I'm also getting ready to embark on another wonderful journey....... homemade laundry detergent! Borax is a main ingredient and readily available at your local grocer or WallyWorld. I already have it on hand, although I cannot recall why, lol. Washing soda is another main ingredient. CANNOT FIND IT ANYWHERE! I was going to purchase it online but wasn't thrilled with the shipping costs. So, I tried Ace Hardware online. They had it for less with free shipping to my local store (yes my local store is 65miles away, but it is down the street from my Dr office which I am now going to every two weeks, so). Now there was the detergent bar. Also, could not be found anywhere near me. I know that some people use Ivory soap, but I worry that it won't get the job done and we all have such sensitive skin that we couldn't use it for anything else. Which leads to the thought that if we are all too sensitive to wash with Ivory, how will it affect our clothing? So, Ivory is out! Since it is overwhelming to try to figure out what needs to be in a bar of soap to have it effective, I am sticking with the recommended brand of Fels Naptha. I know that a lot of people just use whatever soap they have on hand, but I worry that it won't get the job done. I have boys, lots of boys. They are filthy, not that their sister is any cleaner. I worry about stains and grime and all the other nonsense. So, the decision has been made to stick with Fels Naptha. That was also spendy online (either you had to buy in bulk, major bulk, or they got you with the shipping). The whole point of this detergent experiment is to save money, so having to fork out a bunch of money for shipping just isn't an option. Also, I'm not interested in buying in huge quantities since this is an experiment and I must be prepared for the unfortunate event that it should not work out for our family. I called my 'local' Ace Hardware and explained my dilemma. The woman explained to me that they were a small store, but that she would be more than happy to call some of the larger stores to locate the Fels Naptha for me. She said that she could probably have a couple of bars sent to their store if she could locate some. She is going to call me by 10am tomorrow morning! I was so taken by her customer service skills. I am so happy that she is willing to go the extra mile. They really are my go-to for hard to find household and hardware needs, so here's a plug for them! lol So, hopefully next weekend I will be making my first batch of detergent. I'm going to go with the powder version since it is less work and I already use powder form store bought detergent. I'll let you know how it ends up. PS, I will also be using these on my cloth dipes so here is to hoping that it works out for us.
Friday, December 11, 2009
They're here!!!!
It seems like every afternoon I am struggling to think of something interesting to post here and before the night is over.....boom!! Something interesting comes up. lol Today I was so excited when I went to go see my FIL. I was backing out of the drive and noticed that over in our cluster of mailboxes was a package sticking out of someone's box. Oh how I hoped it was mine!! I have been on pins and needles since I ordered my very first batch of prefolds and covers from Baby Cotton Bottoms. There it was!! My diapers are here! I cannot believe how excited I have been about this.
I'm also getting ready to embark on another wonderful journey....... homemade laundry detergent! Borax is a main ingredient and readily available at your local grocer or WallyWorld. I already have it on hand, although I cannot recall why, lol. Washing soda is another main ingredient. CANNOT FIND IT ANYWHERE! I was going to purchase it online but wasn't thrilled with the shipping costs. So, I tried Ace Hardware online. They had it for less with free shipping to my local store (yes my local store is 65miles away, but it is down the street from my Dr office which I am now going to every two weeks, so). Now there was the detergent bar. Also, could not be found anywhere near me. I know that some people use Ivory soap, but I worry that it won't get the job done and we all have such sensitive skin that we couldn't use it for anything else. Which leads to the thought that if we are all too sensitive to wash with Ivory, how will it affect our clothing? So, Ivory is out! Since it is overwhelming to try to figure out what needs to be in a bar of soap to have it effective, I am sticking with the recommended brand of Fels Naptha. I know that a lot of people just use whatever soap they have on hand, but I worry that it won't get the job done. I have boys, lots of boys. They are filthy, not that their sister is any cleaner. I worry about stains and grime and all the other nonsense. So, the decision has been made to stick with Fels Naptha. That was also spendy online (either you had to buy in bulk, major bulk, or they got you with the shipping). The whole point of this detergent experiment is to save money, so having to fork out a bunch of money for shipping just isn't an option. Also, I'm not interested in buying in huge quantities since this is an experiment and I must be prepared for the unfortunate event that it should not work out for our family. I called my 'local' Ace Hardware and explained my dilemma. The woman explained to me that they were a small store, but that she would be more than happy to call some of the larger stores to locate the Fels Naptha for me. She said that she could probably have a couple of bars sent to their store if she could locate some. She is going to call me by 10am tomorrow morning! I was so taken by her customer service skills. I am so happy that she is willing to go the extra mile. They really are my go-to for hard to find household and hardware needs, so here's a plug for them! lol So, hopefully next weekend I will be making my first batch of detergent. I'm going to go with the powder version since it is less work and I already use powder form store bought detergent. I'll let you know how it ends up. PS, I will also be using these on my cloth dipes so here is to hoping that it works out for us.
