Dear Readers-I need your input

Dearest Readers:

I am a little hesitant to ask this question. But I need to know the reality of the situation. Biceps and I are wanting to “owe no man anything”; thus the frugal lifestyle, the re-invention of home products, the biking to and fro, and the hope of making extra income on the side.

We want to be debt free and we live below our means. However, the pay cut we took for Biceps to become a firefighter is making the goal of owing no man anything difficult.

So, I have a question that I’m almost scared to ask you–because then it requires me to take a leap of faith.

I know I have posted these recipes on my site and shown you how to make all of these things. But, I also know many of you don’t have the time or energy to make this on your own-however, you still like the idea of organic products without unnecessary chemicals and additives.

So, if I offered to sell things like my Homemade Organic Lip Balm…

…my Homemade Laundry Detergent…

…my Organic Face Wash…

…my Organic Facial Moisturizer…

…and my Organic Eye Make-up Remover…

…is there a market out there for them? If I came up with much cuter packaging and the right price points to be competitive with what’s on the market today, do you think this is something worth pursuing?

My heart’s on my sleeve here, readers. But, please-tell me what you think.

Easy Laundry Soap

My month long challenge of slowly ridding our house of nasty chemicals began several weeks ago. My first item to replace was my face lotion. I created a Recipe for Facial Moisturizer  and secondly, I wanted to replace my dishwasher detergent DIY Organic Dishwasher Detergent. This last week, I shared a replacement for face wash with my Cheap, Organic Face Wash recipe.

I am concocting my own household replacements with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus weeks to make sure it does its job-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

I’ve seen a million recipes for laundry soap floating around the world wide web (as my mother calls it). I wanted to try one on my own, tweak it a little, test it out and compare it to what I’m already using. I also hadn’t seen an easy way to grate the soap, so I got a little crazy with my Oster blender.

I hope you enjoy my Easy Laundry Soap recipe.

With three ingredients, your store bought laundry soap can easily be replaced with a homemade version that will cost you only $.05 per load. And, you can store it in a cute jar with your own hand-written label. I think that’s pretty much a win-win.

What you’ll need to make your very own Easy Laundry Soap (this makes approx. 48 loads):

1 Bar (5.5 oz approx.) Fels-Naptha, Zote Soap or Ivory Soap
2 C Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (make sure it says “Super Washing Soda”)
2 C Borax
Blender/Food Processor

Cut the soap into manageable pieces for the food processor/blender. Use the finest chopping blade available, making the pieces as small as possible.

Add the 2 Cups of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda to the grated Zote or Ivory Soap.

Next, dump in the 2 Cups of Borax. Mix everything as much as possible with a wooden spoon.

If the pieces are large, transfer a cup at a time of the mixture back into a blender. Blend thoroughly. I have settled on using Fels-Naptha soap, which grinds down to small pieces the first time around. So, I no longer need to do this step.

The mixture should look like this when everything has been blended thoroughly.

Transfer the mixture into a cute jar or container. Add a label (I always print the recipe on the label to make it easier for refills when the time comes).

Use 1/8 Cup of the mixture for normal loads and 1/4 Cup for heavily soiled clothes.

Here’s the financial breakdown of what this recipe will make per 48 loads:

Borax $3.38 for 76 oz= 9.5 Cups
A & H $3.00 for 55 oz= 6.8 Cups
Soap $1 per 48 loads

Per 48 Loads
Borax=$.67
A & H=$.90
Soap=$1

Total=$2.57/48 loads= $.05 per load

Organic Dishwasher Detergent

I am on a month long challenge to slowly rid our house of anything with nasty chemicals and large price tags. Just recently, I shared my Recipe for Facial Moisturizer.

I am concocting my own household replacements with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus week to make sure it doesn’t stink-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Without further ado: here is Phase 2 of ridding my house of chemicals-Organic Dishwasher Detergent.

Although this Organic Dish Detergent isn’t as cheap as the current “Best Choice” Dish detergent I’ve been using, I can rest easy knowing I’m not putting chemicals down my drain-and it cleans my dishes better.

The “Best Choice” ends up being about $.15 per load, whereas this recipe will cost about $.25 per load. I’ll show a detailed breakdown at the end of this post.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Organic Dishwasher Detergent:

4 C Liquid Castille Soap (I found mine at Whole Foods for the same price you can buy it online)
1 C White Vinegar
1 C Water
1 TBS Lemon Juice
1 tsp Tea tree oil

1 Recycled Squirt Top Bottle (I used a 55 oz Ketchup Bottle)

Start by pouring the 4 Cups of Castille, 1 Cup Water and 1 Cup Vinegar into the squirt bottle.

I recommend using a funnel.

Next, add the 1 TBS Lemon Juice.

Lastly, add 1 tsp (about 7 drops) of Tea Tree Oil.

Screw the cap onto the bottle and shake thoroughly.

Make a cute label for your detergent and store in the refrigerator. Use about 2 TBS per load.

That’s it. Pretty dang simple.

Here’s the financial breakdown:

$10 for 32 oz of Castille Soap
$2 for 32 oz of Lemon Juice
$13 for 2 oz of Tea Tree Oil
$2.40 for 1 Gallon of White Vinegar

Needed per 6 Cups/50 ounces:

4 Cups of Castille Soap= $10
1 Cup of Water= free
1 TBS Lemon Juice= $.03
1 tsp Tea Tree Oil= $2.16
1 Cup White Vinegar=$.15

TOTAL = $12.34 or $.25 load

My Detergent=$7 for 75 oz (need 3 TBS per load/49 loads)=$.15 per load

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