Success!! I made my own laundry detergent using water, borax, washing soda and a bar of soap! It was very simple to make (it only took 15 minutes!) and it works great! I have a top loading washing machine and used cold water in the wash/rinse cycles. My clothes came out very soft and clean. You can also use this to pretreat stains as well.
Here is the recipe I used from thesimpledollar.com, complete with instructions and photos.
The only thing difficult about it was finding a store that sells Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I found it at a locally owned grocery store rather than a large chain, but you can always ask your store to order it for you if they carry other Arm & Hammer products.
Now on to fabric softener . . .
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Frugality Reality
Like many people I know, we are trying to cut costs. After looking on the internet I have been able to find an abundance of information on frugal living, from feeding a family of 4 for a month on an incredible $200, to baking your own bread and making your own laundry detergent & cleaning products. But how realistic is it for the average person who wants to cut food costs, but who either cannot or does not want to hunt for their own meat or buy an entire side of beef at a time?
On the flip side, I have also seen many segments in the news and television programs that promise you ways to cut your budget in half. I patiently wait through the entire news hour for these amazing tips only to be given advice like, "don't buy pre-cut and packaged fruit, make your coffee at home instead of buying several a day, bring your lunch to work instead of eating out everyday" . . . etc.. But what about those of us who are already doing the obvious and still looking for ways to cut back?
So, since I am not a hunter and I have never ever had enough money to spend on eating out everyday, I am beginning a quest to find my personal happy medium.
I am going to put some of the more practical sounding ideas to the test and let you know how they translate into reality.
Now I'm off to make my own laundry detergent!
On the flip side, I have also seen many segments in the news and television programs that promise you ways to cut your budget in half. I patiently wait through the entire news hour for these amazing tips only to be given advice like, "don't buy pre-cut and packaged fruit, make your coffee at home instead of buying several a day, bring your lunch to work instead of eating out everyday" . . . etc.. But what about those of us who are already doing the obvious and still looking for ways to cut back?
So, since I am not a hunter and I have never ever had enough money to spend on eating out everyday, I am beginning a quest to find my personal happy medium.
I am going to put some of the more practical sounding ideas to the test and let you know how they translate into reality.
Now I'm off to make my own laundry detergent!
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