The Farrar's, Eco-Friendly?

Well, I am not exactly sure of what came over me today!!  I think the main reason I decided to do this whole project was because I am almost out of laundry detergent!!  So... instead of buying more, I started researching high efficiency home made detergent recipes!!  I found one that I really liked the ingredients on, and I went to the store to purchase everything!

I had to buy the following items, and here is what everything cost me...

• Borax - $3.99  and this bought me a 78oz box!!
• Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - $3.29  and this bought me a 55oz box!!
• Kirk's Castile Soap - $4.49  and this bought me a pack of 3 4oz bars!!

Total for this project  $11.77, and a new bottle of detergent would have landed me $13.99.  I use the cheap stuff too, nothing fancy!!  So, I saved money and I can make enough for 96+ loads of laundry vs. the 64 loads the other would have gotten me! 

The directions of this detergent were DUMMY PROOF!  That is exactly what I needed!  Grate an entire bar of soap finely, add one cup of each borax and washing soda.  Stir thoroughly... and that's it!
I think the biggest thing that scared me off from doing this before was the idea of making BUCKETS of detergent at a time!  I don't have the storage for that kind of thing!!  This was the first recipe I had seen that was a smaller amount and high efficiency friendly!  Basically high effciency simply means low suds.  Thinking about that... it means in reality when you are paying more money for the HE tag to be on the bottle, you are actually getting less detergent and more water!  NO THANKS!!
I took an empty yogurt container and jazzed it up with a little scrapbook paper... filled, and done!
I am very excited to try it!  When we run out of Downy, I will be making my own fabric softener too!! 

 I also picked up 3 spray bottles at Target and made my own cleaners!  Now I have a homemade glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, and a vinegar & water bottle for everything else!!  I am pretty excited that my cleaning cabinet just got a revamp and that everything is homemade with EASY ingredients that for the most part... I already owned!!

•  Glass Cleaner - Ammonia, Vinegar, Water, and a few drops of my favorite scented dish soap...
• All-Purpose - Vinegar, Borax, Water, and a few drops of my favorite scented dish soap...
• Vinegar & Water - if you have to ask, you don't deserve an answer!!

Lastly I purchased a Rubbermaid Reveal Mop, and I am in LOVE!!  I mixed my own cleaner in the bottle, mostly water with some Mr. Clean with Febreze filled to the solumtion line!  The mop head is HUGE, and I get a room done so much faster!!  I live in a 2200 sqft house, and half of it is hardwood floors!!!  I needed a good mop!  The best part is, after mopping day, I just throw the pad in the washing machine! I can wash it 100 times before I need to purchase another one!! 

So that about sums up my "Mommy Went Green" day!!  I really didn't wake up this morning and say "I'm going green, and today is the day", but look where the day took me!!  I am in a good mood and ready to do some cleaning, tomorrow!  Its bed time!!

 - Jessica