Homemade laundry detergent - powder

Over the weekend, I made homemade laundry detergent.  This is my second time making it.  I'm excited to see how long it will truly last, because last time I split it three ways with my family.  So here it is, May 2019.  I'm going to try and record my weekly loads and average those out to see just how cost effective this may be.  According to my math now, it's not saving me any money...which is a bummer.

Here are the ingredients I used:

(all detergent items were purchased in store at Walmart)

• (3) Purex Stain Fighter + Bright Booster 1 lb ($1.97/each) 
• (1) 20 Mule Team Borax 65 oz ($4.47/each)
• (1) Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 3 lb ($4.12/each)
• (1) Baking Soda 4 lb ($2.24/each)
• (2) Zote Bars ($1.12/each) - I bought 4 of these and only ended up using 2.  I also bought the pink version.  Honestly, not sure on the difference between the pink and white Zote soap (the price was the same and the labels didn't say anything different either).
• (2) Suavitel in wash laundry scent booster fragrance pearls ($3.97/each) - I bought the blue fragrance which was field flowers

I also made 2 investment purchases, the 2.5 gallon container and the 2 tablespoon scoop.  You can find these items on Amazon here:

• 2.5 gallon storage container
• 2 Tablespoon Scoop

I used a small bucket and lined it with 2 trash bags.  I doubled up on trash bags just if in case one got a hole, I didn't want detergent spilling out all over the floor.  Toss all of your ingredients into the bucket aside from the Zote soap.  The Zote soap you will grate into the rest of the mixture, as seen below.  Then, you will hold the open end of the trash bag closed and roll the mixture around on the floor.  Do this until all the ingredients are pretty well mixed together.

After all was said and done, this recipe made approximately 3 gallons of detergent.  Total cost? $63.44, this is all inclusive (except tax)...the container, scoop and the laundry supplies (even the extra ingredients I didn't use).  Next time, if I were to do this, buying the correct amount of ingredients and no container and scoop I would be spending $26.92 not including tax.

Okay, so let's take a look at the math.  This made approximately 3 gallons of detergent.  I'll be using 2 tablespoons per load.  There are 256 tablespoons in 1 gallon.  Take 256 and divide by 2 (because I am using 2 tablespoons/load) and that equals 128 loads for 1 gallon of detergent.  Since I made 3 gallons, I will need to take my 128 loads and multiply by 3 which equals 384 loads of laundry.

Let's say I do 10 loads of laundry per week, meaning 40 loads in 1 month (384 loads divided by 40 loads of laundry per month).  If my math is correct, that would mean this detergent should last around 9.5 months!

Total cost per load?  If we skip all the initial start up fees and just go with the dollar figure I'll be spending from here on out I would be spending around $0.07/load.

I typically buy Purex (liquid 150 oz for $8.36/each), it says it does 100 loads for each container.  I always use enough to go up to the fill line in my washing machine, so I'm not sure this figure is completely accurate.  If we do a little cross multiplying and dividing here to see how much it would cost using this detergent for the same amount of loads listed above, our answer would be $32.1(384 loads multiplied by $8.36 divided by 100 loads). Meaning we are saving about $5.18.

Saving money is saving money but I'm not completely sure it's worth it.  I'll be able to say for sure once I've been using it for a couple of months.  I want to see how if affects my laundry machine, if at all.  I want to see how many loads of laundry on average I do in a week.  How it does with sensitive skin and how it affects our clothes.

I'll be updating again hopefully in July.  Please check back or let me know if you've ever made your own laundry soap and what your experience was.  Thanks and have a great day!

Resin serving board

I've been seeing many tutorials on these serving trays.  So I thought I would give it a try.  My sister supplied me with a slab of wood from her yard.

Supplies Needed:

• Slab of wood
• Color dyes (I used a powdered fabric dye, looking back I would not choose to use these again, instead I would use an acrylic paint which you can get super cheap at Hobby Lobby).
• Leather cord
• 8 oz Easy Cast Epoxy (purchased at Hobby Lobby for $12.99)
• Mixing cups and stirrers (I just used styrofoam and plastic so I could throw away after I was done using)
• Hair dryer

What I started with.  Lucky for me, my sister already cut the slab of wood into the right shape and did a bit of sanding.

I did some additional sanding to the top, bottom and sides in a finer grit (120 & 220 grit sand paper).

After sanding, I drilled a hole in the handle using a drill bit.  This will allow for the leather cord to be tied to for hanging.  I then placed painters tape on the back of the serving tray, in hopes of preventing the epoxy from sticking to the bottom.

I then trimmed off the excess painters tape.

Combine the epoxy (resin) according to the manufacturers directions.  Be sure to use different stir sticks each time.  After separating the epoxy into different containers, you will mix in the colorant.  This is where I would use acrylic paint instead of a powdered fabric dye.

