Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Housewife MacGyver Update

Way back when I committed myself to working on becoming a greener household.  I showed you here that I had crossed off one goal by making my own laundry detergent.  And can I just say...I LOVE IT!!  Not only have we saved money but it actually works really well.  Since January I have only made two batches total, and I'm just about out of the second batch.  I've only spent about 7 dollars since January and I still have plenty of borax and washing soda left.  I just need to go pick up 3 bars of Ivory soap, which will set me back a whole dollar.  If you have wanted to try homemade laundry detergent but wasn't sure if it would be worth it I'm here to tell you it totally is!!!  Here's the recipe I use:

1c Borax
1c Washing soda
1 bar of Ivory soap

Grate Ivory bar and mix with borax and soda.  I triple the recipe and it lasts a little over a month.  I usually do a load of laundry a day.

Another goal I had was to buy and eat less processed food.

source
We have definitely been doing this!!!  I do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's because everything there is all natural, nothing artificial.  We've been eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables too.  Now that the weather is nicer and summer is approaching, we will become regulars at the local farmer markets.  I would be lying if I said we haven't had any fast food, but it has definitely become very infrequent.  And that makes me very happy!

Another thing that will help us with my goal of eating less processed food is my other goal of planting a garden and keeping it alive!  Well so far we have planted some herbs, a tomato plant, and just recently bought a strawberry plant that still needs a permanent home.  I hope to add more veggies soon.




Making or buying a kitchen composter was also a goal although now I think I am going to make this instead.

Young House Love
It seems so easy and I wouldn't have to worry about fly infestation...yuck!  I am pretty sure I have one of these rubbermaid containers in the black hole, aka garage.  I just need to dig it out and set it up.

My last two goals are making reusable snack bags and using the dryer less.  As far as the snack bags, no progress.  I just need to sit down and whip some out.  And I bought this drying rack at Ikea and hope to use it today!

Lajban drying rack


So there you have it!  It feels good to know that we are doing our part in taking care of the planet and ourselves in the process!

8 comments:

  1. Way to go Andi! Those are some terrific goals, and you're making great progress. Thanks for showing us that it can be done, and that small changes can make a difference.
    xoxo,
    Amy

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  2. you are an inspiration my friend! i need to try that laundry detergent mix. what did you put yours in? a big plastic container? not to be stupid, but just wondering where to store it! :)

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  3. Proud of you Andi!!! I don't think the laundry soap would last here...seriously, with sports, I do at least 3 loads a day!
    We have been eating less processed food, too. After watching Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, we almost never eat fast food!!

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  4. You go, girl! That is awesome! I need to make some reusable snack bags too. I was cleaning out our various on-the-go bags and I was appalled at the number of ziploc bags we use to carry snacks! And I told my husband just last week that my dream house now features, in addition to a wrap-around porch and a room for just my sewing/crafting stuff, a big pulley-system clothesline and a compost heap. Dream big, eh? :)

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  5. Wow I'm impressed! I want to try the laundry detergent for sure, the ingredients are cheap! Also, we've been trying to figure out how to compost and where we can put it (don't have a yard) until we can bring it to another site...

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  6. Awesome, way to go!!! I definitely need to be more "green."

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  7. Andi, that is so awesome! I'm doing little things here and there to stay green (and save money) as well. I'm curious about that detergent but have no idea where to buy borax or washing soda. can it be bought at regular stores like Walmart, etc? Using the dryer less is a good goal! One that I wish I could do but it's just so hard... ;)

    ~Jazz

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  8. Yay!!! I LOVE your container gardens. We've been thinking about trying that on our deck since the deer eat anything we plant in the yard. I just hope the deer don't climb onto the deck!

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