Today I made my 3rd or 4th batch of homemade laundry detergent since December 08. The original cost of ingredients was approx. $10.00. I DID have to purchase a second bar of Fels Naptha for about $2.00, but I STILL have a half box of Washing Soda and half box of 20 Mule Team Boraxo, and 2/3 of that 2nd bar of Fels Naptha. Cost per load is about .01 -- yes, that's right! Also, I don't need fabric softener any more with this detergent - another savings to pocketbook, space and environment. I've not purchased ANY other laundry detergent since 12/08.
There are just the two of us in this household, but I've saved several hundreds of $$ by now, in addition to consideration for the environmental issue. I can only guess at the dollars saved if you have a large family. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to make a batch, I store it in empty milk containers or ice cream buckets - something that can be covered. If interested, check out
www.thefamilyhomestead.com I still purchase stain removal products and occasionally use bleach. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY OVER $10.00 PER CONTAINER FOR LAUNDRY DETERGENT. Try it, you might like it!
On a quilty subject - here is a star log cabin WIP to be turned into a Christmas Tree Skirt. While the conventional blocks are easy, I became confused with the scrappy centers, where there was no light/dark differentiation, and I had to admit defeat a time or two and put my seam ripper to good use. More blocks are planned on the outside to make it octagonal, and then it will be surrounded with HSTs (I hope).
This is for an artificial tree, 7 1/2 feet tall. How large should I cut the hole? (JoHanna, pretend you haven't seen this!)