Why have I put this off so long?

Back in August my sister made homemade laundry detergent. I wasn't sure about how it would turn out at first. She loved it and I became curious when I did the math and figured out how much money I could save with under an hour of my time every 6 months. When we went down to her house for Thanksgiving she "bagged me up" what I would need for 10 gallons. (2 of the 3 ingredients) I just had to buy one ingredient and she also sent me with about a 1/2 gallon to try. We loved it and I have be "meaning to get around to it" since. I could shoot off excuses like "busy w/ life, kids, holidays...." blah blah. But the truth is that now that I've finally done it, there is NO excuse except pure laziness. Just think about it.... 1 hr every 5-6 months. How much time do we waste on FB or watching mindless tv? Besides, the kids had a great time helping too. ;)
I came across the "recipe" on Pinterest one night and had one of those "oh yeah. Been meaning to do that" moments. I had to go to Lowes and Wal Mart the next day and just decided to go ahead and get my supplies.
You'll need:
-1 bar of Fels-Naptha (less than $2)
-Arm and Hammer Washing Soda NOT baking soda ($3)
-Borax ($3)

I found all of these in the laundry isle at Wal Mart. Just look for it. It's usually towards the bottom and if you blink, you'll miss it. I already had the washing soda and borax form my sister, but figured I would need it eventually so I went ahead and grabbed a box of each.
-2 five gallon buckets w/ lids if you want (on sale for $3 @ Lowes) As you can see above, I used the drill and mixer attachment to make stiring everything a little easier.
Shave your bar down with a cheese grater, put in a pot with 4 cups of water on med heat,and let it melt. Took about 20 min. Not bad. Put the melted liquid in a bucket with 1 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax and fill ONE of your buckets with HOT water and stir. Let it sit overnight, split it in 1/2, and fill again with hot water and stir again. That simple.

I have 10 gallons for under $15. You'll spend more than that on 2 store bought gallons. I'll only have to buy the Fels-Naptha next time, so I'll have $2 in the next 10 gallons.
If you're like me, you don't like to spend money on "boring", "everyday" stuff. I figure that I can use whatever savings I can find with 3 kiddos.
There really is no excuse for not doing this. It's so simple. I remember my grandmother using these same ingredients. When I picked the Fels-Naptha bar up it all came back to me. Walking down to her laundry room, that smell of fresh, and her rubbing that bar on the stains. How did we get away from simple? Marketing? Keeping up w/ whoever? IDK... If you look on the back of every laundry detergent in the store you'll see that they're nothing but these 3 ingredients, (they may have different names but just look it all up. It's the same thing) along with dyes, and perfumes.
You can keep it in the buckets or put it in whatever container you want.(mine's in milk and laundry bottles for now) I have found some clear containers I'm going to order online for $1 each and there are plenty of free downloadable lables online for all of you that are just as OCD as me.;) Hope I've helped some of you save some $! Have fun!

Until next time.... B+. :)

Dad-Gum Pinterest

After taking down all of my Christmas stuff the house felt so sad.... inside and out. I'm not sure if I'm the only one that suffers from "After Christmasitis" or not, but it can be very dangerous. Usually resulting in me spending $ on something "cheery". This year, I've been introduced to Pinterest. Lord help us all!! It's like some kind of drug I tell ya! I decided to "spruce up" the front porch. I love the idea of seasonal or monthly wreaths. Not just Fall and Winter...... and I decided to give it a go.
So, armed with Pinterest, etsy, Hobby Lobby, and Lowes I went on a mission today. I wound up with a grapevine wreath, some bling from the floral dept,a little glitter paint,Wooden letter and some plants for my trusty pots.

Not too bad with 3 kids along for the ride. My green thumbed sister might even approve of these....

(X2 of course)
And I think the wreath turned out cute considering I had to wait until the 18 month old went to bed and had a 4yr old supervising my every move.

Not really a great picture. I wish you could see the "diamonds and pearls" glitter paint on the letter and wreath. Oh well..... One more pitiful pic for ya.....

Taaa Daaa!! :) Wreath #1 is officially done! Looks like I'll be touching up paint and sealer tomorrow. Funny how one little project always leads to another isn't it? Until next time... B+. ;)

Intro to Randomness

It's true that I do have another blog already.....www.allforzac.blogspot.com to be exact. But it's dedicated to my nephew Zac and spreading Epilepsy Awareness. I have decided it is time for me to create one for myself. A blog for complete randomness. I have no clue what I'll be posting. Probably a wide variety of rants, crafts,

and pointless humor. I am convinced that I can't be the only mom that gets irritated by other moms and people in general, feels lucky and blessed, and yet has days here and there that I feel like I could scream if I have one more thing on my to do list or read one more person's "perfect" FB status.
I'm sure that my 3 beautiful, silly children,

along with my wonderful and spoiled husband

(and life in general) will give me plenty to type about. Hope you find it entertaining and maybe get a laugh out of my chaos. And if not....... it's a whole lot cheaper than therapy. ;)
Merry Christmas everyone! And remember, it's not about those 300 pictures of your kids opening the overpriced "things" that you bought to impress people you don't know. I look forward to many (free therapy sessions) blog posts!

Have a great holiday, and like I tell my students..... B+.