How To: Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

My husband worked for a soap manufacturing plant for quite a few years.  During that time, we rarely had to buy laundry detergent.  When he switched jobs a couple of years ago, I was shocked by how much money I was spending to do laundry for a family of seven.  I have also been on a mission the last few years to reduce the toxic chemicals coming into my home.  So I began looking at the hundreds of recipes posted online and the ones I'd pinned on my Laundry Board on Pinterest to find one that would work for my family.  I finally settled on one that I have used for about a year, and I love it! My clothes come out clean and I'm spending $0.09 per load!

   INGREDIENTS:

• Borax
• Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• Fels-Naptha
• Downy Unstopables (optional)

  OTHER SUPPLIES:

• Fine Grater
• Wax Paper
• Mixing Bowl
• Wisk

Step 1: Grate the Fels-Naptha with a fine grater.  I always put wax paper down to catch the extras.  This is honestly the hardest part of making your own laundry detergent.  It takes me about 5 minutes per bar to grate it.  Kevin can grate it a lot faster than I can, so I make him do it if he's home.  Put the grated soap into a mixing bowl.

Step 2: Add 2 cups of Washing Soda and 2 cups of Borax to your bowl.

Optional: Using the lid, add 2 cups full of Downy Unstopables for a scent.  I used to use this, but now have a new NATURAL way of adding a scent to my laundry.  Find out more in my Wool Dryer Balls post.

Step 3: Mix well with a large wisk.

Step 4: Put into a container (with a lid) to use in your laundry room.  I found this cute glass candy jar at Walmart and the 2 Tablespoon Scoop on Amazon.

I usually add 1-2 scoops (2-4 Tablespoons) per load depending on how large the load is.  I no longer use a color-safe bleach or fabric softener with my laundry either, so another money saver right there.

So here is the cost breakdown...

With the recipe above, it makes about 4 1/2 cups which translates to about 36 loads.  Which breaks down to $0.09 per load.

For my family, I do between 15-20 loads per week, so I actually make a double batch and it lasts me about a month. Before making my own, I was spending $25/month on laundry soap, color-safe bleach, and fabric softener.  Now I spend about $6 and it takes me about 15 minutes a month making it.  That is a time and money saver and worth every penny!

Do you make your own laundry detergent? What recipe do you use? If you don't, what stops you?

Until next time....

Organizing Your DVD Collection

One of the things I love most is watching good movies.  I've always loved movies.  Getting lost in the romance, the action, the heroes, and in the comedy.  Movies can totally change my mood, and as long as I'm entertained, I'm usually not too critical.  I'm a sucker for a cheesy movie with good ending.

The family that I grew up in was a huge movie watching family.  It was something we did together and meant family time.  So, it's no wonder that I inherited my parents movie-purchasing habits.  We both have huge personal movie collections.  But, when my collection started out-growing my space, and I found myself purchasing movies I already owned because I had forgotten what was in my collection, it was time to get organized!

DVD Storage

DVDs (and Blu-Ray) plastic cases are bulky and take up a lot of room.  So I needed to find a way to get rid of the bulky cases and store them in a functional way that took up a lot less space.

First I thought about the way we use our DVDs, so I could determine what was going to be the best way to store them.  We have multiple TVs and DVD players and so we are always moving DVDs all over the house.  We also have a DVD player in our car, so we usually keep a rotating selection of DVDs in the car for the kids to watch.  I had originally considered get a binder with DVD sleeves for our movies, but after truly evaluating our needs, I figured that individual sleeves for each movie with maybe some decorative boxes would be the way to go.  I settled on the Atlantic Movie Bin and sleeves from Amazon.  The quality of the box was great and I really liked the style.  The sleeves were thick and sturdy.  And the price was cheaper than some of the other sleeve options.  Each bin comes with 36 sleeves (which holds 72 disks) but the bin will easily hold 70+ sleeves.  I purchased 5 bins and 2 extra packs of sleeves.

DVD Cataloging

The next part of my process was to find a software program or app to help me catalog my DVDs so that I would no longer purchase duplicate DVDs and help me keep better track of what DVDs are where and if I lend any out to friends and family.  I purchased My Movies Collection Management Software.  It has a desktop application that synchronizes with their app for both iPhone and Android. (There is a free version that will hold up to 50 movies in your catalog). So now I can see exactly what movies I own, whether I am at home or on-the-go on my phone.

Organizing the DVDs

The process of actually cataloging the DVDs, removing the DVDs from their bulky plastic cases, putting them into sleeves, and alphabetizing them by category took me a few days because I have such a large collection, but the process was actually very simple.

1. Using the My Movies App on my phone I cataloged the movie by using the barcoding featuring on my phone app.  All you do is scan the barcode with your phones camera and it searches the My Movies database for the right movie and you add it to your collection.  This was a HUGE timesaver and one of the reasons I chose this program.  I did not want to have to type in all of my movie titles.

2. Remove the movie packaging from the plastic case.  Fold it so that the front and spine are in the front and the back is folded to the back.  Then insert the disks into the disk pockets.  If your movie has more than 2 disks, you can grab another disk pocket from another sleeve (this is why I bought plenty of extras!) and place the disk pockets into the sleeve.

3. Organize your CDs in whatever way works best for you.  I separated mine into 4 categories and then alphabetized each of those categories.  Two of the categories have so many movies, I had to use two bins.

1. Kids Movies

2. Chick Flicks

3. Church Movies

4. All other movies

4. Find a home for them.  My movies are on the top shelf in the Armoire in my family room.  This is where the majority of the movie watching happens, and is easily accessible to everyone.

