Homemade Fabric Softener

You'll Need:

-6 Cups Of Hot Water...I used HOT tap water, but we have a gas hot water heater, so it gets hotter than electric ones. If your house has an electric one, I'd recommend heating the water first, because our hot tap water is hotter than water that's been heated in the microwave. It has to be hot enough to dissolve the conditioner well/easily.

-3 Cups White Vinegar (I used the off brand...same thing when it comes to stuff like this...It was only $1.70 @ Target for a BIG bottle).

-2 Cups Of Your Preference Of Hair Conditioner...I used one of the "runnier" ones (Suave Ocean Breeze...Suave is what the person I got the recipe from used...saves even more money, because it was only $1.39 @ Target...I think it's cheaper at Wal-Mart), but I assume you could use any kind.

Directions:

-Mix the conditioner and hot water in a bowl. I used a hand mixer to make sure I got all the little lumps out.

-After that's mixed well, add the vinegar and mix well again.

Store it in on old fabric softener container, gallon jug, or whatever your choice of easy pour container is. It makes 2 & 1/2 quarts, so you'll need one big enough to hold that...or do like I did. I already had a 1 quart Rubbermaid "drink" container, so I bought a bigger, 2 quart one (only $3 at Target) and just used them both.

You CAN pour it into a Downy ball just like you would "bought" softener. If you don't use one, just pour about 2 Tbsp. into the rinse water or "softener" spot in your machine, like usual.

***And I was skeptical as to whether or not your clothes would smell like vinegar since it's in it, but it really doesn't. After it's mixed, you can smell the vinegar a little, but after the wash it just smells like the conditioner.***

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Basically, homemade laundry soap costs less than 1 cent per load. "Laundry Soap" cleans better than bath soap. I have a "regular" washer, but this homemade IS safe (and especially good) for HE washers, because it makes little to no suds. In fact, the suds actually have nothing to do with cleaning power...they're just added effect in store bought detergents.

Here's what you need:

• Some kind of bucket to mix all your ingredients in. I used a 5 gallon paint bucket.
• 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (you can also use Zote, Octagon, or Ivory--amounts may vary)
• 1/2 cup Borax
• 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda...NOTTTTTT baking soda...Washing Soda!! (everything but the bucket can be found in the laundry aisle of Walmart, Publix, etc...)

Step 1: Cut your bar of Fels Naptha Soap into thirds and finely grate one third of it. Save the other two thirds (ziploc bag) because next time you make a batch of laundry soap it will feel like you are doing it for FREE!

Step 2: Put your grated soap in a pot with 6 cups of water and heat on low until the soap melts. Don't let the soap boil. Once all the soap is completely melted add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens (almost as thick as honey) remove from heat.

Step 3: Pour 4 cups of hot tap water into your bucket. Add the soap mixture and stir it up. At this point you could add a few drops of essential oil like lavender or tea tree oil if you wanted your soap to have a fragrance. Add nothing and your clothes will simply smell "clean".

Now add one gallon of hot tap water plus 6 more cups. I used a 5 gallon bucket because the mixture ends up being about two gallons, so you don't want a bucket so small that it sloshes while you're mixing it.

Give it a few more minutes of stirring and then let it sit overnight.

Step: 4 In the morning your soap might look runny, or like gel, or separated with big clumps of slime on top and water on the bottom. This is all normal depending on the weather, and they type of soap you used. At this point you can be done and simply keep your laundry soap in the bucket and just scoop out 1/2 cup per load. Or you can give it another good stir and funnel it into your old well rinsed laundry soap bottle. OR you can be a sucker for cute packaging like me and take it one step further.

Step 5: I wanted to use an old Tide bottle (the big one with a spigot) but my soap came out all clumpy and I knew there was no way it would flow through. So I busted out my hand mixer and smoothed all the clumps layer by layer. I funneled each layer into my container then went back and blended the next part. Blend, funnel, blend, funnel, blend, funnel...etc

***If you don't have an old detergent container, you could also buy one of those refridgerator water containers (with a spigot) at Wal-Mart for like $6 if you didn't want to leave it in the bucket (I didn't since I have a small child).***

FYI: If you do have an old Tide container (100oz size with spigot), the little cup that comes with them holds exactly 1/2 cup.

Getting To Know Us

Just in case you're reading this and you barely know us...or haven't ever met us (Haha)...here are a few cooky, but basic facts about us.

-We met in 2006, but were friends for about two years before we decided to try the whole "dating your friend" thing. I'm glad we have it a go...we've never looked back.

-We went on our first "official" date on Valentine's Day 2008. We found out I was five weeks pregnant on Valentine's Day 2010. With those two special dates in mind, our nerdy selves decided to get married in secret on Valentine's Day 2011! Some of our friends and family were shocked...and probably not happy about it...but that's okay, because it was about us, not them. We did what made us happy...and we don't regret it for a second.

-On paper, we're about as different as different can get. Adam loves comics and toys (mostly Transformers). I hate them. I love Country music. Adam hates is. Adam is a "meat eater" (has to have it with every meal). I'm just as happy with a good mix of veggies and cornbread. He hates my miniature dachshund, name Sylar, because he's not the brightest crayon in the box and we're pretty sure he's gay. I don't care and love him to death...despite his "special-ness". Adam's 32 and I'm 23...that means we like a lot of different movies and tv shows because we were raised in different eras (for those types of things anyway). I could go on...

-No matter how different we are, we make it work. We actually do have a lot in common. We love each other like crazy. We would give our lives for our son. We LOVE Alabama football! We HATE Auburn football! We love cooking. We both like to read (when we get time). We like each other's quirks (like singing LOUD in the shower...mostly him Haha).

-Our son, Owen, is our world! Seriously, our entire lives and schedules revolve around him and what's best for him. You've never seen two bigger goofballs that us when we're at home, rolling in the floor, watching cartoons, and making fools out of ourselves just to make that sweet boy laugh. He has us whipped...and he knows it...but we just can't help it. He's one great kid...and when all else fails, he keeps us going.

That's the basics. I'm sure you'll find out more odd facts about us that you probably never cared to know through posts. Again, we're just "us"...and we like it that way.

The Stones

By "The Stones", I don't mean The Rolling Stones...I mean US! We're the Stone family. My husband and I have been married for about 8 months. We have a beautiful baby boy who just turned a year old. Yeah, we did things a little backwards (baby first...marriage later), but that's us...different. Haha! We're just your typical Southern family working, attending school, trying to make ends meet, figuring out how to make time for each other, and trying to keep a smile through it all.

My husband works full time as a manager for one of the largest retailers in the world...that should narrow it down. Haha! I'm currently a stay-at-home Mom. I love it. My husband has always, and continues to work hard so that I don't have to miss a thing about my little man's baby days! He has no idea how much I appreciate that. That's not to say that I plan on doing this forever. I'm going back to college in January and will probably start working a part time job. We're just going to wing it, I guess. It'll all work out.

I used to blog about baby related stuff, but I got out of the habit. Maybe because most of what I've come to realize as a mother are things people already know. Who knows. I've decided to get back into it...mostly to give me a little place to share the goings-on of our little family. We're about to move away from our friends and some of our family (the hubby got a promotion) and buy our first house, so this will also be a great way for them to stay updated with us...something outside of Facebook and email.

I hope you enjoy our cooky, crazy life. There will probably be times we make you laugh, make you cry, and maybe even gross you out (I'm just kidding...sort of), but I can assure you that we keep life interesting. Enjoy!