So, yesterday, we dumped a bunch of stuff from the car directly into the entryway to be sorted later. If you're like me, it's still sitting there, waiting to be sorted and put away. Which means that my entryway which is, in fact, part of my living room, looks like a bomb went off.
My living room also looks like a bomb went off, as it is the most used room of our entire house. There's piles of laundry ready to be put away, dirt on the floor in between all the toys, blankets, and pillows. There's DVDs that need to be put away, books stacked up on the mantle, papers and mail on the end tables, empty water glasses out, computers (and cords) all over, shoes in the walkway, music scattered across the piano, and bags full of stuff for every activity right in the entryway, along with coats, sweatshirts, and other accessories cluttering up the entryway. Hurricane Cook Family just came through and left a path of destruction in it's wake.
So, today is all about your most used areas of your home, and the ones that you want to be the most presentable when you open your door to someone. To get these 2 areas (which I've combined due to proximity) I will be using the following supplies:
Vacuum
Smallish Rags (2)
Lemon Pledge (yes, I really do buy normal cleaning products sometimes)
Glass Cleaner
Paper Towels
Bucket
Liquid Castile (I'm using eucalyptus today)
Broom and Dustpan
Okay, let's start by cleaning up. Put all the clothes, dirty dishes, shoes, bags, and general "junk" away where it belongs. Get your family involved and become a tidy up whirlwind. One thing I've learned over the course of the last 10 years of keeping my own house is that if your house is neat, people will automatically think that it's clean, that is unless there's muddy footprints across your black bamboo hardwood floors, but honestly, what would I know about that? (insert sarcasm here)
So try to make sure that you spend a few moments every day "neating" or "tidying up" your house. You'll create an illusion of cleanliness even if you don't have time to dust, mop and vacuum. Once everything is tidied up, I like to clear out any movable furniture and remove the rugs, then sweep. You could vacuum if you want, but my vacuum scratches my black bamboo floors (which show everything btw) so I sweep with a broom and dustpan. After sweeping I get a bucket of hot mop water with a squirt or two of castile soap and I mop the floors, again on my hands and knees because I don't believe in mops. This may take a lot more time depending on how much flooring you have to mop, if any at all. My floor takes lots of time, but once upon a time, floor mopping took just a few minutes because we had carpet in our living room.
When the floor is dry, move your furniture and rugs back into place (don't forget to vacuum the rugs). Now, grab a rag and furniture polish and dust your main furniture pieces. I do the piano, the end tables and the bookshelves. We have other shelves on our walls, but I only dust them half the time, because they're high up and no one really sees the dust as much. Dusting doesn't take that long and it's a great way to remove allergens from your home. If you don't want to use furniture polish (which I also only use about half the time) but you don't want the dust getting airborne, get your dust rag wet, then ring it out really really well and dust with that. Don't forget to dust lampshades. They harbor tons of dust, and when they're dusted, they let more light filter through too. Dusting done, check.
Now grab your window cleaner and clean windows in your space. Don't forget to clean any windows in your door, as they probably have finger and nose prints on them, I know mine do. Also, if you have a TV that you can clean with this method, do that now. I have a special cloth to wipe my TV down with, and I do that while I dust. With the dusting done, you're pretty much done.
I would like to think for a moment on organization before I go. Your entryway and living room are the hub of your home. You live in them constantly, and you have lots of stuff in them usually. Organization is key to keeping these areas "clean". I like to have coat hooks behind or next to the door, so that I don't have a pile of backpacks and coats right on the floor in the entry. I also recommend (for your sanity) having a shoe bin near the door, if possible. We don't wear shoes in the house (also for my sanity), so there's usually a pile of shoes right in front of the door that I feel obliged to trip on anytime I'm in the vicinity. So, instead of continuing to nearly break my neck on tiny pink shoes, I decided to put a large basket near the door. When we come inside, we all put our shoes in the shoe bin and it keeps the area much more clutter free.
