Laundry Detergent Recipe

I know that there are several recipes floating around Pinterest for making your own laundry detergent, but I wanted to share what I have been using for 3 years and give the exact run down on how much it costs and how long it lasts.

About three years ago, around the first summer of married life, Jack and I decided to get serious about budgeting and began Dave Ramsey's envelope system.  Being newly married on a tight budget, and wanting to save up for a down payment on a house, I really wanted to make a contribution by not over spending my husband's money.  I cannot recall the book's name, but I read a book from the library about living thrifty.  It had basic little tips in it, like using cloth napkins instead of paper, using coupons, buying gifts throughout the year when on sale, etc.  One of the things, that stuck out to me was making your own laundry detergent.  Since my husband, had an allergic reaction as a child to an off brand detergent, I was not saving money buying off brands.  And even with, trying to watch for sales, I was spending alot on detergent and I only was doing 4 loads at the most a week.

I decided to make my own detergent and found a recipe that I now use and love:

3 bars of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (3lb. 7oz box)
Oxi Clean (3lb. containter)
Borax (4lb. 12oz box)
Pure Baking Soda (4lb box)

2 containers of Purex Crystals or Downy Unstoppables to add some scent.  This is purely optional.

I buy all of these ingredients from Walmart and they are all located in the same aisle right next to each other.  My total for all of them is right around $20.  The first time, I made the detergent I purchased a 5 gallon tote with a lid for storage and combining the ingredients.  I also, purchased a glass jar for "prettier storage". :)

It is so simple to make, even a two year old can do it! ;)  Combine all the ingredients and then grate your Fels Naptha soap bars.  This can be done using a cheese grater, or a food processor.  Put the lid on your tote and shake to combine and you are done!

I made my last batch on December 10th and it lasted almost 5 months and that is doing 6 loads of laundry a week and sometimes more.

I use about 2 tablespoons per load, and occasionally 3 if extra - large - simply dump right into the wash drum with your clothes.

Nursery Reveal

We have had so much fun working on Keegan's nursery

 over the last several months.  We enjoyed finding new things

little by little - always for such great deals, 

repainting frames and dressers, and then creating our own custom

pieces whether it was by computer, wood, paint, or cricut machine.

And here we are with just 3 1/2 weeks to spare and I am so in love

with this little space that will be our baby's room.

I apologize in advance for the picture overload, but I just really,

really love it and I had to share... :)

Now to fully appreciate the finished product above, I wanted to take

you through the stages of this room prior to it being the nursery...

Before Jack and I were married this was how the room looked.

 Once we were married the room slowly started to be transformed

into this...

I really wish we had taken a picture of our bedroom prior to 

converting it to the nursery but alas we did not.

We were going to leave this room the master bedroom, but after

converting Jack's office into "the nursery" we decided we wanted

to switch bedrooms.  You can see a video of that transformation HERE.

The first thing we did to the nursery was repaint it in a lighter shade

{Olympic-Sand Dune}

and then Jack painted on the blue stripes.

From there we just added piece by piece as we found deals

or as it was given to us...

 {Curtain material-IKEA made by my mom}

{Book shelves made by Jack costing $10}

{Rocking chair-gift}

 {Dresser-repainted our old wooden one

 {Top drawers taken out and replaced

with 4 canvas totes from Hobby Lobby-$36}

{Knobs replaced-Hobby Lobby $16}

{Our old bedroom mirror repainted}

{Shelf, lampshade, lantern-IKEA}

 {Rocking chair-gift from my parents}

{Blanket-CVS $.99}

{Nautical canvases-gift}

{Nightstand-our old one that we repainted}

{Picture frames-IKEA $20}
{Crochet monkey-gift}

Leaving empty frames around the room for 

baby pictures of course... :)

 The canvas totes are full of burp cloths, receiving blankets,

shoes, socks, and hats...

 And needless to say, Keegan is all set with clothes for quite some time!

 Jack designed this printable for me, 

that I printed and attached to an 8x10 canvas

to give it more depth.

 I love this wall quote!

Looking forward to laying Keegan in this crib...

I hope you enjoyed our nursery reveal, we loved completing each stage, and

were excited to share with our readers!

House Tour|Living Room & Kitchen

 Jack and I have been married ten wonderful months.  We have settled in quite nicely but I have put off doing a house tour until it was 100% decorated, remodeled and perfect.  I have of recent come to the conclusion that I will never be done decorating, or doing pinterest inspired projects.  As I type I am looking at 3 vintage suitcases I was given that have yet to find a place in my house.  I have several ideas, just have to choose one... :)

All of that to say, I am going to go on ahead with our house tour.  To you it may just look like a small house with several imperfections, but to me it is the most beautiful house in the world because it is shared with Jack.  I am sure some day we will look back on our first place and recall it's defects and lack of closets, but for now I will keep on my rose colored glasses and proudly show you our little nest!

Our living room and kitchen is in one big room since before we were married it served as Jack's photography studio.  Jack had painted, trimmed, and floored it before we were even dating and I love his work!  We were able to pick out the cabinets, counter-tops, and hardware together and my uber handy husband installed them all by himself!

...............................................................................................................................................

 This was the view as you walk in the front door... (a year ago) 

and now this is the view...

Let's start with a close up of the living room

vs.

As you can see, there have been a few changes...

Starting with client canvases coming off the wall. ;)

One of the first things we did was paint the legs of the existing coffee table black.

You will see throughout our house that very often I like to paint the legs/base of furniture black...

{wedding photography credit to: Photography by Britton}

{our first project we ever did together...you can see more pictures of it here}

Most of our decorations were either wedding gifts, garage sale finds repainted or things I had bought and stored from Celebrating Home throughout my single years.

...............................................................................................................................................

Moving onto the kitchen...

 to...

 I love cooking in this little space!

Because of our lack of cabinets Jack built me this handy-dandy pull out next to the fridge...

 

So very handy!!

I love open shelving and someday when we have a larger kitchen we plan on having lots of that, but for now Jack was kind enough to build and paint me my own two shelves to display fun things. :)

 This rolling island serves its purpose very well and adds another 'counter space' 

for me to meal prep on.  It was a $15 garage sale find that my dad painted the base black.

And of course we can't forget about the life size chalkboard that we made

using mdf board and framing with trim.

Hope you enjoyed Part One of our House Tour.  Stay tuned for the hallway|bedroom tour next! :)