Dirty

Like every other parent out there I spend so much of my time cleaning. Argh! I'd say I do 10+ loads of dishes and I don't even know how many loads of laundry a week... probably around 20 (when you count rewashing things that accidentally got left in the washer for a day.... oops). If that wasn't aggravating enough, stop to think about how much soap that uses. I probably spend over $100 a month on cleaners. It's infuriating.

I am putting my foot down. I'm tired of spending so much. It is time to try something different. I have been disappointed in all the soap "recipes" I've found to date. Grate this, cook that, or simply dilute a premade detergent. Tonight I sat down and found THE recipes that will work for me. I thought I would share.

Laundry Soap:

I'm going to use my Seventh Generation dish soap instead of dawn first. If it doesn't seem to come out right I'll resort to Dawn.

Update: FAIL! I tried doubling the ingrediants to the same amount of water. I tried a dozen different variations. All fail. I guess there is no hope of a no grate laundry soap.

Dish Soap:

Oh, look at that... almost identical.

Update: I did as my friend suggested and found a recipe with citric acid and salt. Awesome! 1 cup borax, 1 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup salt, and 1/4 cup citric acid. Works great!

Surfaces:

I've used vinegar to clean in the past, but Chris doesn't like the smell. Came across this.... hmm.... wonder if it could level out the vinegar a little bit.....

Air Freshener:

I usually hide boxes of baking soda around the house, but I like this idea more so you don't have the random orange box.....

Hair wash:

I don't know..... I just don't know..... baking soda and apple cider vinegar...... Maybe if I start to feel adventurous.....

Toothpaste:

I'm excited about this one. I'm going to leave out the trace minerals until I find a brand I am comfortable with. I just realized I have all the ingredients for this one already! Yeah!!!!

Wish me luck.....

Do you have any good homemade cleaner recipes? Please share!