I don't know about you, but my kids like to play with their toys in the living room. I dislike this, but since it's their home too, I'm trying to embrace this concept. It's a trial every day. I have chosen to put a white plastic bin (with a lid) full of toys in the living room. The kids are free to play with the toys, and at the end of the night, either they, or I, pick up the toys so they're not on the floor. If the girls bring toys from their bedroom (or socks, or clothes, or, or, or...okay you get it) I keep another white plastic bin at the end of the hall. This way, I can drop their stuff into the bin and then I can instruct them to put away the stuff in the bin. It's a nice system.
Another thing about living rooms is that it's easy to grow out of your storage and then have overflow. Pare down if this has happened to you. Our DVD shelves are completely full, but our bookcases aren't, so I've tried to attractively incorporate the extra DVDs into the bookcase so Brad can have all the movies he wants. We have tons of books, and if we ever grow out of our storage, we'll have to pare down a bit too.
When purchasing new furniture, keep storage in mind. Do you love to cuddle up under a big blanket when watching TV in the evening, but your blanket is always in the way? Think about investing in a storage ottoman if you're looking at getting something new. Does your family love to play board games but you have no where to keep them, so they're stacked in a corner of the room? Look into shelving, or a storage ottoman, or a coffee table with some storage in it. When you are out to pick up a TV cabinet, make sure you get something that will accommodate your Wii or PS3 with all the controllers and games. This way, you won't have to stare at all those wires hanging out there all the time. Thinking about purchasing furniture that serves multiple purposes can maximize your storage space and help you make your living room work for your lifestyle.
Tomorrow we will be talking about your main dining area, and what you can do to help keep it looking great.
Good Luck!
Kristin
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
2 Weeks: The Car(s)
Okay, I know this isn't part of your actual physical home, but if you're anything like me, and probably many people across the country, you spend a ton of time in your car.
My car is, on any given day of the week, a complete pig sty. Not kidding. I have a huge car (chevy suburban) and 4 kids, a husband, and some of my kids' friends cruising around at any given moment. So, my car gets disgusting really fast. There's torn papers, dropped dumdum pop sticks and wrappers, cups, toys, shoes, socks, sweatshirts, tools my husband put in and didn't remove, not to mention all the dirt that gets tracked in from our shoes. Yuk!
I'm surprised my car doesn't smell like the dump...honestly. I try to keep it clean, I really do, but it always seems to be messy. I've chosen to clean out the car at this stage in the game because, let's be honest here, 90% of what is in your car will end up in your home. If we clean up the car now, then it wont make all your hard work in your house go to waste.
Let's get started. You'll need the following supplies:
plastic shopping bags
window cleaner
paper towels
shop vac, vacuum, or hand held vac ( I love my Cone)
Okay, we'll start by cleaning out all the garbage. I use an old grocery bag or something like that, load up the bag with garbage, while making a pile on the middle seat of all non-garbage "stuff" that I find. When I've cleaned out under all the seats, in the center console, the glove box, the pockets on the back of the seats, the door pockets, the cup holders, and anywhere else in the car, I throw the garbage directly into my big green garbage bin outside. Then I haul all the non-garbage stuff in the house and dump it by the front door to sort through later.
I remove any cup holder liners and bring them in to soak in hot water in the kitchen sink. Meanwhile I go out and clean all the interior windows, the dashboard and steering wheel, the door handles, the center console, the cup holders and anywhere else that might need some cleaning with window cleaner and paper towels. When I have a yucky paper towel and need to switch, I put the yucky one in a plastic shopping bag, and I continue that until I'm done wiping down sticky spots, finger prints, dust and grime off the inside of my car. I put them in the plastic bag, because I learned in Rawlins that if I didn't, the wind would carry my garbage into the neighbor's yard and then I'd get to look like an idiot while chasing it around. Not fun!
When everything is wiped down, I pull the floor mats out and shake them well. I use the vacuum to suck up any rocks, dirt or general yuk off the carpets, then replace the mats. I even usually unbuckle the carseats and clean under them, and depending on how nasty things are, I will wash the carseat covers so my girls have squeaky clean seats. If you need to wash your carseat covers, this project will take a little longer than the 1 1/2 hours allotted in this project, but that's okay, it's better to finish the job right, than to stay within your time limit.
