Budget Crunch...

All supplies needed to make a year's supply of cleaners (above)...and it took less than 20 minutes to make (below)...

My Dad was (and is) a country preacher and he was known to announce from the pulpit that all visitors were invited home with us for dinner (sometimes termed "lunch" but in all places southern and country, the noon meal is dinner). My parents lived on a strict budget and we joked that my Mama could feed a congregation with a chicken and her "cajun trinity of spices"...onion, celery and bell pepper! She sewed our clothes and sometimes cut our bangs (but only when we lived far away from my beautician aunt "Sissie"). We always had a garden and summertime meant perpetual blisters from shelling butterbeans...

But, as a teenager, I withdrew from those roots and as a young housewife, spent money a little recklessly...my good friend Barbara Brooksby reined me in and taught me some basic money saving tips and for years we survived on one paycheck because I learned to stretch and re-stretch our budget. I remember saying that I wish I was rich enough to go to the grocery store and buy whatever I wanted without looking at my list or having a coupon...

Well, we aren't rich by any means but it's been a few years since I gave my grocery budget much thought. But, now my household is large again and gasoline is nearing $4 a gallon and our savings have been exhausted with all the fun stuff we've done these past two years...so much so that to be honest, I'm a little nervous...almost afraid...and then I remembered the old adage "Being prepared removes fear".

And then my new girlfriend Chanda taught an awesome class at Relief Society on homemade laundry and dish detergent...even soft scrub kitchen and bath cleaners. A year's supply of all of it for less than $20. I made them and now am sitting at the kitchen table cutting coupons and making a grocery list...and feeling kind of excited about it.

Here are the recipes, just in case you are feeling nervous too:

I easily found all ingredients grouped together at Walmart. They were in the aisle with cleaners/detergents but were near the bottom next to the laundry boosters.

Laundry Detergent:

MAKES 4 gallons for less than $2 and washes 128 regular loads.

The 20 Mule Team Borax detergent is a powder in a box as is the Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. The soap is individually wrapped and is near the powders. The Borax and Arm & Hammer is about $2.80 per box (with at least 7 cups). The soap is about 95 cents a bar. The total cost is about 2 cents a load!!!

1 Bar of soap (Fels Naptha, Zote, or Ivory...I use Fels Naptha)

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Suds

1 cup 20 Mule team Borax

4 gallons water

Heat 1 gallon water in large pot. Grate bar of soap and add to water. Stir until soap melts. Add washing soda and borax...ingredients will foam. Stir about 5 minutes (until everything is dissolved) and remove from heat.

Heat 2 gallons of water and add to 5 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture with 4th gallon of water. Stir well. Cover and let set for 24 hours before use. You will need to stir 4 times during the 24 hour period to reach the gel-like consistency.

Use 1/2 cup for a regular load or 1 cup for extra large capacity or very soiled loads. Is not sudsy, will not hurt high-efficiency washers.

Laundry Softener (have not tried this, found it on the web...)

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

2/3 cup hair conditioner

Fill rinse section of washer or add 1/4 cup to rinse cycle.

High Efficiency Machine cleaner

(have not tried this either...also found on web)

1/2 cup vinegar in the detergent cup,run the clean machine cycle. Use once a month to keep washer clean & fresh.

Dishwasher Detergent:

2 cups Borax

2 cups baking Soda

Mix and store in a container with a lid. Use 2 Tbl per load. This amount will do one load a day for a month. This is also about 2 cents a load. You can put plain vinegar in the rinse compartment to eliminate spots and make dishes shine!!

Softscrub:

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup liquid dish detergent (cheapest kind)

1/4 cup vinegar

Mix together (add vinegar last) You can adjust baking soda or vinegar amounts if you do not like consistency. I store in squeeze bottles but any bottle with a top will do. I used dawn and it's a pretty blue color :) GREAT for cleaning kitchens and bathrooms!!

Window/Mirror cleaner:

1 cup vinegar OR 1 cup sudsy lemon ammonia

3 cups water

Mix and store in spray bottle. Will shine mirrors and windows beautifully!!