DIY Laundry Detergent

I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year and a half now and am SO in love with the results!

I googled a bunch of recipes, but ended up using this one here as a base.

She has lots of great recipies, but I choose to do a powdered one. I had to change the recipie around a bit but this is what I ended up with:

• 1/2 bar of grated Pure Sunlight bar soap

• 1/2 cup of Washing Soda

• 1/2 cup of Borax

I actually had a really hard time finding washing soda in Ontario. In fact, we had to ask my grandmother-in-law to pick up a box when they went to the States - which she did and I am SO grateful for! (I have recently made a visit to the US myself and stocked up!)

The original recipe also required fel's naptha bar soap which I also had a hard time finding. I had thought I'd seen in in a grocery store a long time ago, but do you think I could remember which store? Of course not! So I ended up buying a bar of pure sunlight soap instead which actually works great and smells fantastic!

Making the soap could not get any simpler!

Steps:

1 - Finely grate 1/2 the bar of soap (makes approximately 1 cup of soap).

2 - Add the grated 1/2 bar of soap in a medium sized bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. Mix well.

3 - Use 1/2 tbsp for normal loads, and 1 tbsp for heavier soiled loads.


And there you have it! A perfectly simple powdered laundry soap that is very easy to use and cleans great!

Yes - you can use this in front loading washing machines! Just use a little less soap (maybe 1/3 tbsp to 1/2 tbsp per load).

I had this cute wooden container that I bought at a yard sale and used to store my tea in - I cleaned it out and now store my laundry detergent in it! It's the perfect size! 

(I also printed some a label with the recipe and added it to the back of the box as well as a cute label for the front!)

I keep a half-tablespoon measuring spoon in the container to ensure we have the correct amount each time. Even the hubby can't mess this one up!

Why do I make my own soap, do you ask? For me, it's the pure cost savings of it. 

Here is the break down:

Sunlight bar x 2 = $2.00 (use half bar per recipe) = $0.50 per batch
Box of Borax $5.00 (approx. 9 cups. Use 1/2 cup per recipe) = $0.28 per batch
Washing Soda $3.00 (approx. 7 cups. Use 1/2 cup per recipe) = $0.21 per batch

Total to make this recipe (32 loads of laundry)= $0.99

32 loads of laundry = $0.03 per load load

It's the simple things in life that keep me going :)

I have recently tried a liquid soap that I am also IN LOVE with! Plus, there is no soap grating involved so it is much quicker to make. More on that recipe in a future post. :)

Have you ever made your own detergent? Willing to try? What are your thoughts?

Reflecting on 2012

This year has most certainly been a year to remember. It has been filled with lots of family togetherness including family campouts, birthday celebrations, oktoberfesting and the usual fishing derby.

It has been a year of growing - from watching our niece and nephew Ava & Kalvan going to school, growing and learning each day to seeing our step-brother and sister become new parents to their sweet daughter Mazie who is just over 2 months old now.

The year 2012 has also been a year of love and loss; in 2012 I married my best friend, but I also suffered the loss of my nana.

Grandma (right) with her younger sister Bernice

The loss of my nana was something that will never go away. She was a strong woman whose life only stopped because of Leukemia. She never let her sickness get to her. In fact, I almost think she became stronger because of it. She had her mind and wit until the very end which we are all thankful for.

Grandma and Grandpa Graham, 1945

My nana and I shared a special bond which started when I was a baby. She took care of me while my mom was at work so I spent most of my days with her. You may remember the post here on the special tribute to my nana on her 91st birthday earlier this year.

Grandma and Grandpa Graham, 1946

During one of our visits to grandma's, Matt and I had asked her if she had any wedding advice for us. She just said to us… “ just love each other, treat each other right and never go to bed angry. I hope you two will be as happy as I was.” A simple message with so much meaning. We definitely took it to heart and have not forgotten her words.

Aside from the sadness of losing my grandmother, I also was able to say "I do" this year to my wonderful husband, Matthew. I have waited for so long for our wedding day and it was perfect in so many different ways. When you look back and the things that went "wrong," you realize that those little things really don't matter and definitely do not define your day. We were blessed to be surrounded by all the people who matter most to us - even though some of them could not be there.

We are sad to see 2012 come to an end, but also excited to see what 2013 will hold for us! 

Recycling Holiday Cards

I keep all of my cards I receive from Christmas, birthday's, thank you's, etc.. in a memory box in my room. In fact, I have so many cards I now have 2 boxes simply full of cards! My mom and husband would tell me to "get rid of them, already!" But I am the kind of person to turn one person's trash into another person's treasure. With that said, I decided it was time to purge my inventory and decided to turn them into gift tags!

I began by going through my cards and set aside the ones that I could finally let go of and start creating gift tags with. I also have lots of scraps of scrapbook paper that I used for tags as well.

Cut the pieces in 2-3" pieces, mount them to coloured or plain cardstock, punch a hole, add a ribbon and voila! A recycled card turned into a gift tag!

And there you have it!  A recycled card that someone else will be able to enjoy!

Saving the verses

I like the thought of taking the insides of your cards (where all the personal greetings are) and put them into a scrapbook. That way you are still saving the memories, only this time they are in one simple book vs. taking up loads of room scattered in boxes!

It Runs in the Family

My aunt Sandra and I share some of the same qualities - crafty, creative and can make beauty out of objects others may disregard as old or trash. She has done some of the most beautiful work I've seen with DIY makeovers and wanted to share a few of them!

 Here are a few projects she has done lately:

Dresser set for her daughter's bedroom
Before

After

Headboard Before

After

 Sweet End Table 
Before

After

These are only a few and every time I go to her place there is a new piece of decor waiting for me to catch my attention.