When everything is wiped down and lightly vacuumed, put the things back that you need to keep in the car with you. I'll be honest, aside from my vehicle paperwork, I keep lots of stuff in my car...I am a mom after all. Here's a few things that I find helpful in my car:
Paper towels and napkins
Playing Cards
Where's Waldo?
A book to read
Animal crackers
A canteen of water
Emergency supplies
Extra Blankets
Stroller
First Aid Kit
There's probably more, but I can't think of it all right now. Now, here's the deal. I hate washing and vacuuming my car, so I do the vacuuming often, and I let the car wash do my washing for me. It's only $7 at my local car wash for an exterior wash, and I don't go very often, so it's worth it to me. Besides, the kids like to ride through and smell the soap and watch the rags swish back and forth...okay, I do too.
When you're finished, take a deep breath. Does your car smell better? Do you feel better, maybe less embarrassed to give a friend a ride? Well, here's how to keep it that way:
1. Clean out garbage when you get out of the car (I am horrible about this)
2. Teach your kids to take ALL their belongings out when they get out.
3. Don't eat in your car if you can help it (I often cannot with my husband and children always being hungry)
3. Keep a couple special toys or belongings for "in the car only" and don't let you kids bring other things with them that don't need to go.
4. Check over your car once or twice a week, and clean out miscellaneous stuff as needed. Vacuum regularly.
Tomorrow's project will be your working on your entry way and living room, as most people's homes have these two spaces flowing into one another.
Happy Cleaning!
Kristin
My car is, on any given day of the week, a complete pig sty. Not kidding. I have a huge car (chevy suburban) and 4 kids, a husband, and some of my kids' friends cruising around at any given moment. So, my car gets disgusting really fast. There's torn papers, dropped dumdum pop sticks and wrappers, cups, toys, shoes, socks, sweatshirts, tools my husband put in and didn't remove, not to mention all the dirt that gets tracked in from our shoes. Yuk!
I'm surprised my car doesn't smell like the dump...honestly. I try to keep it clean, I really do, but it always seems to be messy. I've chosen to clean out the car at this stage in the game because, let's be honest here, 90% of what is in your car will end up in your home. If we clean up the car now, then it wont make all your hard work in your house go to waste.
Let's get started. You'll need the following supplies:
plastic shopping bags
window cleaner
paper towels
shop vac, vacuum, or hand held vac ( I love my Cone)
Okay, we'll start by cleaning out all the garbage. I use an old grocery bag or something like that, load up the bag with garbage, while making a pile on the middle seat of all non-garbage "stuff" that I find. When I've cleaned out under all the seats, in the center console, the glove box, the pockets on the back of the seats, the door pockets, the cup holders, and anywhere else in the car, I throw the garbage directly into my big green garbage bin outside. Then I haul all the non-garbage stuff in the house and dump it by the front door to sort through later.
I remove any cup holder liners and bring them in to soak in hot water in the kitchen sink. Meanwhile I go out and clean all the interior windows, the dashboard and steering wheel, the door handles, the center console, the cup holders and anywhere else that might need some cleaning with window cleaner and paper towels. When I have a yucky paper towel and need to switch, I put the yucky one in a plastic shopping bag, and I continue that until I'm done wiping down sticky spots, finger prints, dust and grime off the inside of my car. I put them in the plastic bag, because I learned in Rawlins that if I didn't, the wind would carry my garbage into the neighbor's yard and then I'd get to look like an idiot while chasing it around. Not fun!
When everything is wiped down, I pull the floor mats out and shake them well. I use the vacuum to suck up any rocks, dirt or general yuk off the carpets, then replace the mats. I even usually unbuckle the carseats and clean under them, and depending on how nasty things are, I will wash the carseat covers so my girls have squeaky clean seats. If you need to wash your carseat covers, this project will take a little longer than the 1 1/2 hours allotted in this project, but that's okay, it's better to finish the job right, than to stay within your time limit.
