“You don’t have to be rich to be clean.” –Mom
Ingredient Overlap
Simplify your household supply list. Making your own detergents and cleaners is easy and can save you money. They often utilize the same ingredients so you don’t have to buy lots of products for multiple uses. Borax, baking soda, Ivory soap, and vinegar are some of the basics to keep on hand.
(Please note that some of these recipes were inspired by www.diynatural.com. Check out their fabulous website for additional ideas.)
Laundry
Detergent: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place one cup of baking soda in a baking pan. I typically use a 9×9 square. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. You can stir it a time or two as it bakes. The texture of the baking soda will change. You are essentially making washing soda. While that is baking, grate a large bar of Ivory soap. You are wanting 4-4.5 oz of soap. (If you buy the big packs of soap, they are typically 4 oz bars. The smaller three packs are usually 3 oz bars–If using the small bars, I would grate a bar and a half for a regular batch or double the entire batch of detergent and use all three.) I just use a regular box grater to grate it. Mix the grated soap with 1 cup of Borax. When the baking soda has been turned into washing soda, remove from the oven, and let it cool. Once it has completely cooled, stir it into the Borax and Ivory soap mixture. Mix well. Store in an airtight container. A typical large load of laundry will take about 2 TBSP of detergent. You can adjust the amount based on the size of the load and how dirty the items are.
*Pictures and step by step instructions can be found on the “Soap Sud Laundry Detergents” page.
Fabric Softener: Vinegar. Basic white vinegar. It’s that simple, and it works. I buy vinegar in a big jug. I saved an old dish soap bottle and filled it with the vinegar I use for laundry. That makes it easy to fill the dispenser, and I can store it conveniently in the laundry room. I usually fill my fabric softener dispenser about 2/3 full for a typical load. The scent of the vinegar washes out. You won’t smell it on your clothes once they’ve been washed. The vinegar also helps clean out the lines of the washer.
Drying: You can save energy by hanging your laundry up to dry. I personally prefer a hybrid method. Placing your laundry in the dryer for a little while and then hanging it up on a drying rack to finish drying makes the items softer in my opinion.
Bedding: I was in the habit of washing my sheets every weekend. If I were to extend that from seven days to 10 days, I will save 15 loads a year. That’s saving water, detergent, electricity, and time. If you have multiple people in your household, that could easily become 30 loads, 45 loads… By all means if they’re dirty wash them, but in general, I don’t really think a few days matters with regard to cleanliness.
Sid randomly decided to sit on the dryer. When I dared ask why…
Dishes
Dishwasher Detergent: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place one cup of baking soda in a baking pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. You can stir it once or twice as it bakes. The texture of the baking soda will change. You are turning it into washing soda. Remove from the oven, and let it cool. Once it is completely cooled, mix it with 1 cup of Borax, 1/2 cup Kosher salt, and 5 packets of unsweetened lemonade Kool-aid mix. Stir well and store it in an air-tight container. Use 1-2 TBSP per load.
Dishwasher Rinse Agent: Vinegar. Simply fill the dispenser with basic white vinegar.
Dish Soap: Boil 1 3/4 cups of water. I use a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. While that is heating, mix 1 TBSP Borax and 1 TBSP grated Ivory soap together. Add the dry ingredients to the Pyrex pitcher of boiling water. Whisk until the Ivory soap melts. Let it sit for about six hours mixing occasionally. Pour the mixture into an old dish soap bottle. Be sure to shake well as it may separate over time. Use like you would store bought dish soap.
*Note that the dish soap will not sud. I like this recipe because it sticks with the basic ingredients I keep on hand. Overall, I think it works just fine. I don’t think it’s stellar on grease and feel it leaves a little residue on plastic lids. Having said that, I may use too much since I have a little trouble getting over the lack of suds. While it’s not my favorite, I do think it’s a good recipe to have on hand as I already have the ingredients.
Additional Thoughts on the Staple Ingredients:
Ivory Bar Soap: You can typically find a $.25 off coupon online. HEB occasionally offers in-house coupons for it. Don’t overlook the obvious–use it as your regular soap too (in the shower and at the sink). That goes back to not buying separate products for every need. Stick to the basics.
Baking Soda: It’s a cleaner, used in cooking, freshens the fridge…While you can buy washing soda for the above recipes, I prefer to buy one product and have it available for so many uses. Plus baking soda is less expensive and easier to find.
Borax: Mix equal parts of Borax and sugar to make ant poison. Put a little bit of the mixture in a cap and leave out for the ants. Keep it away from your kids and pets.
Vinegar: It’s used in so many cooking recipes. It’s a cleaning agent. It also helps with slow drains. Pour some vinegar down the drain, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then pour hot water down the drain. During my routine A/C and Heating service visits, the technicians always ask for vinegar to help clean out part of the system. To be honest, I’m not sure what they do with it. I just send them into the attic with it and say thank you.
Utilities
Electric/Gas: In an effort to reduce your air conditioning use, run your ceiling fans in a counter clockwise direction during the summer. In the winter, keep the house a little cooler and get the electric blanket out of the closet for those extra chilly nights.
Trash: Consider downsizing your trash can. I will save $60 a year doing this. If you recycle more, you can reduce the amount of waste going into the trash can.
Television: For me it’s bunny ears and Netflix. Living in a major city, I can pull the basic stations in on an antenna. I do not pay for cable or satellite.
Water: Living in an area plagued with years of extreme drought and water restrictions makes conserving this precious commodity even more important. Yet regardless of where you live, water collection is good for your yard and your pocket book.
I always keep a pitcher, milk jug or 2-liter bottle by my kitchen sink. While I’m waiting for the water to warm up, I collect the cool water in the containers. I can then use it to water my flowers, garden or grass. In my house, I have also found that if I start a load of laundry or the dishwasher, the water in the sink is hot right away, and I won’t waste any water waiting for it to heat. You can also use a trash can or kitty litter bucket in the shower to collect water while the water warms up as well as excess water while you shower. I would just dump any soapy water on the grass vs on your prized tomato plant.
RAIN BARREL! These wonderful water collectors are worth their weight in gold. You connect them into your downspout or place them under the area where the water collects and runs off your roof. It doesn’t take that much rain to generate gallons of water in the barrel. I really need to connect another barrel or two to the one I have. For now, I use kitty litter jugs and buckets to harvest the water out of the barrel so it can refill, and I can save some water until the yard dries up again.
Security: In the region where I live, there is a company called Smith Thompson Home Security which charges $16.95 a month. I think this is a great rate, and you save on your home owner’s insurance for having a monitored alarm system. In case you’re wondering if they’re any good, I accidentally set my alarm off shortly after signing up with them. They contacted me within minutes. I was pleased.
Do you know if the liquid detergent works okay in HE washers; that it is not too sudsy for those washers?
While I have not tested it personally, as I do not have an HE washer, it is supposed to work just fine in HE washers. The recipe was inspired by http://www.backdoorsurvival.com whose author uses it in her HE washer without problem. The only real difference in recipes is that I opt to make my own washing soda out of baking soda.
Love the “Soap Sud” name for your product. Picture is awesome.
Yup, Sue, she’s heard that over the years!
Sid really does have control issues even in the laundry room!
LOL!!! Your quote at the beginning. I can hear your mother saying that.