It’s an essential part of keeping a tidy and fresh existence: Soap. Hands, clothes, dishes… they all need something to keep away the grime and germy germs (I have small children; I’m allowed to say germy germs). If you are anything like me and find yourself cursing money spent on soap and detergents when it could be going toward things that are way more fun than cleaning supplies, then you might appreciate these DIY soap recipes.If my laundry detergent were as beautifully displayed as the above DIY concoction by Yellow Brick Home, I might do it more often. She uses three ingredients in her homemade laundry detergent.
This is the one I’m gearing up to use since my washer requires liquid detergent (I didn’t know it mattered, but… whatever). My girls have very, very sensitive skin and we’ve tried all the special laundry detergents in the city. I’m hoping by going the DIY route we can save a little money and keep their skin healthy. This recipe (using the same ingredients from the dry recipe, just different directions) comes from I’m A Mom, Not A Professional. I’ll let you know how it goes!
How about those hands? Here’s a handmade bar soap from Ruffled Blog that includes a pretty picture! The boutique-style soap will make you feel clean and chic, I’m sure!
Washing your hands is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of those germy germs, and I know we go through it fast at our house. Instead of staring at a sorry-looking bar of soap, you can always turn it into liquid hand soap by using the instructions at Savvy Housekeeping.
It seems as though people are preferring those foaming hand soaps lately, since I guess people associate suds and foam with squeaky clean. My only complaint is that they run out way faster than the non-foaming soaps. Why not make your own to save on all those refills? The recipe for this foaming hand soap is at Full of Great Ideas.
Let’s not forget the dishes! Here’s a recipe from Being Creative to Keep My Sanity that uses a lot of the same ingredients from the laundry detergent recipe. She makes it clear that without Lemi-Shine, your dishes will be cloudy. Side note: I’ve been using that blessed little yellow bottle for a while now; our hard water did a number on my wonderful utensils, and Lemi-Shine saved them. I strongly recommend it!
I guess the only downside to all of this is that I am still doing the dishes and laundry… that’s a DIY I don’t want to do!
