White Vinegar

If you are close to me you know I go through white vinegar like it's going out of style. Just a few ways I use it: making pickles- sweet and dill, homemade salsa, cleaning my counter tops in the kitchen and bath, cleaning the sinks along with baking soda, a splash or two in the dishwasher, as a fabric softener, and as a floor cleaner so pretty much Everywhere. These are only a few ways to use it. But the one I want to let you know about that you might not know is using it to get rid of red colored stains in clothes. If you have kids you know they will at some point get something red to drink and then spill it everywhere or all over a their clothes. So I am going to tell you what I do when this happens. Thanks to my momma for teaching me about it a few years ago after Carter spilled red KOOL-AID onto his new khaki shorts. This was one upset momma. A few days after this mishap I was talking to my momma about it and she came to the rescue. She told me to get a bowl that was big enough to put the shorts into and then pour white vinegar over them and let them soak at least overnight and then wash as normal. Yes I was doubtful of it working but I thought what the heck what could I lose. So the next day boy was I surprised, the shorts that once had been red, as red could be, were now back to the original khaki color. Sorry no pictures from that time. So I was sold on the idea. This has come back to help over the years in a house with four kids. And the last time it happened I took pictures to show you that it really does work. 

Thanks to Isaiah for sharing his red drink with Laura Mae

Soaking in vinegar

Front of shirt after being washed

back

back of bib

front of bib

You could never tell that the bib and shirt was a pinky red before. Hope it works for you if you give it as try. And please let me know if you do. Happy Cleaning!

Disclaimer: It has worked for me more than once but as with anything it might not the next time. And no I don't know if it will work on all kinds of fabrics.

Laundry Detergent

Homemade Laundry Detergent 

So I have been making my own laundry detergent for a over a year now.  The reason I started making it was to save my family money. We were spending at least $20 every couple months buying detergent and that adds up. So this was and is a huge savings for our family. Now we can use the money saved for family fun instead. Several friends and family members have asked what is the recipe I use and I have shared it with them. But in case anyone who is reading this would like to know I thought I would share with you. I wished I knew where I got the original recipe but I don't have a clue. If I knew I would give credit where credit is due. There are several through out blogland.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup or bar of Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

All these ingredients can be found on the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart

Grate the soap with a hand grater

soap is kind of thick after grating

Measure out the washing soda and borax into a bowl together

and then add the grated soap

To make it more fine and get mixed really well I put the mixture into the food processor

after mixed together

This also helps break up the borax, it can clump, and it makes the soap more a powder form. 

Now it's ready to put into what ever jar or old Tupperware container you have. 

This is the first time since December 2011 that I have made detergent. At that time this container was full.

 Yields around 3 cups

And this is the best part you only use 1 Tablespoon of detergent per load, yes only 1 Tablespoon compared to a cup or more of the store bought stuff. You can use 2 Tablespoons for heavy soiled loads. Sometimes we do especially in house full of boys.

 And yes our clothes come out clean for A Lot less money.  And remember this mixture will not make suds so it is safe to use in the high efficiency washers. I will shake it up every few loads to make sure it's still mixed well and doesn't form any clumps. We also add a 1/4 cup of white vinegar for the fabric softener compartment and then fill it the rest of the way with water. Your clothes will not come out smelling like pickles, I promise. If any questions feel free to ask. I will answer to the best of my knowledge.

Happy Laundering!

hugs and prayers~ KM