When everything is wiped down and lightly vacuumed, put the things back that you need to keep in the car with you. I'll be honest, aside from my vehicle paperwork, I keep lots of stuff in my car...I am a mom after all. Here's a few things that I find helpful in my car:
Paper towels and napkins
Playing Cards
Where's Waldo?
A book to read
Animal crackers
A canteen of water
Emergency supplies
Extra Blankets
Stroller
First Aid Kit
There's probably more, but I can't think of it all right now. Now, here's the deal. I hate washing and vacuuming my car, so I do the vacuuming often, and I let the car wash do my washing for me. It's only $7 at my local car wash for an exterior wash, and I don't go very often, so it's worth it to me. Besides, the kids like to ride through and smell the soap and watch the rags swish back and forth...okay, I do too.
When you're finished, take a deep breath. Does your car smell better? Do you feel better, maybe less embarrassed to give a friend a ride? Well, here's how to keep it that way:
1. Clean out garbage when you get out of the car (I am horrible about this)
2. Teach your kids to take ALL their belongings out when they get out.
3. Don't eat in your car if you can help it (I often cannot with my husband and children always being hungry)
3. Keep a couple special toys or belongings for "in the car only" and don't let you kids bring other things with them that don't need to go.
4. Check over your car once or twice a week, and clean out miscellaneous stuff as needed. Vacuum regularly.
Tomorrow's project will be your working on your entry way and living room, as most people's homes have these two spaces flowing into one another.
Happy Cleaning!
Kristin
Monday, June 6, 2011
2 Weeks: Laundry Room
If your laundry room is like mine, it's the dumping ground for all kinds of stuff. The floor usually has dirty clothes on it, there's brooms stacked up in the corner, a vacuum in the walkway, and about 300 different kinds of cleaner in the cabinets. It's my least favorite place to hang out, the place we feed our cat, and the place that we store the odds and ends we don't really know what to do with.
Well, we need to do something about that. So lets roll our sleeves up and get started.
Supplies:
Laundry Soap
Bucket
Rags
Hot Water
Liquid Castile Soap (just a quick squeeze)
I started by getting my laundry done. I don't have a place to keep a laundry sorter, but if you do, I highly recommend that you use one. It's a great way to get those piles off the laundry room floor, because everything is sorted into separate baskets when you bring it in the laundry room. I can't have one, so I have to continue with the piles, but if you're like me and you have to deal with piles, try to get your laundry done quickly and efficiently so you don't end up with the Mount Everest of Laundry in the middle of your space.
One really great tip for doing that is to follow a laundry schedule. Some people feel like this works well. Modify the schedule to fit your lifestyle and your families needs. One may look like this:
Monday - 2 loads whites
Tuesday - 2 loads darks
Wednesday - 1 load towels
Thursday - 1 load whites, 1 load darks
Friday - 1 load sheets
Weekend - Take some time off!
This is not my actual schedule, as mine includes diapers and about 2-3 more loads, but it would be more typical of the average household in America.
Now that you can actually enter the room without climbing over a pile (okay, just me) let's get started purging all those extra cleaning products and rags that have built up over time. Just because it's full and you bought it doesn't mean you need to keep it. We're all guilty of falling for the attractive "make it easy to clean" ads on TV from time to time, so just embrace the purchase mistake and say goodbye to that bottle of whatever it is that didn't really work. As for rags, if you have about 14 of differing sizes, you'll never run out. You really don't need 22,000 rags. I promise.
Okay, cabinets cleaned out. Put all the stuff you're keeping out of the way, then use a bucket full of hot water and a rag to wipe down those shelves. Why not? You've already got all that stuff out of your space. Clean it all up before you put everything back.
Speaking of putting things back, make sure that the things you use regularly are within easy reach. Put stuff you don't really need so often up higher. Put like things together. I have a couple scrub brushes, I have them all in the same area on the same shelf.