As you can see in the picture, I placed a piece of plastic down on my kitchen table because things are about to get MESSY!  I also used two plastic cups to hold the serving board up off the table.  You will want to do this because the epoxy is self leveling, meaning it will drip over the edge of your serving board.

After the colorant was stirred.  Why I would use acrylic paint instead of powdered fabric dye is because I noticed the powder didn't quite dissolve quick enough.  So when I went to pour the epoxy onto the wood, I had granules spread out all over the place.  The only color I used acrylic paint for was the white, which went on very smoothly and had full coverage.  Another note I would make to myself for a future project would be to use mostly white and use the other colors sparingly. 

I began by pouring the white epoxy onto the board.  Looking back, I wish I wouldn't have put the epoxy so close to the middle of the serving tray (I should have kept in back towards the handle).

Continue to pour out your colors.  There's no rhyme or reason to the technique, just pour them all out there.  I had 4 colors total, a red (that ended up looking purple), a dark blue, a light blue and white.  Once you pour out all the colors (it's ok if you don't use all the epoxy, you may need some later) use a hair dryer on high heat to spread, swirl and mix the colors.  It will create a sort of marbleized look.

Allow the epoxy to spill off over the edge.  If the edge becomes too transparent, you can add more epoxy. 
Side note:  It may be a good idea to wait a little prior to adding more epoxy on your edges because over time, the epoxy will get thicker and stay on a little bit better.  I wouldn't wait any longer than 20 minutes to add more epoxy.

I let the epoxy dry for about 2 hours and then pulled off the painters tape from the back.  I probably could have waited another hour but I didn't want to push my luck.

After 24 hours you can touch your project, however please note it's not fully cured until after 72 hours.  You can see on the back of the serving board where the epoxy spilled over.  I went back with my drimmel and sanded this off.

I then used canola oil on the exposed wood.  I think you can use any type of cooking oil. 

The wood really soaks this stuff up, so much that when you touch it afterwards your hands won't be greasy.  I oiled the top, back and sides of the board being careful not to touch the epoxy.

And last touch was to tie on the leather cord so the serving board can be hung for storage purposes.

I paired my serving board with some fancy cheese.

Hope you enjoyed this step by step tutorial.  Please leave any questions or comments below.

Raised Garden Bed 2019

One of my new favorite hobbies is giving my green thumb a go.  In the past, I've been known to scorch a plant or two.  I'm happy to report that each year I improve on my plant knowledge.  My biggest take aways from last years raised garden bed are the following:

#1 Don't plant too early or too late
#2 Don't overcrowd the garden

In regards to not planting too early, you want to ensure that the last frost has occurred in your area.  Being in the Midwest, Missouri specifically, this can be quite difficult to pinpoint.  I'm shooting for the first part of May this year, just given the fact that we had snow a couple weeks ago.  You also don't want to plant too late.  I promised my husband this raised garden bed last year for Father's Day and unfortunately I didn't end up getting it made until mid-July.  This meant that the plants I started from seed in February weren't planted outside until mid-July as well.  I came to find this was way too late to plant, although we did get a couple of cucumbers out of the deal.

I also learned not to overcrowd the garden.  By overcrowd I mean that I had two gigantic tomato bushes that towered over everything else causing my other vegetables not to get sunlight.  I also put cucumbers in this tiny space.  They climbed on to EVERYTHING making a canopy over the other vegetables, again causing them to not grow due to lack of sunlight.

Here's a picture to show just how full the bed was:

Tomatoes and cucumbers are overtaking EVERYTHING!

In 2018 I began growing my plants from seed in February.  This year I jumped the gun a bit and began in January.  I upped my inside grow game and purchased a heating pad.  The plants began germination in just a few days.  This year we tried to grow:

• Tomatoes
• Peanuts
• Carrots
• Brussels sprouts
• Bell Peppers 
• Cucumbers
• Watermelon

Sadly, my watermelon all died again.  I'm not sure what the secret to growing watermelon is yet, but I will keep trying until I get the hang of it.  Peanuts are something new to me and I have to admit, I had no idea that peanuts grow underground (like potatoes).  I'll be building separate planters for both the peanuts and the cucumbers before transplanting them outside.  To grow peanuts, all you do is take an unroasted peanut out of the shell and put it in soil.  Both the peanuts that I planted sprouted very quickly.  I read that peanuts usually produce around 40 peanuts per plant and will usually be ready to harvest in the fall.

We had a lot of success planting our tomatoes as a "bush".  To do this bury 3/4 of the tomato root and stem into the ground.  Have the plant leaves (top of the tomato plant) at an angle going upward out of the soil.  You will plant 4 tomato plants to for a cross shape.  Then you will place a tomato cage over top of them and they will begin to grow upward forming a tomato bush.

I am excited for the day to come to bring these plants outside.  More updates to come!

Want a raised garden bed of your own?  Check out my tutorial from last year here.