the conviction..it grows

so like i have said earlier, i know there is more to this whole thing than just not eating out. i know God has some bigger plan in action for us. and it seems with each passing day, my conviction to do better and save more grows......and then i argue with God, i'm all " really, God you want me to do more than not eat out and sell all of our junk.....there is nothing else i can do sir" and then He of course reveals to me yet another thing i "could" do if i would just do it. i

also am becoming more aware of how i can not spend an entire year just whining about how i don't get to eat out and how much it pisses me off. so, i have decided to share the other "things" God is showing me i can do and maybe they can help other people who are in the same boat as us.

so my good friend saundra started making her laundry detergent forever ago. and although i knew i was cheaper and not that hard, i was still too lazy to give a whirl. it was just way easier to drop a bottle of 7th generation in my cart and be on my way. (and for those of you who buy 7th generation anything, you know it's not cheap) so i mention this to my very frugal friend audra..... and well, before i knew what had happened audra had the recipe and had called all over jacksonville looking for and buying what we need to get started. so, last night audra and i got busy making homemade laundry soap, fabric softener and dish soap. it seriously was so easy and pretty fun. now lets do some math:

7th generation detergent= around $11 for 32 loads (if you are lucky)

home made=around $8 for 80+ loads

so 11x3=$33 vs. $8

$8 wins!!

so here is a recipe for the powder detergent. i did laundry today and was pretty pleased with the results:

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

and i bar of soap, grated.

mix and store in whatever container you want ( we used glass canning jars)

use 2 table spoons a load

for the fabric softener you just mix one cup baking soda and one cup water. after dissolved add 6 cups white vinegar slowly...after fizz dies down add 6 cups more water and then 10 to 15 drops of any essential oil you please...and tada!!!

by the way all of the things you need to make these items can be bought at publix in the laundry isle.