Clean Clean Clean

Today was spent around the house, cleaning. It was stormy here for most of the day, so our playdate at the park with some friends of ours was canceled. While on the subject of cleaning, a good friend and I just had a conversation about our go-to cleaning products. She swears she can't find an adequate mop and just does it on her hands and knees. I love my Swiffer Wetjet, and also my magic eraser mop and libman mop for deeper cleaning. She only uses Tide laundry detergent. I only use Cascade Complete dishwasher detergent. I was just curious what some of everyone elses cleaning favorites are? And I thought I would share the recipe I use for making my own laundry detergent. I have NEVER been one who is exceptionally "green" but as I've learned more on the internet, I have became intriqued with a few of these Earth saving ideas. I decided to make my own laundry detergent. And after doing so, I will absolutely never use anything else again. This stuff is AH-mazing! It gets my clothes super clean which is a must with 2 boys and a husband who doesn't give a crap what he gets on his clothes, and also works in a restaurant, and it smells wonderful. I used a big mop bucket to make it in. It isn't dirt cheap to start, but this mop bucket full lasts us about 6 months so it turns out to be about $5 a month.

You will need:

1 (4 lb 12 oz) box of Borax

1 (3 lb 7oz) box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 (3 lb) container of OxiClean

6 bars of Ivory soap, shredded. I just use a cheese shredder.

1 (4 lb) box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

3 bottles of Scentsy Washer Whiffs (you can also use 2 bottles of Purex Crystals fabric softener, but I much prefer the Scentsy. Scentsy raises the overall price though)

I layer the different ingredients in the mop bucket, putting in about a 3rd of each at a time. Then I mix it all up by hand and use a measuring cup to scoop it into my washer with each load. Some prefer to keep a small amount in a smaller container, I don't mind having the whole bucket on a shelf in my laundry toom, it's not in the way.

I haven't yet ventured into making any other cleaning products. Do you have any that you use and swear by?