What a day!

Today has been quite busy!  Ben decided he did not want to nap for most of the day.  It took a lot to finally get him to sleep for 45 minutes.  He has been really fighting sleep today!  I think he had an upset tummy, because he let out some gas not too long ago.  

I finally got around to listing my maternity clothes on eBay.  I am not keeping them, because the next time I am pregnant, they will be too big.  We are about to begin a major lifestyle change in order to better ourselves physically, emotionally, and for Ben.  

Last night I got around to prepping all his new diapers!  I am so excited to try them!  They are so damn cute.  I am going through a major overhaul with the way things are done around here.  We need to become more "green".  I want to teach my son to not only value the planet he lives on, but to also do these things to save money.  We plan on starting a garden in the next week or so.  I need to buy pots to keep on the workbench in the garage, so they can grow in there until the snow is gone.  Then, we will transfer them to the garden.  I will keep you updated on the progress!  

In the meantime, I will share our "recipe" for laundry detergent.  We make our own, because it's economical, saves on resources, and contains no dyes, perfumes, or any other hidden chemicals.  We have been making our own detergent for years, but recently had to change up just one ingredient to make it cloth diaper friendly!  

 This is our laundry area.  It will be changing soon, though.  I want to put new pictures in the frame, and declutter the top a bit more.  I am also going to soon replace dryer sheets with wool dryer balls.  I cleaned out the lint trap in the dryer today, and wow!  Even though it looked clean, it wasn't.  I will share the tip on cleaning it later!

 Here is our detergent.  I bought the container a few weeks ago, to replace the old tupperware container we were using.  This one holds more.  You can find these containers for $5.00-$10.00 at craft stores or even bigger "supercenter" stores like Meijer or Target.  I actually found this one at TJMaxx for $7.00.  I also bought the basket on the shelf at TJMaxx for $5.00.  You don't need anything this fancy, use an old jar or tupperware container if you'd like!  I just did it this way to make it look "nicer", and get a bigger container for the detergent.  

                                       Now onto the recipe!  It requires...

Borax

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.  NOT baking soda!  There is a difference!

Oxiclean Free or Oxiclean Baby

Everyone seems to mix it up differently.  What works for us is 1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Washing Soda, and 1/2 a cup of Oxiclean.  I will mix all of it together with a wooden spoon, then add more, and mix again, repeating the process until I find the jar is full enough.  You only need 1-2 tablespoons of it per load of laundry, depending on how big the load is.  For a smaller load, use 1 (or less) tablespoons, for a bigger load, use the full 2 tablespoons.  

If you don't use cloth diapers, you can substitute the Oxiclean for a bar of Fels Naptha soap.  You would just grate the soap using a cheese grater and add it into the mix.  I personally find it easier to use the Oxiclean, even for regular clothes, but the soap is cheaper.  You can find all these items in the laundry aisle of the grocery store.  Using this method, you will spend about $15 a year or less on laundry detergent!  

When the weather gets better, I am going to experiment with making a 2-year supply of detergent to keep in a big bucket in the garage.  I will post about it after I do it! 

Here is the result!  Nice, clean diapers!