Homemade {Powdered} Laundry Detergent

  Happy Tuesday, beautiful friends! Today I am sharing with you this super easy recipe for homemade laundry detergent. It takes less than 10 minutes to make it and it works SO well! For the price of one container of store-bought detergent, you can make several batches of homemade!


Here's what you need:
1 cup Borax (about $4)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda ($3)
1 bar of soap- ($1) I used Fels-Naptha, which is made for laundry stains, but you cause any regular bar of soap (Dove, Ivory, etc.)

Grate your bar of soap. Any grater will do, I just grabbed the first one I happened to come across, which was this box grater.

Then add the Borax and Washing soda. 

Stir it all together for about 5 minutes.

 There you have it! Enough laundry soap to do 64 loads! I put mine in this pretty vintage canister. I caught my mother adding it to her yard sale items a little while back! I just love it and can't believe she was going to get rid of it! 

  Just use 1 tablespoon per load, 2 for a heavily soiled load. I have been using it for several days now and LOVE it! I was afraid it would be harsh for sensitive skin, but it is perfect! I am going to make another batch soon, so that my canister will be full. I may even add some essential oils... I'll let you know! Speaking of essential oils, there might just be an amazing essential oil giveaway coming very soon! ;) Have a wonderful day, lovelies! 

How to {EASILY} Remove the Swiffer WetJet Cap to Refill Yourself!

  I don't know know about y'all, but I am so excited to start decorating for Christmas. Today I have been cleaning the day away so that I can start decking the halls asap! When I pulled out my Swiffer WetJet, I realized that, yet again, I was out of cleaning solution. Between replacing the solution and the cleaning pads it has easily costed me $30 a month many months just to use my Swiffer Wet Jet. 
  Today, I was smarted than that. I remembered a tip I saw on Pinterest a few months ago from Instructables and you guys are going to love it! I learned how to EASILY remove the cap to the Swiffer WetJet solution! 


Here's what you do:

1. Dunk the cap of your Swiffer reservoir into boiling water for about 10 seconds. 

2. Using a towel, twist the cap off! 


3. If your cap has locking tabs, you can just use nail clippers to remove them. The ones on my cap weren't very large so I was able to skip this step.

  I just rinsed out the reservoir and replaced it with my own cleaning solution. If you prefer natural cleaners, you can just use a mixture of vinegar and water. This will make your floors (especially hardwood) sparkle! 
  My next money saving task will be to make my own cleaning pads. When I do, I will be sure to share how I do it with all of you fellow homemakers. Hope this tip helps you as much as it has helped me! Have a fantastic day! :)

Imagine having a self-cleaning option on your microwave like the one on your oven! You do!

   Have you ever wished that you had a self-cleaning option on your microwave like you do on your oven? Then you could just turn it on, walk away and do other things on your long list. Come back in a little while and just wipe it out. That way you wouldn't have to scrub and scrub at that dried spaghetti sauce that has been there for weeks! Well, you already can!

I LOVE using vinegar to clean! It's cheap, natural, and totally awesome for just about any tough cleaning job! In a few short minutesyou can easily make your microwave go from looking like this:

To this!

Just by letting the vinegar and microwave do the work for you!

All you do is get a small, microwave safe bowl and fill it about halfway full of water. Then pour in some vinegar. I use about a half of cup. Put it in the microwave, turn it on for 10 minutes. After it turns off, don't open the microwave for about another 10 or 15 minutes. Then, just open it and wipe it out, no scrubbing required! The vinegar will not only leave it smelling fresh, it will make it sparkle as well! Now, didn't I tell you it was easy?! :) Be sure to check back for many more Green cleaning tips!

Here is the link for these oh-so-cute gloves I was wearing in my last post!

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2008/11/not-your-mamas-rubber-gloves.html

How to get those black scratches out of your white porcelain sink... in less than 60 seconds!

If you have a white sink, you know exactly what marks I am talking about! Those scratches that appear just by putting a plate in the sink, and we won't even talk about how awful they are if you lay some pots and pans in the sink! Well, I have recently discovered an inexpensive solution that will cost you less than $2 at the dollar store: Barkeepers Friend! I'm telling you, this stuff is like magic! Now here is a picture of my sink before.



Now, with the number of ladies who will be in and out of my kitchen next week, I simply cannot leave it looking like that! 





My magic weapon! :)



First, you need to run some water in the sink. Sprinkle a good bit of the Barkeepers friend.

Then with a wet washcloth, you just start to scrub a little. No elbow grease required! Continue scrubbing until you "erase" all of the scratches, then rinse and Voila!

See how it sparkles?!