DIY Laundry Detergent

It's official.. I have finally jumped on the bandwagon for making my own laundry detergent. I was so skeptical at first, but after doing it... I really love it! It was really easy, so cheap and smells great.

I even calculated the difference between buying name-brand & making this detergent.

Name-brand detergent = $12.50 for 64 loads 

DIY detergent = About $13 for 240 loads. 

If you aren't great at math, that's almost 4 times more loads than using name-brand. I will likely only spend $13 for an entire year worth of laundry. That is outrageous. You have to try it!

Thanks to everyone who tried this first and convinced me to do it. :)

Recipe: 

1/2 cup Borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda 

1 bar of Fels Naptha soap

Each of these only cost $3-$4.  Bar of soap $1.  

You can use a food processor to grate the soap and mix it.  Or you can grate the bar of soap with a cheese grater. Just mix it together and you are done!   I went ahead and doubled the recipe so that I would have to make it less frequently. 

 

Approximately 4 monts worth of laundry detergent 

As you can tell, when you grate the soap with a cheese grater, it ends up looking a lot like cheese. ha! :)  If you want it to be more the consistency of normal detergent you will want to use a food processor. But it will all dissolve in the wash, so it doesn't matter either way.

The best part, you only have to use 1 tablespoon per load. (2 tablespoons if really soiled).

Enjoy!

Oh Oh.. It's magic!

I think I have discovered my new favorite food.. Peanut Butter Magic Cookies. If you like ooey gooey cookies and reese's cups... this cookie would blow you away!  I found the recipe in one of my favorite cook books, The Bright Family Cookbook.  It was given to us as a wedding present and we use the recipes in it all the time, especially for sweets.  Thanks Shelley, Jordan, and Mrs. Bright for enlightening me to my new favorite food! 

As you can tell, they have a fantastic gooey peanut butter center.  My favorite part :)

Recipe for Peanut Butter Magic Cookies

Filling: 

3/4 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar 

Cookie Dough: 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened

1/4 cup peanut butter 

1-1/2 cup flour 

1/2 cup cocoa 

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 egg 

• Combine filling ingredients & blend well.  Form into approximately 30 (1-inch) balls.  Set aside. 
• Beat sugars, margarine, and peanut butter until light & fluffy. 
• Add the rest of the ingredients.  Blend well.  
• With floured hands, take about 1tbsp. cookie dough and wrap around peanut butter ball, covering completely. 
• Place 2'' apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  
• Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar (or flatten with your hands as your cover them with dough). 
• Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes.  

New Painting

Well, because I had been desperately missing doing craft projects, I decided to do a new painting for our living room..  I've been thinking about doing it for a while, just never had the time or (honestly) the guts to start because I knew it was going to take forever.  But I finally did it!  I found a painting that I loved at Cost Plus World Market and decided to model  my painting after that one.  I love to paint, but I'm not very creative, so I usually need a good bit of inspiration!  

My inspiration: World Market Circle Painting 

The finished product, I think... I might make a few more changes.

On display.. 

Here are some close up- so you can imagine how long this took me.. ha! 

Shower for Baby Koon

A couple weeks ago, I helped to throw a baby shower for one of my best friends from college.  I was in charge or decorations, so I made a banner! After spending the day working on it... I realized how much I missed crafting. 

SO excited about Baby Boy Koon! :)