So.
Sometimes I shock myself.
I never thought I’d try this.
You know, making my own cleaners and baby wipes.
But here I am:
A wife of one hard working man.
A mom of 5 healthy growing children.
Unfortunately the hard working husband’s salary isn’t growing proportionately with the offspring.
So.
Here I am, trying some new money saving tactics and actually kind of enjoying the challenge.
1. It cannot be too time consuming
2. I do not want to sacrifice quality
Since these two products passed my little test with flying colors and saved me a hunk of cash, I deemed them worthy of sharing with you.
1. Baby Wipes
I’m not pulling any wool over your eyes. Right here on this picture are the items needed for a wonderful batch of sweet smelling, soft, moist baby wipes. You can whip up a batch of these wipes in 5 minutes. As far as quality, I actually prefer these OVER the wipes bought at the store. I got this recipe from my friend, Andrea. Visit her here for detailed instructions.
You can use any kind of baby wash in this recipe but I LOVE the scent that this Lavender and Chamomile added to my wipes.
Your baby will love you for making these wipes. I think I totally ‘wowed’ my little girl.
2. And now, allow me to present my newest ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
Again, simple ingredients and quick prep. Just mix equal amounts of warm vinegar with Dawn dishsoap. Shake it together in a spray bottle and WATCH OUT, soap scum and grease.(even your mean cleaning MIL will be impressed!) It is important to heat the vinegar for the dish soap to dissolve completely. Otherwise, the two ingredients will separate and you will need to shake your bottle each time before using it. But, sometimes when I’m cleaning I really feel the need to shake something VERY hard. Better to shake the cleaning bottle than the porcelain toilet bowl.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I am guessing it would even clean permanent marker off my son’s face.
The next thing on my bucket list is finding a good laundry soap recipe for my front loading HE washer.
Any suggestions? I've tried a number of recipes that haven't worked so well.
Any other recipes for saving money around the house?
I’d love to hear them!!!
I echo your 2 criteria for homemade cleaning products. I absolutely love my homemade baby wipes. The only thing I do differently is use coconut oil instead of baby oil.
ReplyDeleteI will need to try your all purpose cleaner. I have been looking for a good recipe.
So glad you tried the baby wipes. They're awesome!!
ReplyDeleteShaunda...I've been making my own laundry soap for 3 years now and really like it and it works lovely in my HE washer. And it's a powder soap, so you don't have to melt anything and it's easy to add different ingredients to work for your needs. It is:
ReplyDelete1 box borax
1 box washing soda
1 box regular baking soda
1 large container oxi clean
And 3-4 bars fels-naptha (or zote) soap grated.
Then just mix it together
This time, I did add more regular baking soda because I was having a hard time getting Dennis's cologne scent out of his dress shirts. I also add more oxi clean to my white loads. And the original recipe says to use one TBS per load, but with the last batch I made, I've started using the scoop from the oxi clean. One batch lasts me a year, but I'm guessing it wouldn't go quite as far for you :)
I use the same recipe and love it! :)
DeleteSo,Shelle- does the powder detergent work fine with your HE washer?? Is yours a front loader?? I've always assumed that powdered detergent wouldn't work right in mine. However, I have thought I'd like the powdered stuff better than the lumpy, jelly liquid stuff.
DeleteThis isn't a homemade detergent recipe, but I use Charlie's Soap now and order through Amazon since cloth diapering and using cloth nursing pads. You use only 1 T/load and it is $.11/load which ended up being less expensive than the unsatisfactory cheap stuff and I love that I can order a tub for 1000 loads. No more running out of detergent! Also, I use vinegar instead of softener; or you can use equal parts vinegar and softener if you want more fluffiness.
ReplyDeleteAnd for cleaners: I keep a very limited stash. I like Windex and dusting spray but otherwise, it's a regimen of vinegar, soda, and Borax. Cheap and uncomplicated.
Marlene-
DeleteDo you have any idea how Charlie's soap would work with hard city water??
Strange, I just wrote a long reply but it disappeared.
DeleteAnyway, I didn't see your question till now. Charlie's apparently doesn't work too well in hard water. Bummer!
I'm thinking about money saving tips myself right now after a unexpected car bill. Here's what's in my head: using grains/legumes as cheap protein. I try to do a meatless supper 1x/week. Cook a huge pot of beans and freeze them in pint bags to use instead of canned; it's about 1/3 of the cost. Use cloth napkins. Make your own seasoning combinations, like seasoned salt, taco and Italian seasoning, etc. My next experiment is going to be making wool dryer balls to use instead of dryer sheets. We'll see how it goes.
I know what you mean about the hard working husband's salary not keeping up with the family growth. Vince just started college this fall and well, let's just say that I've been trying to figure out new, creative ways to pinch our pennies again!
ReplyDeleteBeen on the fence about trying the homemade wipes since I can get the Huggies and Pampers ones so cheap with coupons. BUT this week I can get paper towels for free at Weis and so I was actually thinking of trying to make some. Going to try the recipe you suggested! Do you have trouble with them tearing? That's been my biggest issue with them.
And I LOVE that homemade cleaner. Just a suggestion...I was having trouble with it being pretty soapy and it took a bit to clean up the suds. A friend of mine started just adding a bit less Dawn and said it helped while still cleaning wonderfully. I just tried it with my last batch and it was perfect.
Btw, I love reading your blog!
Lydia-
DeleteLet's set things straight first of all....YOU are the money saving guru. I'm trying to learn.
As far as the wipes tearing, Andrea recommended using Bounty paper towels. I followed her advice and haven't had trouble with them tearing.
I like your suggestion for the cleaner because I have noticed that it can be very sudsey. I'll tuck that idea in my hat for the next batch.
Oh Shaunda, whatever! I do love saving money as you know BUT, just like you, I still am always learning and discovering.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any Bounty paper towels I don't think. Maybe I'll try one of the other brands and see how it works. I got them free and rarely use paper towels so I thought this would be a good way to get them out of my stockpile! :)