I'm also getting ready to embark on another wonderful journey....... homemade laundry detergent! Borax is a main ingredient and readily available at your local grocer or WallyWorld. I already have it on hand, although I cannot recall why, lol. Washing soda is another main ingredient. CANNOT FIND IT ANYWHERE! I was going to purchase it online but wasn't thrilled with the shipping costs. So, I tried Ace Hardware online. They had it for less with free shipping to my local store (yes my local store is 65miles away, but it is down the street from my Dr office which I am now going to every two weeks, so). Now there was the detergent bar. Also, could not be found anywhere near me. I know that some people use Ivory soap, but I worry that it won't get the job done and we all have such sensitive skin that we couldn't use it for anything else. Which leads to the thought that if we are all too sensitive to wash with Ivory, how will it affect our clothing? So, Ivory is out! Since it is overwhelming to try to figure out what needs to be in a bar of soap to have it effective, I am sticking with the recommended brand of Fels Naptha. I know that a lot of people just use whatever soap they have on hand, but I worry that it won't get the job done. I have boys, lots of boys. They are filthy, not that their sister is any cleaner. I worry about stains and grime and all the other nonsense. So, the decision has been made to stick with Fels Naptha. That was also spendy online (either you had to buy in bulk, major bulk, or they got you with the shipping). The whole point of this detergent experiment is to save money, so having to fork out a bunch of money for shipping just isn't an option. Also, I'm not interested in buying in huge quantities since this is an experiment and I must be prepared for the unfortunate event that it should not work out for our family. I called my 'local' Ace Hardware and explained my dilemma. The woman explained to me that they were a small store, but that she would be more than happy to call some of the larger stores to locate the Fels Naptha for me. She said that she could probably have a couple of bars sent to their store if she could locate some. She is going to call me by 10am tomorrow morning! I was so taken by her customer service skills. I am so happy that she is willing to go the extra mile. They really are my go-to for hard to find household and hardware needs, so here's a plug for them! lol So, hopefully next weekend I will be making my first batch of detergent. I'm going to go with the powder version since it is less work and I already use powder form store bought detergent. I'll let you know how it ends up. PS, I will also be using these on my cloth dipes so here is to hoping that it works out for us.
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I think we were cross reading each other's posts! LOL :)
ReplyDeleteYay cloth diapers! Are you going to knit any wool soakers? My daughter is using them and loves them.
Let me know how the homemade detergent works for you with sensitive skin! We have sensitive skin too, so I'm always wondering. :)
ReplyDeleteActually, yes, I really want to knit some soakers. I am working on that care package for my sister first. I really need to finish it! lol I got the two covers and I really want at least two soakers/longies. I'm really excited to get started on them. All I need now is a good place to find wool.....
ReplyDeleteAnd Kristin, will do on the detergent. I figure it will be a lot of trial and error (although hopefully not too much). Me and all of the kiddos suffer from severe, and I do mean severe, dry skin and eczema. Also, my daughter has vitilago, which makes her skin problems almost doubled. I'm hoping the fels naptha won't be too harsh. I figure if that doesn't work out, I'll just run it through an extra rinse cycle until I can find something more mild for us. I'll let you know how it works out.