Laundry Soap Jars

DIY Laundry Soap, Fabric Softener & Dryer Sheets 

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Cute Jars, Chalkboard Paint & Chalk

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Cuteness 

Like this post? You may also like: DIY Laundry Soap

Spice Jars

This was one of the first crafts I attempted when I became hip to pintrest! I love not having to dig through my spices looking for what I need. Now I can just look down, quickly pull out a jar and the wide opening make measuring a breeze!

I'm such a sucker for matching and clean looking things.

OCD much? yeah... about that....

Enjoyed this idea? Try: Windowsill Herb Garden

Coin Jars

I came up with a cute idea for coin jars in the laundry room. Usually the loose change I would find in our pockets would just get tossed on top of the dryer. 

So here's what I came up with: 

I still had a bundle of jute rope, so I grabbed my hot glue gun and some cute scrap booking letters. 

And Viola! 

Cute, Right?!

More ideas like this? Look here: Baby Food Jar Candles

Fabric Covered Boxes with DIY Fabric Flowers

I'm beginning to hoard glass jars like your old lady neighbor in Parma. Suddenly I no longer see a jar of salsa or spaghetti sauce, but crafting magic- CRAFTING MAGIC! I was kinda just shoving them everywhere I could, then eventually moved them into the laundry room, then decided them falling off the wire shelf was no good either, so THEN I decided to put them into some diaper boxes that fit perfectly on the shelf. But plain diaper boxes? NEVAH!

must.make.pretty.

I had some scrap fabric laying around, and it was enough to cover the diaper boxes. I used my hot glue gun to secure the fabric. Now onto these super cute fabric flowers... You could use these flowers for numerous ideas, from making a little girls headband, to decorating a present.

Looking for something similar? Look here: Fall Sewing Craft

Windowsill Herb Garden

This is my 2nd year having herbs on my kitchen sink windowsill. I just like watching them grow, and then when the herbs have filled the jar, I just snip them off, throw them into something I'm cooking and then plant a few more seeds. I enjoy glancing at them while I wash my hands or put dishes in the dishwasher, just watching something grow...

Now baby food jars I got! I save all of them, and have found many useful and crafty things to do with them (stay tuned!) For this project I just use my potting soil, seeds and water once a day. Easy-peasy, Lol! Some other bloggers show how to drill a hole in the bottom of your baby food jars for proper drainage, but I never did. Maybe you should if you plan to transplant them into your garden? I don't know, I like the idea of having a green thumb, but I ain't no where near that!

My labels are made on a brown paper bag and I used my trusty stamp set. I cut them out and then used clear scotch tape, sealing all the edges around the label, just in case it got wet while watering.

SO CUTE, RIGHT?!

Want more ideas like this? Look here: Baby Food Jar Candles

Baby Food Jar Candles

I seriously enjoyed this craft. I had been saving all my baby food jars, and this was a great way to use them. When making these candles in bulk, you spend penny's to the dollar you would buying them. They make great gifts and smell are strong (or as light) as you prefer and make them! 

Banana Nut, Ocean Breeze and Cranapple

I used food coloring to get a deeper color in my candle wax. My labels are made with scrap book paper, my trusty stamp set and some Modge Podge. I used scrap twine and jute to make little bows :)

 I'm looking forward to make some Christmas themed ones and have a few ideas in mind :) 

Below I have posted a link to the blog I used to make these, its a very simple and easy to understand tutorial. 

Gotta love Pintrest, Right?!

Click here for step by step directions to make your own!

Looking for more crafting ideas? Click here: Pumpkin Fun

Multipurpose, Multisurface, Orange Cleaner

So, I know you have seen this floating around Pintrest....

I had to give it a try! I couldn't find where it had originated from but most recipes were exactly the same, so I am guessing there's really only one way this can be made. All you need is some oranges peels, glass jars with lids and some distilled vinegar.

Simply take the orange peels and pack them into the jars. Then fill the jars with vinegar and close them up tightly. Store them in a cool dark place for 2 weeks (I put mine under the kitchen sink.)

Once the two weeks are up, you want to store it in something with equal parts water and the orange/vinegar solution.

Ok, now to try it... I will say, on hard wood floors, I was not impressed. It did leave a lack luster film, that kinda bummed me out. I think it may possibly work a lot better on laminate flooring. As a surface cleaner it worked well, I really didn't have any complaints. It did carry more of a vinegar odor rather than a clean  orange scent. I think I will add orange essential oil to this batch.

*Do you have a recipe that's natural and cleans wood floors? Let me know!

*What to do with all the oranges you just peeled??? Stay tuned!






Looking for more DIY projects? Look here: DIY Carpet Powder

Counting, Sorting, Matching Eggs

Noah LOVES eggs.

At school His favorite toys are the eggs and egg carton in the house keeping area.

At home his favorite toys are the (real) eggs and egg carton in MY refrigerator. 

So I came up with an idea :)

 I found these wood eggs on clearance at Hobby Lobby after the Easter season. 

I Panted them with tempera paint, stamped them with my rubber stamp set. 

(love it!)

 I also used a coat of Modge Podge to keep the paint from chipping off. 

So far so good.

 I felt like a genius when I came up to this idea. It reminds me of a Melissa and Doug toy, however they don't have anything like this.... 

Maybe I should try to sell them my idea!?

