Soap and such...

Okay, so a lot has gone on since the last time we talked. We found out we were having #2...


We celebrated Christmas, Reese's first...
Speaking of firsts...she also turned ONE on January 6th...
And now, its finally the new year! We're making new habits...like saving money! Should've been an old habit :/ I was actually given this recipe years ago by a family with 8 kiddos...I thought it sounded interesting, but also thought it sounded like quite a bit of work, man was I wrong. Recently, my friend Kathy sent me this recipe again saying: "you've got to do this!" So yesterday, Reese and I made our very own laundry detergent... SO easy!

You'll need: a 5 gallon bucket, with a lid!
A bar of soap grated into 7 cups of warm water. Your choice, but know that this is where the scent will come from in the detergent, so go with something yummy. And something that you want to walk around all day smelling like!
Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. Publix had the borax, Target had the Washing Soda...
Finally, a scented oil, which is optional. This will over power the soap and add the scent, if you choose. I decided not to use the tea tree oil since I put it in everything else...like the floor cleaner and the countertop cleaner...my house constantly smells like this stuff, thought I could live without the clothes smelling like it too!
The recipe:
Grate a bar of soap into 7 cups warm water. Stir over medium heat until soap is dissolved. About 10-12 minutes.
Fill the 5 gallon bucket with 4 gallons of warm/hot water.
Add the soapy water.
1/2 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
Stir until all the grains are dissolved.
Finally, cover and let sit overnight!

This is the finished product: a thick, clumpy gel like mixture. Use 3/4 cup in a full load.

Now, the ingredients are super cheap! I haven't done the actual break down, but Kathy has! It comes out to about $2.00 a bucket! Crazy! The larger gallon sized laundry detergents are usually anywhere from $8-$12 each...and thats just one gallon! Amazing... and Ive never been so excited about doing laundry!

Ill leave you with these! Two recent videos of the soon-to-be big sister! First one is a mix of her playing peek-a-boo and showing the world her surprise face :) Always knows she can get a laugh with that one, therefore, we see it often! Shes a total ham!

Second one is a little friendly game of pillow fighting, she loves to pillow fight, or better said get smacked in the face with a pillow...theres not fighting on her end!

Try the soap! Let me know how it goes!