 Tip: When I loan out a movie to family or friends, or even move a bunch of movies out to the mini-van, I make a note of it in my software/app.  That way I know where all the movies are.  The sleeves are really easy to keep in the side compartment in the door of my mini-van, and the kids love having a variety out there.

Have you organized your DVD collection? Did you use binders or sleeves? Do you have another software or app that you like?  Comment here and be sure to show us pictures and links!

How To: Reupholster a Piano Bench

Years ago I bought this piano from a man who restored old pianos and sold them at reasonable prices.  It's not what I would have chosen if I had been able to buy a brand new piano, but I was happy to finally have a piano in my home again.  I love playing and really wanted my children to play as well. But, this new piano came with an UGLY piano bench....and I lived with it for years.  I didn't realize how easy it actually is to recover.  If I had known....I would have done it LONG ago!

And not only is it an ugly green and white gingham, somewhere along the line it developed this lovely stain as well.  So it was time to take matters into my own hands.

I took the piano bench out to the workbench and unscrewed the legs.  Then it was just a matter of removing the staples with some pliers to remove the current fabric.

I had purchased some fabric for my Magnetic Bulletin Board and had plenty of leftover for my bench.  I measured the bench and added about 3 inches to all sides to have plenty to wrap around the bottom and staple.  Make sure to wash and iron your fabric before you start.

I laid the new fabric out, making sure there were no wrinkles and the pattern matched up with the edge of my bench, and began wrapping the sides being especially careful on the corners.  To secure the fabric to the wood, I used a staple gun (mine was hooked up to an air compressor, but you could easily do it with a hand-staple gun as well) securing it every few inches.

Then, using a screwdriver or drill, re-secure the legs back on to the bench.  The screws should be able to poke through the fabric easily (unless it is very heavy fabric, in which case you could easily cut a little hole for the screw.)

And here is the finished bench.  I just can't tell you how easy it was and how happy I am with the result.

And here is the before and after.  Such a difference!

Have you recovered or re-upholstered any furniture?  Did you find it easy or difficult? Send me some pictures or a link! I would love to see it!  I would also be happy to answer any questions you have or hear any comments!

Project: Mudroom Bench

Hello friends! I'm so excited to show you the project that Kevin and I finished a few weeks ago.  When we built our home, there was a perfect space for a mudroom bench and lockers right by the door to the garage.  To have the builder put it in would have cost $1600 and it wasn't exactly what we wanted.  So Kevin and I decided to just build it ourselves eventually.  In the mean time we put our Ikea Shoe Cabinet and Coat Rack there which worked really well.  But, on New Years Day, we decided to build the bench.

We first emptied the space.  We actually moved the shoe cabinet by the front door and the coat rack in the office (also by the front door).  

Kevin used a crowbar and hammer to remove the trim around the floor.  Then I cleaned the floors and walls to prepare the space for the construction.

Kevin put down some liquid nails before putting in place the bench we had built on in the shop.

The bench was built with 3/4" fiberboard.  We measured the space and equally spaced 18" by 18" dividers between the top and bottom.

We then added side panels and the top shelf.

We added support by putting moulding under the top shelf and then added molding on the back and sides for another shelf.

We then added trim to the outside of the shelves, sides, and bench as well as adding the large board (for the hooks and trim above the bench seat.  The seat is a piece of pine we stained before putting it in place. It actually wasn't as dark as I wanted it to be, so we added a few more coats later.

We then added a piece of trim at the top to make it look like a piece of furniture and also added more vertical trim pieces to add character.  We then puttied all of the nail holes and caulked the entire thing.

The next day, I primed the entire thing and then the day after that painted it.  A few more coats of stain were put on the bench and then a couple of coats of polyurethane to add shine and protect it.

Kevin added 9 hooks evenly spaced.

And it was finished and beautiful!  I will be adding baskets below for shoes and above to store our winter gear.  I would eventually like to add cabinet doors above so that I can store off season gear (like beach towels) and they will be hidden.

Having lived with this for a few weeks, I absolutely adore it! It is so helpful to have a place to keep shoes, coats, backpacks, and winter gear.  The kids love it too.

Updated on the bench and what it looks now, with bins for shoes and winter gear.

Do you have a mudroom bench?  Send me a picture or a link, I would love to see it!  You can see more ideas for mudroom storage on my pinterest page.

Valentine Candies with Essential Oils

Happy Valentine's Day my friends. If you are looking for an easy, little, quick treat or gift for family or friends this is the perfect candies to make.  They are fun and festive and don't take much time at all!

   INGREDIENTS:

• White chocolate or almond bark
• M&Ms
• Sprinkles
• 2-3 drops of your favorite Essential Oil such as Peppermint or Wild Orange. (optional)

  OTHER SUPPLIES:

• Double Boiler
• Silicone Candy Molds

I don't have an actual double boiler, so I improvise my own.  Fill up the larger pan with water and sit the smaller pan inside.  Put the chocolate in the smaller pan.  You will need to keep an eye on it and stir it frequently so that the chocolate doesn't burn.

While the chocolate is melting, you can prepare your candy trays.  Add in sprinkles and candy.  I did a few different options.  Colored sprinkles with M&Ms, red sprinkles, just M&Ms, red sprinkles and M&Ms, and even just plain chocolate.

Once you have all the sprinkles and candies in place, carefully spoon the chocolate in the molds.  Tap the full molds on the counter several times to settle chocolate and release any air bubbles.

Put in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.  When they solid, pop them out.  You can put them on a plate or in a cellophane bag.  I found these cute silicone heart-shaped muffin/cupcake liners and Hobby Lobby and put a few candies in each.

Wrap in a cellophane bag, tie a bow, and you have a cute little Valentine gift.