There has been so much on my plate, and I have been filling up drive space with pictures! I have to get them here, that's the whole purpose. Got to make more time. But this week is perfect timing I have to make more goodies for cleaning.
The BIG chore in our house is the washing. I make our own laundry detergent, and softener and have saved a lot. But as all laundry there are always issues. Having kids there are MORE issues. The biggest one is my youngest, he is now self feeding. If thats what you want to call it. I forgot how the first few months are...' interesting'. I remember my little girl used to rub her mash potatoes in her hair, and tomato sauce all over her legs. Luckily for me during this time we have them in training wearing a diaper only. Much easier to hose off. But there's those times in between their finger food meals where every thing is a bit of that and a bit of jar. And those are the times I could just kick myself. I mix it up during lunch, half jar, half finger foods. This is when I am not thinking and we forget down to diapers. DOH! Stains stains stains! Valen loves to wipe his food on his sleeve up into his hair, and I always find goodies in his lap. Yummy!
My whole life I haven't been using laundry boosters or pre-treater's! *Gasp* I'd gather up a bunch of 'ucky-ness' and do a bleach soak (yeah, I know, I still have some in my house left over). But I hate the bleach, it can be touch and go using the stuff. I have never really justified buying "Shout" or anything similar, until I saw an earth friendly brand on close-out sale at King Soopers. Less than $2, score! But this would never happen again, so it was time to add to my DIY arsenal. Because I WAS going to run out of the store bought stuff, and the kids ARE getting grosser!
After I consulted all mighty Google I had one answer. There really is one standard recipe, that is going to save me testing time!
- 2/3 cups Dawn ( the blue stuff)
- 2/3 cups (Generic Ammonia, in the laundry section)
- 6 Tbl (I actually am going to try Super Washing soda next)
- 2 cups warm water
Using a glass measuring jug I first mixed the baking soda into the water to make sure it dissolves then slowly stir in the Dawn. Add your Dawn, and use a funnel to transfer into your spray bottle. Once the ammonia is in the bottle it will be OK to shake before use, it will separate. I did two methods. Spray and rub, and spray and soak. Both worked great!
Next batch I am going to use Super Washing Soda, because it is in my laundry soap!
So here's a few things I sprayed. Didn't think to take a picture of the onesie before I sprayed, thought it would be there long enough to take this picture like the bib!
After! Ta-Dah!
Laundry Booster
I do own a generic version of Oxi-Clean just to toss in my wash but again I did not want to rely on store bought.. I needed a booster/soak for my super-gross-don't-leave-those-towels-out-if-you-have-guests-over-kitchen-towels. Yeah, you know those floor scrubbers, all purpose things we all have as a 'go to' for kid spills, and more. Laundry booster also works for those over used items like sheets, pillow cases, and blankets. I consulted Google again.. and DUH! My favorite all purpose buddy, Hydrogen Peroxide! And my home slice, Super Washing Soda (that's why I am putting SWS in my pretreat next batch). In the morning I filled up my washer with hot water I added 1/4 cup of Hydrogen Peroxide, and 1/4 cup of Super Washing Soda and dumped in the good, the bad, and the ugly. Closed the lid and went on with Mommy-ing. I have no idea how long I left them in there, I lost track of time, but the next time I got a break was just after lunch. I tossed in my detergent and started that puppy up. All I have to say is; Not-Too-Shabby! I will be doing this a lot more. Soaks take much longer, so I will save it for an over-night project, but I am impressed.
These are the towels no one should see... But now, I wouldn't mind if I left one out! How crazy, that bib has gone through the wash twice in one post. Bibs are a revolving door! But it's gotten whiter
DIY Swiffers, wash and reuse!
Now I will brag, I am a Shark Steamer owner. Last year it was a huge thing on my personal FB page. It led to many in depth conversations. No. Really. But some times I don't want to drag it out and fill it with water, and wind up that damn cord (I don't do cords, ask my husband). I have to sweep daily, I have two dogs, one crawling baby,a toddler, and a lot of hard wood! So I pull out the old Swiffer for in between floor mop downs with Sharkie. In the past ( pre-Sharkie) I have always used it with a bar towel for mopping, who knew I was so green then. Even then I did not want to buy the generic Swiffer sheets. It doesn't make any sense to me, I just might as well dive to a land fill and throw my money directly in!
So I was inspired by this: DIY Swiffer Pads
But I did this: Reversible. I wanted one side to dust, then flip it to mop or spot clean.
Take your chenille ,fleece or micro fiber and cut to size of your mop head. If you get the Dollar Store 2 packs of wash cloths just cut in half (for a standard Swiffer).
Cut your fabric to match the long side, add for seams. then the width double the length it takes to wrap and tuck in the holder. I did 6 inches to leave for seams. Down all the edges of the folded side I turned in to make a small hem to stop from fraying. Now you have a hemmed rectangle. Fold over, take the edge of your pad and insert between the two long sides of your fabric. Like a sandwich! Now just run a stitch down to attach.
One side to dust, then flip it over and mop!
Sandwich the pad, and attach!
Run a stitch or two to attach. Make it sturdy for the washer!
There ya go! Flaws and all!
I got my cloth from the dollar store. A pack of two wash cloths made 4 Swiffer pads. I also used scraps and fat quarters for my material. I used no patterns, just measured my Swiffer. I am not a seamstress, and this was my first project after MANY years of not sewing. I received a sewing machine as a gift, and I couldn't be more happier. So these were great warm up projects!
Soon after this my Swiffer broke... Luckily I had a back up in the garage, it has velcro and tuck in attachments. Good and bad thing, it's bigger!!!! Drat! This is now how I roll:
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- Under, for picture purposes (I don't keep them doubled up) is an old pair of my kids cheap velvet pants. Just so happened the 6-9 months were the same length. So I chopped off the legs, cut down the inside seam to open them up! And they tuck in! As I said... I will sew later!!!
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