Frugal Moment

As a family of four, I know we don't have much on the quiverfull homesteads out there. However, we're here in Southern California and living on one income (thank you Jesus!)

We are "quiverfull" in spirit and trying to be that equal of frugality. It thought it'd be fun to share some of my frugal moments that are working for us.

Today is Homemade Laundry Detergent.


When I first heard about this I thought the idea was insane. I thought "How in the world would THAT clean clothes?! I mean, where are all those fancy "enzymes" that the commercials talk about? I thought that we'd be walking around in dingy duds for sure!

Well, the Lord has a way of reminding us what is important and to keep in mind our real blessings. It wasn't very long ago that our family went through our own little recession; LMS (hubby) was working, thankfully, but at projects that paid less than 60% of his usual rates. It drug on and on and we were going from "living tight" to "living further and further behind".

This caused me to really look at our finances and see what we could do to make the ends meet better. I will share more of my journey in my "Frugal Moments" posts... but this nugget came about when I finally just gave in.

I make soap. I make bath gels, mineral makeup, lotions, facial creams... and so much more; it's my business! So the task in itself wasn't daunting... it was the doubt. I seriously doubted this formula would work. So, I prayed about it.

[quick tagent] one thing I am learning from the Lord right now, is that NOTHING is too small to bring before the Lord. Pray without cessing. I had always felt that the "mundane" wasn't worthy to be lifted in prayer. And then I realized; much of my daily life as a SAHM *IS* considered mundane by most. If I cut out what I felt might be "mundane" I'd be cutting out most of my life from prayer!! [/done with tagent LOL]

SO, I prayed about it. And felt convicted to try it. I mean... what could it hurt? The ingredients are SO CHEAP. I MAKE soap, so I had plenty... so... okay. I relented.

Setting off like a child in a candy store, I got my ingredients. (It took a bit of research to do this here in So. Cal. though). I have to admit; I LOVE to make soap and all things creative in that process. So even though I didn't quite "believe" in the product's effectiveness, I was excited to make something new.

Here's how I did it....

First off... THE RECIPE!

my recipe is different than most on the internet... it comes from years of soap making as well as an intensive conviction from the Lord (where nearly everything I have ever made commercially comes from!)

4 cups tap water
1 cup borax (cut to 1/2 if not plagued with hard water like we are)
1 cup oxy-clean (I use the .99 store or Walmart generic versions)
1 cup washing SODA (if your store doesn't carry it, try wal-mart. If it's not in the laundry area, try the pool care area has it under "sodium carbonate" which is usually labeled as "PH plus". Its a bit more expensive to buy it this way, but it is still affordable if you don't have any other option.)
1 cup baking soda (optional. I like this as it is a great way to fight the order buildup from cloth pullup and construction sweat eeew...tmi?? )
1 cup white vinegar (again, optional. I find vinegar helps to boost the other ingredients AND helps soften and additionally deodorize)
1 bar of soap... Fels-naptha, Zote, Octagon or my personal choice: Lirio (the Lirio is a personal favorite because it smeels like clean lemons but also its cheaper than ANYBODY else. It works wonderfully AND is readily available down here close to the Mexican border.) You can also use commercial or home-made soap. Double the amount from a home-made soap since most of theses bars are about 14+ oz [give or take] and be prepared for a workout for store soaps - these are ROCK solid. They take SOME TIME to grate. They are also more super harsh, bad evironment detergents in the standard store soaps for bath so consider that in your decisions)

Directions:

1. Set water to boil (suggest you use an old pot or unused pot. Soap must be boiled out)
   
2. Grate bar(s) of soap (depending on choice) and add to boiling water. Stir occasionally until water just starts to boil. (Ultimately, 99% of soap needs to be completely melted.)
   
3. Meanwhile, Add HOT tap water to 50% of a 5 gallon bucket (like Lowes or Home Depot sells for cheap).
   
4. Stir your soap and water on the stove some more
   
5. Back to the bucket: Add powdered ingredients (and vinegar if you choose) to 5 gallon bucket (and 50% full of hot water as mentioned above) and stir, stir, stir!
6. Stir your soap and hot water on the stove again.
   
7. Stir your 5 gallon bucket again.
8. Make sure ALL powder is stirred and dissolved in 5 gallon bucket (break up pieces if necessary)
   
9. Add hot soap mixture from the stove to 5 gallon bucket and stir, stir, stir!
10. Stir occasionally for about 2 hours and then lid the bucket for over-night.

Next day (or SEVERAL HOURS LATER)

1. Stir, stir and stir some more! The mix may (or may not) have "gelled". Thickening and looking rather like goo. [its no biggie if it doesn't. It depends on your soap. Oxyclean can also change it. Your soap will still rock your laundry if it doens't gel!!!]
   
2. Top off the 5 gallon bucket with MORE hot water (near the top).
3. YUP! you guessed it. Stir some more!
   

Now your detergent is ready!!! whooo hooo!!!

you can choose to add fragrance or essential oils for fragrance if you like *(and stir LOL)

To use: add 50% water to 50% detergent blend. Add to any bottle your hearts desire but make sure it has a lid.... HMD (home-made detergent) often needs to be shaken before use.

TA DA! You are the master of your domain. The Domestic Queen of Frugality. Don your Crown of Savings and beam at your dedication to your family!!!