought it was a ring that the toilet brush hadn't gotten, but when I flushed, there was no ring. I was super impressed.
Here is my video review:
Cleaning Tip: After I am done scrubbing a toilet, I leave the brush in between the bowl and the seat to allow it to dry before putting it back into the holder. Wet/Dirty Brush + Dark Place = Disgusting Mold and Germs.
Soft Cleaning Scrub
Generally, I am not a fan of scrubs. They are usually gritty and hard to clean up off of a surface. This was not the case with Mrs. Jones Soapbox scrub. Per the directions, I took a dollop and placed it on the surface to be cleaned {my sink & vanity top} and used a moist washcloth to spread it around. It was not gritty and spread very easily. The sink usually gets a lot of buildup from my husband shaving and our toothpaste. Our conventional cleaner that is a D on the EWG scale {not good, we just wanted to finish up what we had on hand} usually has a really tough time getting that buildup off. I usually have to clean it a couple times to get it all. The Mrs. Jones Scrub took it all off in one swipe like it wasn't even there. And it doesn't have any of the chemicals in it?! I was already sold.
The real test would be our tub. I took a dollop and placed it on a damp rag and started scrubbing. It didn't take a lot of pressure or scrubbing to start to see the ring from my daughter's baths start to disappear. For the last several months it has been there, even with regular cleaning {I use a magic eraser to clean the tub during showers}. I did have to use another dollop in the tub, but I think that is also because it really needed the deep cleaning. After I was done scrubbing, I just turned on the tub and used the same rag to wipe down the tub with clean water. When I squeezed the rag, I was amazed at how much dirty water came out of it. It also didn't take me as long as it does with other products. And I was able to stay in the room. Sometimes with other cleaners, I have to leave the room to take some deep breaths. In my opinion, this product performs as well as other conventional cleaners and is much safer too.
Laundry Soap & Softener
I have made my own laundry detergent before. It worked well but wasn't very effective at specific clothing types. I usually had to supplement with Oxyclean. I gave up on it.
For this particular post about guests, I used Mrs. Jones Soapbox Laundry Soap on our guest sheets that go on the air mattress bed in our basement guest room. It said that I use a heaping teaspoon per load. That's it. Again, I was very skeptical. But I am a rule follower {at least the first time} so I put just a heaping teaspoon in.
The sheets came out of the dryer soft and fluffy even without added softener {the product says it is a softener too} and still smelled great. I am not sure how to compare the cleanliness of the sheets to a conventional detergent but the Mrs. Jones Laundry Soap seemed to do the job.
The real test will be my husband's smelly running gear. {Update to come}
I had heard great things about Mrs. Jones Soapbox products and was excited to try them first hand. They really are great in the bathroom and laundry. I loved them so much, I went and purchased the other products so that I can try them everywhere! {I will review them later this week :)}
You can get them too for 10% off! Just for Managing a Home readers, you can get 10% off your order until December 31st by using the code HOME10.
You can also try Mrs. Jones Soapbox products for free! Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win the sample pack below. Three winners will be chosen!
Good luck!
Disclaimer: I have received this sample pack of (2) Toilet Bowl Bombs, (1) 5-wash Laundry Soap Sample and (1) 16 oz. container of Soft Cleaning Scrub at no charge, This review is my honest and unbiased opinion. Giveaways are supplied by Mrs. Jones Soapbox. See full disclosure statement here.
Disclaimer: I have received this sample pack of (2) Toilet Bowl Bombs, (1) 5-wash Laundry Soap Sample and (1) 16 oz. container of Soft Cleaning Scrub at no charge, This review is my honest and unbiased opinion. Giveaways are supplied by Mrs. Jones Soapbox. See full disclosure statement here.
What to do with the leftovers gone bad?
So I know you are not supposed to air your dirty laundry, but what about old leftovers? Well, I'm breaking that rule today. I'm giving you a quick, smart tip on what to do when leftovers go bad.
I don't know about you, but in our house with just two of us {the baby doesn't eat much}, we get tired of leftovers quick.
Problem: I usually make a meal good for 4-6 people. We eat the meal, separate the leftovers into Tupperware so that we can eat them for lunches or a quick dinner when I have nothing planned. With all good intentions to eat them...
Then about a week and a half later, when going through the bottom shelf of the fridge, I find an old (sometimes moldy) at-one-time delicious meal. The only problem is - we usually have just taken out the trash.
The Solution: My brilliant husband came up with a solution to this problem when we was in college. He figured out how to make "leftover ice cubes" when he had a honeydew gone bad and was too tired to bring it all the way out to the dumpster.
Basically, when you find that Tupperware full of gross leftovers, pop the whole thing into the freezer! Then, when you take out the trash next, you go in the freezer and take out the containers and pop out the food gone bad. No smell, no mess, no bacteria - and the best part - the Tupperware goes right into the dishwasher and then it is time to run the dishwasher! (because it always is)
For the Future: I want to try and reduce my waste of food (and money) so maybe I will try to take one or two of the servings and actually freeze it so that we can eat it later. Now to organize the freezer so we can do that...
*Bonus Tip - sometimes when you are popping the food out of the container it can stick. Just run the bottom of the container under some hot water and it will pop right out!*
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Problem: I usually make a meal good for 4-6 people. We eat the meal, separate the leftovers into Tupperware so that we can eat them for lunches or a quick dinner when I have nothing planned. With all good intentions to eat them...
Then about a week and a half later, when going through the bottom shelf of the fridge, I find an old (sometimes moldy) at-one-time delicious meal. The only problem is - we usually have just taken out the trash.
The Solution: My brilliant husband came up with a solution to this problem when we was in college. He figured out how to make "leftover ice cubes" when he had a honeydew gone bad and was too tired to bring it all the way out to the dumpster.
Basically, when you find that Tupperware full of gross leftovers, pop the whole thing into the freezer! Then, when you take out the trash next, you go in the freezer and take out the containers and pop out the food gone bad. No smell, no mess, no bacteria - and the best part - the Tupperware goes right into the dishwasher and then it is time to run the dishwasher! (because it always is)
For the Future: I want to try and reduce my waste of food (and money) so maybe I will try to take one or two of the servings and actually freeze it so that we can eat it later. Now to organize the freezer so we can do that...
*Bonus Tip - sometimes when you are popping the food out of the container it can stick. Just run the bottom of the container under some hot water and it will pop right out!*
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.png)
