Fiances and Laundry Detergent

I think we can all agree that the topic of finances at our last meeting was a hit!  Everyone had such wonderful questions and input and many moms have been discussing budgeting stategies and praying for marital unity in this area all week.  I think God is going to do a great work with this!

For anyone interested, here is the link to Dave Ramsey's site:  http://www.daveramsey.com/home/
He has a radio show that you can listen to everyday as well as books and other materials.  I personally recommend taking the FPU class WITH your spouse.  All of the budgeting forms that Julie passed out at our meeting came from the workbook that you receive at the class.  Dave Ramsey encourages those who have taken the class to help others, so he is a proponent of passing out copies of his forms for free.  Please let Amelia know if you would like copies of additional forms or anything.

To go along with finances, we made our own laundry detergent for our craft.  Judging by how few were left, it seems that most everyone took a copy of the recipe, but I am posting it below so that you can easily share it with friends and family, and any moms who missed this last meeting can easy get their hands on it.  I will also post a couple more recipes below for inexpensive powder detergent and fabric softener.  ENJOY!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

For Front or top load machine***

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar*
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax**

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. (You cannot smell essential oils on your clean clothes, but it makes the detergent itself smell nice.)

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons. 

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" and Fels Naptha soap bar can both be found in Farmington at Smith’s in the laundry/cleaning aisle. It is important not to substitute baking soda for the washing soda because it will not work as well - It must be sodium carbonate!!

**Borax (20 Mule Team Borax) can also be found in the laundry/cleaning aisle at Smith’s, or at Walmart and other local grocery stores.

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Top load machine

1   Fels-Naptha soap bar
1  Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½  Cup Borax

-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha  bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can often be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.

Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes

Recipe #1
1  Cup White Vinegar
Add vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.

Recipe #2

1  Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener
4  Inexpensive sponges, cut in half

Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet. 

***All recipes came from the Duggar family at http://www.duggarfamily.com/  Thanks, Duggars!