They also did a complete 360 overhaul on their kitchen by reusing and painting their old cupboards and installing new countertops. I can't wait to show that off in a future post! 

Happy painting!

Designer piggy bank for cheap!

We are constantly finding loose change around the house - from pennies, to toonies, it's everywhere (unfortunately, more pennies than toonies!!)! We wanted one central location to throw all our change when it gets messy in our pockets (Matt is very guilty of this!) instead of finding change all over the top of the island, dining table, end tables, etc..


We had a charity yard sale last year to raise money for the Children's Heart Network and had LOTS of donations for it! This plaster piggy bank was one of the donations - so I scooped it up for one of my projects! (Yes, I made a donation to the charity for taking the piggy bank!)

Before

I removed the laces and spray-painted it silver for a quick designer style look! I used a silver "Krylon Metallic" Silver colour spray paint and covered the entire shoe in a few coats. 

After

We throw our loose change in here and when it gets full, we roll it up, take it to the bank and treat ourselves to dinner (or coffee, depending on the number of pennies inside!)

Note:  We still have yet to paint the shelf and mail desk itself!


Similarly, we also keep a jar in the laundry room for the loose change we find in the washer, dryer and our clothes pockets. It works fantastic and keeps the change from scattering itself around the house!

Our Advent Calendar for 2011

Matt and I have started some traditions recently and one of them is creating activity advent calendars as mentioned in this blog post.

These are the activities we decided to do together throughout the month of December. Unfortunately, my very busy work schedule did not allow us to do all of these activities, but we tried to get most of them done (even if it wasn't on the specified day!). 

Advent Calendar Activities

1.  Wrap some Christmas gifts!

2.  Make holiday tags from recycled Christmas cards and scrap paper

3.  Create a christmas card hanging display

4.  Put up the Christmas tree, drink eggnog and exchange ornaments!

5.  Snuggle on the couch with a hot chocolate and a good show

6.  Take Simba for a wintery walk

7.  Make holiday cards!

8. Make paper & pipe cleaner snowflakes and decorate the windows

9. Make ornament gift toppers!

10. Wrap and send care packages

11. Wrap Christmas gifts together by the fireplace

12. Make a list of ten things you are thankful for. Hang it where you can see it every day.

13. Bake something together (cookies, muffins, bread or cupcakes!)

14. Sing and dance to christmas music!

15. Mail Christmas cards!

16. Attend ugly Christmas sweater party!

17. Get dressed up all fancy and go to company Xmas party!

18. Spend some time laughing and playing with Family

19. Bake a batch of Christmas cookies

20. Bake another batch of Christmas cookies and share family and friends

21. Tally up total dontations for the Children's Heart Network and donate online.

22. Make cake pop Christmas tree!

23. Tour the Northern lights

24. Make a gingerbread house!

25. Merry Christmas! Remember to love and recieve love this holiday season - that is the warmest gift of all!

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids!

Holiday Traditions

The holiday season is approaching us again and I wanted to share a few traditions Matt and I have started with each other.

Exchanging of ornaments

We started this tradition the year we moved in together. Anytime before December we purchase a Christmas ornament, wrap them up and exchange them when we put up our Christmas tree (the first weekend of December). Here are photos of our ornament exchange from our past 4 years together:

We hope to keep this tradition going when we have children;  to get them each an ornament which they can open on the day when we put up our Christmas tree. Our hope is that one day we will only be hanging the ornaments from our exchange and hope it's something our children will look forward to each year!

Forgoing Christmas Gifts

Matt and I made the decision this year to not do a gift exchange for each other. Instead, we will purchase one or two mutual gifts for ourselves that will benefit the house and help us with our renos and decorating. This is something we plan on doing every year from now on. We decided to do a stocking for each other to open up Christmas morning together, but the rest of the money we'd typically spend on each other will go towards the house and other family members. We've realized we don't need gifts to celebrate the meaning of Christmas. It's enough just being with friends and family around the holiday's and be thankful for having a wonderful life together!

Charity

Last year we started the tradition of giving back to others by helping our community or children or families in need around the holiday's by participating in local charities. Last year we did Samaritan's Purse where you fill a shoe box filled with toys and school supplies for children around the world in need. It was SO MUCH FUN! We loved going around to different stores and picking out things for the shoe boxes for the kids and dropping them off at the collection centres.

Our goal is to pick a charity each year that helps children or families in need. We want to continue this with our own children to teach them the meaning of giving back. We want them to know that Christmas is not just about receiving gifts - it's about spending time with those you love and giving back to others.

This year we did something a little different. During 2011, we have been raising money for the Children's Heart Network which was inspired by my little cousin Kaylie. At just 8 months old was diagnosed with a heart defect called Pulmonary Atresia.  She has had numerous surgeries since and in spite of her condition, she is a very happy, spirited little girl.

We had a charity yard sale this summer which all proceeds went to the network. We received lots of donations from friends, family and even neighbours for our yard sale. It was nice to see the community come together and give back to something so close to our hearts.

Advent Calendar

Another thing Matt and I decided to make tradition starting this year is make an advent calendar! Except instead of little treats or toys, we made up activities to do together. I don't want to spoil what our advent activities will be, but I will try to update weekly with what we do! :)

We took some festive scrapbook paper, cut them into circles and wrote our advent activity on the back. We decided to hang them off our Eiffel Tower which sits in in our living room!

So those are some of our most important tradiations that we have started and are carrying out through the holiday's!

What are some of your holiday traditions?