If you're like me and you make your own laundry soap and keep the supplies in sealed jars, you may want to think about investing $15 in a label maker. I did a couple weeks ago and I can't stop labeling things. You'll find that you'll use it in so many other places if for no other reason than to stop your husband from saying things like "I don't know which one you're talking about." Huh, can you read dear?
Okay, where are we? Picked up, purged, washed, put away, labeled, good! But we're not done yet. Chances are there's a corner of your room that has old mops propped up, a couple brooms you hate, maybe one you don't and about a thousand "make it easy" mops and sweepers collecting dust. Again, I say unto you, purge!!!! Keep only your favorite broom for in the house. If you use a mop, keep your favorite one of those too. I use a dust bunny catcher sometimes that I really like so I'm keeping that. The few things you do need to keep can be propped up, or even better, get a scrap piece of plywood, pound some nails into it, hang it on the wall, and hang your mops and brooms on that. Use that wall space, that's what it's there for! I will be doing this as soon as construction is complete in my laundry room area.
When all your supplies are tidied and put away, sweep your floors and mop if you actually have a mopable floor (I have plywood, not good to mop plywood).
Let's talk mopping for a moment. Honestly, I've never met a mop that actually works...and doesn't gross me out after a few uses. So, I always use a bucket and a rag to mop floors, and yes, I know I have 1400 square feet of hardwood flooring. Yep, I still get down on my hands and knees and scrub it with a rag. I use about a squeeze or maybe 2 of my favorite scented liquid castile soap. I love eucalyptus, almond, or lavender, just depending on my mood. Add hot water to the small amount of soap, and mop away. You'll love the shine on your floors, and the scent of clean. If you're worried about disinfecting a floor, try adding a few drops of tea tree oil, or buy the tea tree castile soap. Tea tree is a natural pesticide, and germicide, so you can rest assured that your floors are germ free when you're done.
When your floor is dry, dust off the top of your appliances and wipe off any sticky stuff (I usually wipe everything down with my mop solution), stash all the change you keep setting on top of the dryer, put away the trinkets your kids keep leaving for you, and stand back and look at how beautiful your laundry room looks.
This is my laundry room.
I still have stuff in here that I really don't want to store here, but since we're still under construction, I often don't have a choice until construction is complete. Even with my green walls and unfinished floor, I'm loving the way this looks. Now the trick is to keep it this way by putting things back where you want them, keeping up on laundry, and sweeping regularly. If you sweep your laundry room floor once a week, then you can get away with not mopping for quite a bit longer. I haven't mopped my floor since we moved in (hahahaha)!
Now that your "workhorse" room is cleaned up and ready to go, we can move onto bigger, and better things. Check back in tomorrow for the project of the day. Do you feel like you've accomplished something today? I sure do.
Good Luck!
Kristin
Sunday, June 5, 2011
2 Weeks To A Cleaner Home
We're doing a new unit here on the blog. I've been thinking a lot about this topic and I've decided that this may be something that will help some, and definitely help me in my home. We usually talk about things you can make yourself instead of going out and buying, but this topic is something that I think will help us all free up time for more projects by getting organized and keeping a cleaning schedule.
Hopefully, you and I will no longer feel behind on everything after we've gotten used to the daily schedule, and after doing a lot of the deeper cleaning required, we'll feel refreshed and ready to go out in the sun with our kids all summer long.
For me, this comes at a perfect time of year. Just before the kids get out of school for summer and while it's still raining off and on is a great time to complete the spring cleaning checklist and be all ready for summer.
I hope you jump on board with me as the next 2 weeks evolve into hopefully a more organized tidier and more manageable home and routine.
So here's how it's gonna work. I will write a blog for each day of the week for the next 2 weeks, except Sunday. Each daily project should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. There will be 2 weekend projects, one for each saturday, that will take approximately 3 hours. We will do 1 project per day.
Don't forget that you will still need to do maintenance to keep each space looking great throughout each day or week. You will also need to continue to do all your regular chores such as dishes and laundry each day/week. If not, you and I will be in the same place at the end of the 2 weeks as we were at the beginning.
