It All Comes Out in the Laundry

Let's face it. Things just aren't getting cheaper. A trip to the store for one evening's meal costs me no less than $25. Unless Weis has DelGrosso's sauce and spaghetti noodles on sale 10 for $10 like they did the other evening. Then we can eat for $2.50... all 7 of us!! I wonder if I can talk the kids into spaghetti Night...every other night??

Anyway, I recently joined Pinterest. If you have no idea what that is, hurry over to the link I've provided. The best way to explain it is that it's like a virtual scrapbook where you 'pin' photos (connected to links) of items you like. Anything from things you think are pretty to recipes to organizing ideas. Finally, an internet time waster that can save me time and money elsewhere.

Like the recipes I found for homemade laundry detergent! I think I have an unreasonable love of going to Sam's Club and hefting the giant box of Tide into my cart. But $30 is ridiculous. Even if it lasts me two months.

The recipe I've shared here (see the link) claims to last approximately 9 months for less than $20. I mixed up a batch a few weeks ago and felt oddly like Caroline Ingalls as I did so even though they didn't have washers back then. Okay, maybe I felt more like Michelle Duggar. It certainly feels that busy around here at times. The act of making my own detergent was somehow satisfying on many levels, though. I placed it in a Sterilite container and am using an old powder scoop only I don't fill the scoop like I used to do with Tide. 1/3 scoop is all you need. So far, it doesn't seem like the level of detergent has gone down. Maybe it really WILL last 9 months and if it does, that's nothing short of a miracle since we have more dirty laundry than we know what to do with around here.

I've also started stretching my fabric softener too. I can get three bottles out of one, just by watering it down with some water and vinegar and our clothes still smell great. For dryer sheets? I cut the sheets in half in the box and use a half sheet when I want to eliminate static. You can also soak ordinary kitchen sponges in a plastic storage bowl, wring one out and toss in the dryer.

I'm pretty impressed with my money-saving efforts and I'm on the lookout for more. Maybe I'll experiment with homemade cleaners next. And I've found a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent too. I figure, the more ways I can find to cut costs, the less guilty I can feel about my one McD's Sweet Tea a day habit. But c'mon. That's a bargain at only $1.06.