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DIY Laundry Soap

Hello friends! I hope this week has been treating you well! Spring Break is winding down for me, and I am silently crying tears of regret after not having accomplished everything that I had planned. Just kidding. Sort of.

We did have a super fun and relaxing week of camping for a few nights, which was wonderful! Even though we were only about twenty minutes from home, it felt as though we were truly out of town. And it just feels good to get away! Coming home from camping, everything in our bags smelled like campfire smoke. Which is wonderful while you’re actually out, but once you come home, it’s not so great (in my opinion anyway). I had a bunch of laundry to do, and I realized it would be a great idea to share my homemade laundry detergent recipe with y’all.

I’ve been making my own laundry soap for about three years now, and I have not had to re-buy supplies since I first started. Talk about thrifty.

So here’s what you’ll need:

3 Tablespoons of Washing Soda

3 Tablespoons of Borax

2 Tablespoons of Original Dawn Dish Soap

Any scent of essential oils (this part is totally optional)

Here are the (super simple) steps:

First, you’ll mix your washing soda, borax, and dish soap together in a gallon size container, adding about one cup of hot water. No need to boil the water, I just use the hottest water I can get out of my faucet. This amount of water is just enough to dissolve the power into the water. You’ll need to shake well until everything is dissolved.

Next (and you will need to do this in your sink), you’ll fill your container with the cold water. I just use the tap water from my faucet. This process will create a mess load of bubbles, so I cannot tell you how important it is to do this in a sink! Once the container is filled, I close it up and shake again. This will allow any particles that didn’t disolve before to fully dissolve.

Last, and this step is optional, I like to add a few drops of essential oil. No need for the expensive stuff, I just bought one bottle of lemongrass oil from my local grocery store, which may have cost about five bucks. The oil will make the laundry soap scented, which I prefer in a laundry soap. It is totally optional though. The cool thing is that you can make it any scent you want. After adding a few drops, I close it up and shake thoroughly.

That’s it! It really is that easy. like I mentioned before, I have been making this laundry soap for about three years, and I have yet to buy new supplies. I would estimate the total cost at about fifteen dollars, but for three plus years of laundry soap, I would say that’s a pretty good deal! Now, I use this recipe mainly for economical reasons, and not necessarily for all-natural health reasons, so if you’re looking for an organic or suchandsuch-free product, this is probably not for you.

Personally, I love it. It takes just a few minutes to make, and my clothes and linens smell and feel just as fresh as with any other laundry soap I have purchased. I use about a cup of the soap per load, and one “batch” will last me a few weeks. I would definitely recommend making your own laundry soap!

Have you tried making your own laundry soap before? If so, I’d love to hear about it! That’s all for today, friends. Have a fabulous day!

March 18, 2016 by Fawn Rumfield

DIY Projects, Home Decor, Tutorials

DIY Boxwood Topiary

Hi you guys! I’m so glad you stopped by today! I don’t know if it’s feeling spring like where you are, but here in North Texas it definitely is! I was coming into the house after work the other day and I noticed little green buds popping up in the tree in the front yard. There’s no better sight! Not to mention that the weather has been warming up, which means it’s closer to time for front porch and grilling! I think it’s safe to say that spring is my favorite season (and it’s not just because I have a spring birthday…)!

Today I want to share with you guys a super fun super cheap DIY that totally has me ready for spring. I’ve been adding pops of greenery in the house everywhere, whether it be fresh flowers, or faux greenery I’ve collected from Ikea. I’ve been eyeing some of those adorable boxwood topiaries that seem to be everywhere (okay, maybe just Target and HomeGoods, but everywhere important!), but with my monthly free spending allowance, it didn’t seem worth it to pay for them. I’ve seen some at multiple places, usually anywhere from $20 – $30. Which isn’t a ton of money, I know. I’m just Cheapster McGee, as you all already know.

So I did what I do best, which is set out to make my own DIY version. So here’s what I came up with:

This is a very basic little craft that cost me just a few bucks.