 I saved an x-large egg carton to put them in,

its the only size that would fit the wood eggs.

Then I painted the matching colors inside the carton :)

Now he can sort, match and count his very own set of eggs!

And hopefully the ones in the fridge can be spared!

DIY Carpet Powder

Soooo, I seriously love(d) Arm & Hammer Carpet Powder.... It made the house smell so yummy with all of its, errrr, chemicals..... :( I had no idea before reading an article on this stuff that it was actually some very toxic stuff. One thing that really bothered me is that it can trigger symptoms of Parkinson Disease. WOW. Well, I hit up Pintrest, with my box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in hand, and here's what I found- and oh my word, not only does it work, is extremely cheap, but the use of essential oils actually makes your carpet smell fresher- LONGER!.

I used:
baking soda- absorbs dirt and grime 
Borax- Naturally kills anything living in the carpet that shouldn't be
Essential oils- I used my lavender oil, LOVE IT, especially since I only have carpet in the bed rooms. 
(I swing open my bed room door and have a laundry detergent commercial moment....)

I save all of my shake cheese containers just for this. I had 3 and filled them up all in one sitting and it took literally minutes.

You want a recipe similar to this:
3 1/2 Parts Baking Soda
1/2 Part Borax
(I used 20 drops of essential oil)

So, if you have 3 1/2 cups of baking soda, you would add a 1/2 cup of Borax. Its really dependent on how large a batch you want to make in one sitting.

Use a whisk to mix together and then pour into your containers. Sprinkle on carpet and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes, then vacuum up!

HAPPY VACUUMING! 

Sensory Bags

Yay for sensory bags! Here's some of my creations!

Noah loves them :)

I used 1 gallon zip lock bags, and I also double bagged them. Noah still likes to get input from his mouth, but if your child doesn't have those issues you wouldn't need that step. I sealed them up with some heavy duty duct tape and there ya go! When he gets bored with these I will think of some other themed bags to make.

All my items were purchased in my local Walmart store. I just went through all the aisle and looked for little objects that would show through the hair gel well.

DIY Febreeze, Wrinkle Releaser & Stain Remover

DIY Febreeze, Wrinkle Releaser & Stain Remover!

I am on a roll, let me tell ya :)

I love my DIY laundry soap, fabric softener and dryer sheets... so with the theme of laundry on the brain I started doing some research...

What are some other things in my laundry room that I could replace with a much more natural and less chemical version? And here's what I've found, AND LOVE!

3-18 OZ. SPRAY BOTTLES 

(I FOUND MINE AT WALMART IN THE GARDENING AREA)

YOUR DIY FABRIC SOFTENER 

ESSENTIAL OIL 

(THE SAME YOU USED IN YOUR FABRIC SOFTENER)

BAKING SODA

BLUE DAWN DISH SOAP

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE 

DISTILLED WATER

I used chalk board paint to make my labels :)

Febreeze 

1/8 Cups of Fabric Softener

2 Tbs of Baking Soda

30 Drops of Essential Oils (the same you used in your fabric softener)

The rest Distilled Water

Wrinkle Releaser

3 Cups of Distilled Water

10 Tsp of Fabric Softener 

Stain Remover

2 Cups of Hydrogen Peroxide

1 Cup of Blue Dawn Dish Soap 

HAPPY WASHING!

DIY Fabric Softener & Dryer Sheets

 So, as many of you know, I am trying to go as chemical free as possible but being realistic with my expectations. If something just simply doesn't work, then to me its obviously not worth it. Since I am just so in love with my Homemade laundry detergent, I decided to take it a step further and go for fabric softener as well as dryer sheets. I know what your thinking, "isn't each of those only a dollar or two?" And yeah, they are, and for this project I pretty much broke even.

DIY Fabric Softener:
(Double the recipe if you plan to make the dryer sheets as well) 
1 Cup of distilled water
1 Cup baking soda
2 Cups of white vinegar 
25 Drops of essential oil (I used lavender purchased from Whole Foods)

In a large bowl, whisk water, baking soda and essential oil. Then SLOWLY pour in your vinegar. You will start to see the fizzle from the chemical reaction of mixing the 2 (think high school science fair volcano project). Once done fizzing, pour mixture into a sealable jar. After sitting a while, it will separate so  simply shake it up a little before using. 

DIY Dryer Sheets:
Take a package of coffee filters and separate them as best you can. Loosely put them in a container and pour your fabric softener over them until completely saturated. Wait about 15 minutes  for them to soak. Once time is up, ring them out as best as you can (you can pour what is left back into your jar to use as fabric softener if you want, don't wanna waste those essential oils!)  Separate them as best you can and lay them out on a cookie sheet to dry. It may take over night. Once dry, put them loosely in a large container and cover with a lid.

So, I have now been using both for over a month now. And it is lasting me a lot longer than I expected. When doing towels, pour your fabric softener in your downy dryer ball and it will sanitize and soften your towels. When drying clothes use 2-3 dryer sheets depending on the size of your load. When you take your laundry out, grab your shriveled up dryer sheet and stick it in a bag, you could easily get a second use out of them! Saving you a little bit more money :) As your sheets sit in the container they may change color a tad, simply due to the type of oil you use, but don't worry, it will not effect your clothing in any way.

And again:

HAPPY WASHING!