Now, down to the rules of housework. Housework will never be done, and you'll always feel like something is a mess, especially if you have kids or a husband. If you live alone, although housework is never done, you may actually get to a place where nothing will be a mess for a moment.
Those are the rules. I will go ahead now, in this post and give you a list of general supplies I use in just about every room of my home. You can modify this list as you see fit, but this way, if you're looking for something different, you might have some ideas. Also, if you have a great product that you can't live without, leave a comment and tell me. It may make my life easier too. Thanks!
So, the work begins tomorrow. Just remember, housework is never done, something will always be a mess, and take things one project, step, or day at a time.
Good Luck!
Kristin
Hopefully, you and I will no longer feel behind on everything after we've gotten used to the daily schedule, and after doing a lot of the deeper cleaning required, we'll feel refreshed and ready to go out in the sun with our kids all summer long.
For me, this comes at a perfect time of year. Just before the kids get out of school for summer and while it's still raining off and on is a great time to complete the spring cleaning checklist and be all ready for summer.
I hope you jump on board with me as the next 2 weeks evolve into hopefully a more organized tidier and more manageable home and routine.
So here's how it's gonna work. I will write a blog for each day of the week for the next 2 weeks, except Sunday. Each daily project should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. There will be 2 weekend projects, one for each saturday, that will take approximately 3 hours. We will do 1 project per day.
Don't forget that you will still need to do maintenance to keep each space looking great throughout each day or week. You will also need to continue to do all your regular chores such as dishes and laundry each day/week. If not, you and I will be in the same place at the end of the 2 weeks as we were at the beginning.
Now, down to the rules of housework. Housework will never be done, and you'll always feel like something is a mess, especially if you have kids or a husband. If you live alone, although housework is never done, you may actually get to a place where nothing will be a mess for a moment.
Those are the rules. I will go ahead now, in this post and give you a list of general supplies I use in just about every room of my home. You can modify this list as you see fit, but this way, if you're looking for something different, you might have some ideas. Also, if you have a great product that you can't live without, leave a comment and tell me. It may make my life easier too. Thanks!
- Kitchen Gloves (I have about 2 pair at all times)
- Baking Soda (buy the big box)
- Borax
- Salt (Also a great abrasive)
- Washing Soda
- Lemon Juice (freshens lots of stuff)
- Liquid and Bar Castile Soap
- Hydrogen Peroxide (kills bacteria)
- Tea Tree Oil (a natural disinfectant and pesticide)
- Dawn Dish Liquid
- Vinegar
- Vacuum
- Broom/Dustpan
- Washcloth and hand towel sized rags
- Sponge with a scrubby side
- Empty spray bottles (for mixing different cleaners)
- Bucket
So, the work begins tomorrow. Just remember, housework is never done, something will always be a mess, and take things one project, step, or day at a time.
Good Luck!
Kristin
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Ginger Pattern
My pattern arrived in the mail yesterday! I am so excited. Now I need to take my measurements so I can get started. I'm still deciding on fabric- but I am picking from my stash, so it is narrowed down very slightly!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Ginger Sew Along
I am joining in on a sew along! I know, I still haven't finished a jacket for the Jacket A Month challenge. It is still in the works. I am just slow- and I get tired of working on the same thing. I guess I am just so used to instant gratification that it is hard to stick with a project that requires actual thought and work. This sew along, however, should be quick and simple. I hope.
Sunni, over at A Fashionable Stitch, is running this sew along. Check it out!
I have ordered my pattern and hope to get it within the week!
Sunni, over at A Fashionable Stitch, is running this sew along. Check it out!
I have ordered my pattern and hope to get it within the week!
Friday, May 6, 2011
I Make Soap
Yep, I make soap. Not bar soap, although I am planning on getting to that soon, but Laundry Soap. It's really not hard, and I'm sure I've posted about it before, but I gotta tell you, if you don't make you're own, you're missing out.