I purchased all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby. The pots were under two dollars, and the boxwood balls (I’m fairly certain that’s not an actual phrase) were about five dollars for both, as they were seasonal clearance.

The rest of the supplies I had on hand. First, I put a coat of wax on the pots, mainly because I had never used strictly wax on something before, and I wanted to see how it would turn out. Since it was clear wax, it didn’t change the color at all. Duh, I should have known. However, I then immediately did a quick drybrush over the wax coat. Because the wax was not yet dry, it allowed me to wipe the whole thing with a rag, giving me the unfinished look I was going for.

I used sticks (the free kind from the front yard) and hot glued them to the bottom of my pot. The pots had a small hole in the bottom, which I covered with a small piece of duct tape so that the glue wouldn’t come out the bottom. After a few minutes, I filled in the pot with Spanish moss, something I had on hand already.

The boxwood balls have sort or a net texture under the leaves, which was perfect to just wedge them onto the stick. I did add a dab of hot glue just to keep them in place. Including paint and dry time (they dried incredibly fast, since I used my drybrushing technique), this project took me about fifteen minutes.

The cost of supplies I had to purchase was about seven dollars, making these cute little topiaries about $3.50 each. As opposed to the $20-$30 range. So I consider this little DIY a definite win.

I love how the fresh, springlike vibe they have. Even Ethan commented on how cool they looked, so I’m pretty pleased with how this one turned out. I think the best part is how well they’ll transition into summer as well. I do hope you try this one! It was definitely a fun project for me, and just about anyone can do this!

I hope you have something awesome planned for today! That’s all for today! Have a fabulous day, friends!

February 29, 2016 by Fawn Rumfield

Holidays, Tutorials

DIY Citrus Slice Ornament

HAPPY DECEMBER Y’ALL!!!! Okay, I’ll admit I’m excited. It’s officially the Christmas season now that it’s December. I can post all the photos of my tree and Christmas decor without shame! It’s a wonderful world, friends.

Today I wanted to show y’all the last of my DIY ornament ideas. My Christmas decor this year is super rustic and primitive, and so this last DIY was the one that I really think brought the whole look together. If you haven’t seen the other two ornament DIYs, you can check them out here and here. I remember seeing photos of dried fruit as Christmas decor years ago, but I never really thought anything of it until this year. I needed something with a pop of color, and so it was time to test out this project!

The first thing I did was slice several oranges and lemons. I think I did four of each. I wasn’t sure which I would prefer, so I did both. I cut the ends off and simmered them on the stove using this recipe so they wouldn’t go to waste.

I separated the oranges and lemons on my (badly stained) cookie sheets so that if they cooked at different rates it would be easier to remove them from the oven. I placed them on the lowest setting on my oven (I think it was about 150 degrees) and put the slices in. In total, I cooked them for about five hours. Every hour or so, I would turn the slices over so that they would dry evenly. I really don’t know if this necessary, but I’m a little paranoid. The good thing about the temperature being so low is that I could turn the slices over with my bare hand. In general, the lemons cooked a bit faster than the oranges did, because they were thinner I think.

After they were fully dehydrated came the fun part! I cut little pieces of red baker’s twine, the same twine I used previously on our pinecone ornaments, and hot glued it to the back to make a loop. Easy.

When they were finished, they looked like this, and I am so excited about how they turned out. They have just the look I was hoping for. As it turned out, I ended up liking the orange slices better than the lemon slices because the oranges had a thicker rind (is that the right word? I don’t even know.). I did these a few weeks ago, and they’ve lasted just fine, which was an initial concern of mine. I love the way the tree lights shine through the fruit. It feels super cozy! I also placed some of these slices on the wreath I have on the front door, and I love how it feels there too! I’m deeming this year “the year of the fruit” when it comes to decorating.

I’d love to hear what you think, and if you’ve tried this out. That’s it for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!

December 4, 2015 by Fawn Rumfield

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