SOAP!

Several months ago, I was at Target, with my roommate, Jonathan. I needed laundry soap. I only do laundry once every other week to a) save water and b) my clothes are small. Needless to say, I don't often need to buy laundry soap. Anyhoo... I was standing at the laundry soap aisle for what seemed like an eternity, while Jonathan stood there patiently for me to decide on what kind to use. I was baffled. There are SO many choices, now. AND they're super expensive! Did I just go through a time-warp??? Geez!

Shortly after I finally decided on something (only because I needed to not spend my life at the laundry soap aisle and get on with it), I received an email from an old friend of mine from my hometown of Rochester, MN. She directed me to this website about how to make your own laundry soap! My friend said that, at first it seems painstaking, to find all these ingredients. But they're easier found than one would think. And once you do a batch - you really don't need to do it for a LONG LONG time. My friend calculated that (she has two children and owns two daycares, so she goes through a lot of laundry!) she saves over $300 a year on laundry soap alone! For us non-daycare-owning people, we'd still save a good bit. It's also GREEN! It's natural and hypoallergenic, biodegradable, so it's easy on the earth and our skin, too. My friend says it makes her clothes surprisingly clean AND cleaning smelling!

Here's a link for making your own dish soap, too.


ALSO... and this is something that I do now, after an experiment with foaming hand soap dispensers...
You can save tons on liquid hand soap by getting those foaming hand soap dispensers (like Dial Complete). Instead of buying the refills of soap that's made specially for those kinds of dispensers, you can get a refill of regular hand soap. When refilling your little dispenser, pour one tablespoon of REGULAR hand soap in the bottle, and fill the rest with WARM water. Shake well. Viola! That's all you need! This will last you a very long time, and save you a few bucks! :)

Happy sudsing! :)