Laundry Soap for Pennies Per Load

 I know DIY Laundry soap is all over the web, but I thought I would show you the kind I use anyway. A friend told me about it. At first, I was a bit skeptical but decided to give it a try cause she is a wise, "clean" person ;) and I needed soap that is dye free and scent free because of my allergies. I took the recipe she recommended and cut it in 1/4 from the original Duggar family size.  After about six months of use, it has been working great to get our clothes clean, in fact works great as a pre-treatment also. It is super simple to make and costs literally pennies per load. I got all my ingredients (except the optional ingredient, essential oil) at our local ACE Hardware store. I think it cost me around $12.00 first time to get everything. The only thing I have to get every four batches is Fels-Naptha soap costing only around $2 a bar. The boxes of Borax and Super Soda will last a long time since you use only 1/4 cup and 1/8 cup  per batch. This is a recipe for a small batch  for 1-2 persons laundry for 2-3 months.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent 

What you will need:

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 of a bar of Fels Naptha soap
• 1/4 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (must be washing soda!)
• 1/8 cup Borax
• 10-15 drops of Lavender oil or essential oil of your choice (optional)
• a 5 quart ice-cream bucket
• a few gallon jugs or old laundry soap bottles to store soap in

Directions:

Pour 1 cup of water into saucepan and heat over low heat.

Grate Fels Naptha soap bar and add to water. Stir continually over low heat until soap is completely dissolved. (It seems if the water is too hot the soap doesn't melt as it should, so keep the heat low.)

Next, fill the ice cream bucket half full of hot tap water, add melted soap, the 1/4 cup washing soda, and 1/8 cup of  Borax. Stir well until powder is dissolved. Fill water to brim of ice cream bucket.

Cover with lid and let it sit overnight to thicken. 

In the morning, stir well again. I take my hands through it to make sure there are no clumps. Pick out any clumps of soap that may not have quite dissolved. If I heat my water on a low temperature there are none but sometimes like this time I was hurrying too much and there were a few. 

If you plan to put in any essential oils add them now.

 For the next step I used a 3 gallon bucket and poured my soap into it. Then I added another bucket of warm tap water to it.  (If you don't have a larger bucket to mix it in, you can pour the soap into your jugs or soap containers only filling half full of soap and the rest with water.)

Now you are ready to fill your jugs with fresh soap.

The finished product. And yeah I had a little fun designing my own label. ;)

One batch produced (2 small laundry soap bottles, 1 gallon jar, and part of an ice cream bucket ) 

Approx 2 and 1/2 gallon soap = laundry soap for 2-3 months for Josh and I.

Directions for use: 5/8 cup detergent per medium load for top loading machines or 1/4 cup per medium load for front loading

Shake before each use.

Happy soap making and Happy Monday!

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"Razzi" my recycled rag bag...

So here is my first project..."Razzi" the ragbag. Ok so I don't actually call it that everyday, I just thought it sounded good. ;) Don't you think it has a certain ring to it?

I had this top that I didn't like. I fit me, but it made me look like I was pregnant, even my husband said so! 

So one day I was looking for something to put my rags in that I had cluttering my shelf in my laundry room.

 I got to thinking "Mom had a "rag bag" at home... It looked like a shirt of sorts." 

Then it popped into my head. "I could use that top I made months ago that I don't wear and is hanging in the sewing room closet. The color even goes well with my red laundry room."

So this is how "Razzi" came into being. ;)

I used my home made top but you could use any top or shirt with a V neckline. It could be one you have or a cheap one you pick up at a thrift store or yard sale.

Step 1. Cut out any thing that covers the V opening. Here I had an under layer shirt of types. 

After the undershirt is cut out.

Step 2:  Flip top over and turn inside out. Now  sew bottom two hems together to make a giant pouch to hold your rags.

Step 3: Turn right side out and hang on a hanger. Hang on your wall or where ever you plan to keep it. Fill with those rags you keep for painting or other rag needing projects. 

 Step 4: Enjoy your new rag bag.

Btw, doesn't Razzi look good in my laundry room next to my vintage Diamond Dyes sign?

Life...and New Year Resolutions

  Here it is almost another month since my first post... I really planned on posting something before now but my laptop had issues and was in the shop for a few weeks. 
  Needless to say, I was very glad to pick it up yesterday. ;) It felt like picking up a part of my family when the computer tech brought out my techie "baby" and handed it to me. Hehe. Seriously, I didn't know how much I used it until I didn't have it. I was glad for my Nook so I wasn't totally disconnected from cyberspace. Still nothing like my good old laptop to type away at and quickly look something up on. 
  Anyway, enough about that. I promise to get a project on here soon.
  

Who else is compelled to make a New Year's resolution or two at the beginning of every year?

Well I am and again I have made a few this year... I decided to make just two so that  I may actually get them done instead of just being a dream.

• I want to develop a more thankful, optimistic spirit. How?

1. Write down 1,000 of the many gracious gifts God has given me. (And no, I haven't read the book  One Thousand Gifts. Although I have heard it is really good.)
2. Try to sing 3 songs of praise every day, even if it is sung in tears or a whisper. A heart singing praises to God finds it hard to remain in darkness of spirit. (The reason I said "try" is because I find that just in every day life it is easy to forget about singing unless I am blue. Then I usually remember which is really when I want to remember anyway.)

So there it is folks. ;)  Joni's New Year's resolutions. Ask me next year how I did. Now to go write down more of those gifts...

Welcome to Creatopia

 Creatopia -ah... the beauty of it.
 It's a place where fires glow, love grows, 
and hearts and hands are warmed.

I love the sound of it's name;
 I love the warm glow of the place. Better yet,
 I like how it makes me feel -all cozy and warm. 

 It is a glowing place where you can sit by a crackling fire and listen to stories 
while you create. 

It is here, you and I can 
create all kinds of things. 

Maybe it's knitting a pair of socks 
for your husband, 
maybe it is sewing a dress
 for your little sister, 
or maybe, it is just creating good memories
 with grandpa and grandma.

 I snuggle closer 
and take another sip of hot chocolate.
 (Creatopia definitely has hot chocolate.) 
The fire crackles, 
the wind howls,
 the snow blows,
 but it is cozy in here. 
Come on in,
 take off your wraps, 
and enjoy the fire with me. 

 Creatopia is only a magical place in my imaginations, I like to think of it as my own creatopia, the place where I create. 


 Thus the name of my blog. ;) I love to create things so I thought I would blog about it. If you like them, you also can make them to enjoy. So here it is- My Own Creatopia.