Computer Problems!!!!

My computer has been giving me fits all week long. I have spent most of the day trying to fix things and at least I can now get in to post! GRRRR!
Watch for a REAL post tomorrow!
Debbie

Laundry Soap

Have you tried the homemade laundry soap that has been on pinterest? This is another recipe that Kelsie and I made, and I love it! Being Creative to Keep my Sanity is the website we used.

Head over to the blog for her great tutorial!
(the pictures are also from the website.)

Here is what you need to make the soap

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent aisle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking aisle

1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent aisle

3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent aisle,(you can also use pink Zote soap instead--available at Home Depot)

2 small containers of oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.

You should be able to find all of these items at your grocery store, for about $20. You only use 1 Tbl. per load, so it lasts a LONG time.

To Make:
Grate the Fels-naptha soap (with a cheese grater)
Toss all of the ingredients into a 5 gallon bucket lined with a garbage bag
Shake or stir well
Store in a jar or a bucket and that is it! So easy and so cheap!

I have a high efficiency washer and this soap has worked fine...not too sudsy!

Debbie

DIY Soft Scrub Cleaner

I found a recipe for this wonderful cleaner at Live Renewed Homemade Soft Scrub for Bath and Tile

Photo by Stacy @ Delighting in the Days

Stacy has an entire guest post at Live Renewed, about cleaning the bathroom effectively without using harsh chemicals. It is well worth reading.

She says:
This recipe is adapted from the recipe for Earth Paste in Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan (page243). It is quick and easy to put together and effectively cleans the bath (hooray). Make this in small batches because it can dry out and harden when stored. This recipe makes enough for two to four uses. Keep any remaining mixture in an air tight container.*

Ingredients
3/4 cup baking soda (slightly heaped)
1/4 cup castile soap (I use Dr. Bronners Peppermint)**
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon vinegar

Method
In a bowl, combine the baking soda and castile soap. Add the water and stir with a fork.

Lastly, stir in the vinegar. The mixture will fizz a little. Stir to make a nice soft, paste-like, consistency. (This is important – the vinegar must go in last or else the scrub will be like sludge instead of a creamy paste.)

Scoop out the scrub with a sponge and start cleaning.

This scrub can also be used to clean the toilet.

* Mine has lasted fine in an airtight container. I just stir it with a fork before using
**I used lavender castile soap

This scrub works great on my stove when something spills over, and I LOVE how it smells. You can make it up in less than 5 minutes!

Happy Cleaning! (Is that an oxymoron?)
Debbie

DIY soaps and cleaners

Kelsie is getting ready to move away so her husband can go to medical school. They are very frugal and do an amazing job managing their money! Kels went looking online to come up with some CHEAP cleaning supplies and she found some awesome websites! Each day this week, we will share a website and the product we made from their recipe. You can make most of them for pennies and they work just as well as the real deal. So grab a friend and have a girls night out making cleaning products...we did it and it was great fun!
Debbie

Homemade Fabric Softener from thefrugalgirls.com
Hop on over to thefrugalgirls.com to see the rest of their great homemade products!

By Heidi on October 18, 2010

"If you’ve been wanting to cut costs on Fabric Softener… try making Homemade Fabric Softener!
What You’ll Need:

6 cups HOT water
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

What You’ll Do:

Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
Add the vinegar, and mix well.
Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
Pour into a downy ball… or use approx. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!"

Note: You can also add a few drops of essential oil to make the good smell stronger. I made this once before, a few months ago, and I didn't like that I could still smell the vinegar. This time, I added essential oil, and it does not smell so much like vinegar. I also used a Downey ball this time, and it seems to broadcast the softener better.

Valentine goodies

Hi there! Today I am posting ideas Kelsie found on pinterest for yummy Valentine treats. Be sure to click on the websites to get recipes and more ideas!
Debbie

From: goldenstatefruit


Cherry Chocolate Kisses

From: thecurvycarrot

Pound Cake--cut pound cake into circles and cover with pink frosting

From: bit.ly

And finally...lots of great ideas at this valentine party site!

From: //http://amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com/2010/02/valentine-soiree.html

My Cute Christmas Present

When I opened my stocking this year, it had NOTHING in it,(except what I put in it!) Kelly came running in with these flowers in his hands, saying, "Sorry, I forgot to put these in your stocking!" He welded old horseshoes on to rebar to make the flowers, and they were as tall as me! I think that they are so adorable "planted" in my front flower garden. (He had to drive a stake into the frozen ground before we could plant them!)
I am a lucky girl!
Debbie

Organizing Ideas

Do you use Pinterest? Pinterest is an online bulletin board where you can store ideas--it is so cool!

Have you ever found a great idea online that you were going to use later, and then when you go back,you can't find it!
Pinterest can solve that.

You request an invitation at www.pinterest.com. They will send you an email and you get a "pin" control in your bookmark link. Log in to the site, and click on your account (right hand corner of page),there is a drop down menu--click on the link for boards.You can create any number of boards. Some of my boards are: kindergarten teaching ideas, what's for dinner, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, etc.

Then when you find an idea you want to save, you click on pin (from your bookmarks), and pin the picture onto a board to save. The coolest thing about pinterest is that when you view your board and click on the picture, (your idea), it comes up with the website link. Click on the link, and you go straight to the blog or website.

You can also search pinterest to look at ideas others have posted. This is a great resource when you are looking for something specific: ie. valentine decorations, ideas for achievement days, craft projects, what to make for dinner. When you see an idea on pinterest, put the cursor on the picture and you will see the option of repin. Click on repin, choose your board and click pin it. It will show up on your board.

When you search pinterest, you can type a subject in the search box, or scroll over "everything" to search for a particular subject. You can also click on everything, and you will see a mix of pins.

(Image from Golocal.com)

Be aware, however, that when you click everything, you will see some things that are not desirable. Some people post things that have rude language, and pictures that are offensive.
I still click everything,though, because I like to see the variety of pictures. I always find ideas that I didn't know I was looking for!

So there you have it...pinterest in a nutshell!
Try it out and you might get addicted!