Of course, I had to use up all my store bought laundry detergent before I started making my own, so it took me awhile to get there, but now, I hate it if I run out and have to use my backup bottle of store bought laundry detergent. I try my best to make sure that doesn't happen, but, you know how it is when you're a busy mom, sometimes you forget or just don't have time.
So, because I love my laundry soap so much, I wanted to share the recipe I use, which I found on my friend Caitlin's blog. She got it from someone else, and it's basically the same recipe all over the internet. This is definitely not my original concoction, just something I love.
You will need:
Castile Soap (I use Kirk's Coco Castile)
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
20 Mule Team Borax
Cheese Grater
Large Containers to store supplies in
1 cup measuring cup
Wide Mouth Funnel (only if you're messy like me)
This is how I do it. I buy a bunch of castile soap all at once, usually 3-4 bars or so. I grate all of it with the small grate side of a box grater and keep it in a glass jar with a sealed top.
I transfer the washing soda into a glass jar with a sealed top and I transfer the borax into a glass jar with a sealed top. I do this because I find that these products tend to get hard and clumpy if I store them in their boxes, but if I put them in a sealed jar, they stay fresh and fluffy and they're easier to work with.
Once you've prepped all your stuff it becomes really easy to mix up a batch of soap. All you do is use a 1:1:1 ratio. This is how much I make at a time:
2 cups Grated Castile Soap
2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups Borax
You don't have to be perfectly exact, just close and don't worry about packing it down either. This is elementary science not rocket science, it's meant to be a little inexact after all.
I keep my laundry soap in a sealed glass jar, but as long as you have a container that closes tightly, you're good to go. A tightly closed container helps greatly with the next part, and it keeps your detergent fresh longer.
Seal your container and Shake It Up, Baby! That's it, you've got the best laundry soap ever invented. If you want a scented laundry soap, go for a scented Castile Soap like Dr. Bronner's instead of Kirk's which is unscented.
I am planning on learning how to make my own castile soap soon, and I'll make sure I post all about it when I've tested it out a few times.
Happy Creating!
Kristin
Of course, I had to use up all my store bought laundry detergent before I started making my own, so it took me awhile to get there, but now, I hate it if I run out and have to use my backup bottle of store bought laundry detergent. I try my best to make sure that doesn't happen, but, you know how it is when you're a busy mom, sometimes you forget or just don't have time.
So, because I love my laundry soap so much, I wanted to share the recipe I use, which I found on my friend Caitlin's blog. She got it from someone else, and it's basically the same recipe all over the internet. This is definitely not my original concoction, just something I love.
You will need:
Castile Soap (I use Kirk's Coco Castile)
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
20 Mule Team Borax
Cheese Grater
Large Containers to store supplies in
1 cup measuring cup
Wide Mouth Funnel (only if you're messy like me)
This is how I do it. I buy a bunch of castile soap all at once, usually 3-4 bars or so. I grate all of it with the small grate side of a box grater and keep it in a glass jar with a sealed top.
I transfer the washing soda into a glass jar with a sealed top and I transfer the borax into a glass jar with a sealed top. I do this because I find that these products tend to get hard and clumpy if I store them in their boxes, but if I put them in a sealed jar, they stay fresh and fluffy and they're easier to work with.
Once you've prepped all your stuff it becomes really easy to mix up a batch of soap. All you do is use a 1:1:1 ratio. This is how much I make at a time:
2 cups Grated Castile Soap
2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups Borax
You don't have to be perfectly exact, just close and don't worry about packing it down either. This is elementary science not rocket science, it's meant to be a little inexact after all.
I keep my laundry soap in a sealed glass jar, but as long as you have a container that closes tightly, you're good to go. A tightly closed container helps greatly with the next part, and it keeps your detergent fresh longer.
Seal your container and Shake It Up, Baby! That's it, you've got the best laundry soap ever invented. If you want a scented laundry soap, go for a scented Castile Soap like Dr. Bronner's instead of Kirk's which is unscented.
I am planning on learning how to make my own castile soap soon, and I'll make sure I post all about it when I've tested it out a few times.
Happy Creating!
Kristin
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