Laundry Soap

I think one of the most overpriced items I buy is laundry detergent. Especially because about half or more is water (don't forget to mention all of the extra chemicals added)! I decided to go on a hunt for a more affordable option and maybe a more green option as well. I found a really simple recipe that incorporated some of the ingredients I keep on hand anyway. Deal!

What you'll need:

1 Bar of soap of your choosing
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda
Baking soda (optional but I always splash a little in there)
Cheese grater
Container of your choosing

Start by using the cheese grater to shred your bar of soap. This is the part that required some elbow grease. :) Once your bar of soap is completely shredded into your container add the rest of the ingredients and mix. That's it. Amazing right? I've been using this recipe for maybe 8 or more months now and I love it. It's easy to do and cheap to make. Each load of laundry requires about a tablespoon of the mixture added to the water before your clothes. You can add more for extra soiled clothes. I like to just eyeball it. :)

Carpet Powder

As a pet owner I tend to use a lot of carpet powder and floor cleaner to keep my carpets smelling as fresh as possible. I eventually grew tired of having to repeatedly buy the store bought carpet powder and went searching for a cheaper alternative. Turns out there is a very cheap alternative. All you need is two ingredients. One if you want to be really simplistic.

What you'll need:

Baking soda
Essential oil of your choice ( optional, i chose orange! yum!)
Container of your choice (i like to reuse containers and thought an old Parmesan cheese shaker would work perfectly!)

All you have to do is mix about a cup or two of  baking soda and the essential oil together and sprinkle it on your carpet. I usually put about 10-15 drops in my mixture and it smells great. Leave the mixture on your carpet for at least a half hour. I find it works the best when left on overnight. Easy!

DIY Dishwasher Soap

I have slowly but surely begun replacing my store bought products with homemade ones when they run out. I finally ran out of dishwasher detergent. After digging a little online I think I have found one that works pretty well. When using green products it tends to leave a white residue on your dishes. The recipe I found hasn't yet for me and I don't think it will. It's really simple to make and works great! (i also have a great recipe for laundry soap using some of the same ingredients)

What you'll need:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
Baking soda (optional. you can do a 50/50 mix of washing soda and baking soda or mix the two to your liking or leave it out all together.)
1/4 Coarse Kosher Salt (helps with hard water)
1/4 Citric Acid (cuts down on the residue left behind by green products) You can get citric acid in the canning isle in the grocery store. Lemi Shine is a good alternative to use as well.
White Vinegar

All you need to do is mix all the dry ingredients together and put it in a nice container and ta-da! it's ready to use. Using about a tablespoon each load should be enough.
Use the white vinegar in place of a rinsing agent such as jet dry, etc.