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

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

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!

DIY Laundry Soap

One of my goals for 2013 is to get my house as chemical free as possible. What I'm quickly learning, oddly enough, is that this is actually putting extra bucks IN my pocket, rather than taking more money out. 

I do at least 3 loads of laundry a day, and go through laundry soap like crazy. So when I learned that I could not only make my own, but save some money, I was eager to try it out.

My last batch lasted me 4 months for a family of 6! And guess what? It only cost me about 25 bucks. I spent that easily in 1 month of purchasing my name brand laundry soap in the past. 

Here's what you will need:

2 Tubs of Sun Oxygen 
1 76 oz box of Borax
3 Bars of Fels-Naptha Soap
2 Cups of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
1 55 oz box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 64 oz bottle of Purex Crystals (Optional, but worth it!)
(All of these items you can find in the laundry soap isle. I got everything at my local walmart)
A food processor, OR a cheese grate 
2 Garbage bags (Doubled bagged)
Knife

Step 1: Food Processor: Open and dice each bar of Fels-Naptha soap, place in your food processor. I used our magic bullet, and it did the job easily, grinding them into small beads. Set the soap aside.

Step 1: Cheese Grate: If you do not have a food processor, or just dont want to use yours, instead of dicing your soap, simply shread it with a cheese grater. I did this with my first batch, it was quite the work out, but it works just as well. Set the soap aside.

Step 2: On top of a table spread out your double bagged garbage bag. Start adding all ingrediants into the bag. Once finished, make sure you tie it up really well so nothing escapes while mixing.

Step 3: MIX! Roll your bag around on the table several times (It will be very heavy). Go in all directions to be sure it is mixed evenly. 

Step 4: Put into containers. I used a measuring cup to help scoop the detergent out of the bag and into my tubs. I save my Sun tubs and use them to store my detergent in. Exactly 4 tubs will hold this entire batch. 

I use the scooper from the Sun tubs as my measuring tool. I pour 1 cup directly into the laundry machine, then place my laundry and then a scoop on top. My kids are really dirty! 

*This laundry soap is HE safe

* Your soap may start to seperate in the tub over time due to the different weights of mixed ingrediants. All you have to do is just shake up your tub every now and again :)

*The Purex Crystals are optional, and the detergent will work just as well without them. However, these give your laundry such a sweet aroma that fills your entire house every time you wash. I like the lavender scent as well as the ocean breeze. 

HAPPY WASHING!