Fun and Easy Homemade Laundry Soap

My husband has green shirts that he is to wear under his uniform (AKA Camis). Apparently he has held onto the ones he purchased back when he first became a Marine (eww, right?). We've picked up 2-3 new packages of t-shirts but they don't fit right...his words, not mine. It is a freakin' under shirt! Oh well. He is pretty lean so most men's shirts just don't fit right and bunch. So whatever. I've been given the task of finding a way to get the smell out of them. They really don't stink after washing but I guess something happens when he wears them-- something that doesn't happen to any other clothes.

I tried vinegar, baking soda and even my dear Rockin' Green soap. So far no luck. We were about to try some bleach...something I try not to keep in the house because then we find reasons to use it. But a friend suggested Borax and some recipes for making our own laundry detergent.

When I read Peppermint laundry soap from Soulemama, I was sold. So today the girls and I drove around town getting the ingredients for the recipe. I had to go to 4 stores just to get them all. Next time, I know exactly where to go so it will be cost effective. I'm going to see how far this homemade batch goes and figure out if it truly is more cost effective than other eco options.

So Soulemama's recipe calls for
1 cup of baking soda (0.59 cents)
1 cup of Borax ($2.99)
1 cup of washing soda/soda ash ($3.49)
2 cups of finely grated soap (Peppermint Dr. Bronners--1.5 bars at $4.49 each, $8.98)

Total spent $16.05, my usual Rockin Green Soap is $14.95 for 90 loads. However, to make an additional batch I will only need to spend $4.49 for a new bar of soap (I have half of one leftover). This would bring my per batch cost down to $10.27.

Grating was really easy but I am worried I didn't get it fine enough.

Little Avery loved grating the soap. Actually- she wanted to hold and smell the bar all the way home. She unwrapped them both and was SO proud of the detergent we made that it was the first thing she wanted to show daddy when he got home. The stuff does smell great- the whole Creative Space smelled like it until I put it in a sealed container.

I'm running my first load of diapers with the detergent now. As soon as the door locked I had a bit of remorse. I sure hope the soap rinses out easily...yikes...we used the finest holes on the grater but I have read about people using food processors. I'm running an extra rinse just to be sure.

We shall see!

Made the Switch to Cloth Nappies!

So I'm not from England or any of the other places that seem to call diapers "nappies" but I've been aching to use the word..so I did! :) Nappies!

Let me define a few terms for those of you new to the cloth world

AIO- all in one (means the diaper looks and acts like disposable but its cloth)

Pocket- you have to stuff an absorbent liner into the diaper

One size- the diaper should grow with your child and you wont have to get a different size

Prefolds- are what you imagine when you think of old fashioned cloth diapers

For the past 21 days Avery and I have been trying cloth diapers out. Here is what we did and the results:

First we ordered a 21 day trial for a deposit of $121 (upon completion of the trial we return all items and get $111 back) from www.jilliansdrawers.com We received the following items:

Thirsties Fab Fitted $13.95

2 Chinese Prefolds $2.00 each

1 Fuzzi Bunz Pocket $17.95

1 bumGenius V3.0 Pocket One size $17.95

1 Thirsties Pocket AIO $16.95

1 Snappi Diaper Fastener (used in place of safety pins) $2.49

1 Thirsties Cover (used to go over the Thirsties Fab Fitted or Chinese prefolds) $10.95

1 bumGenius Organic AIO $24.95

Avery is long and lean so her "best picks" may be different from a chunkier kid. She is also a super soaker...day and night!

Thirsties Fab Fitted are bulky. They fit nice around the legs and belly but her bottom looks like J-Lo's! We sent this one back

Chinese prefolds- did not even try! I couldn't figure out how to fold them and I did not want to clean up any leaks. We also didn't use the Snappi...the directions were not easy to follow on that silly thing.

Fuzzi Bunz- this diaper didn't leak and it was pretty soft. I felt like it was really bulky too but we kept it for night time. She wont be able to wear pants over this one but it has extra room for long nights of sleep.

bumGenius Pocket one size- overall this was the best one we tried in the bunch from this trial. It is supposedly pretty trim compared to other brands. I didn't have much trouble with leaking except once at night. The liner doesn't lay down correctly or maybe I don't put it on right so she leaks at the top of the diaper. These liners take forever to dry but it is worth it for their super-absorbency.

Thirsties Cover- hands down the best leak proof item I tried. However, it fits over the already bulky Thirsties Fab Fitted diaper so we sent these back. (We kept the Thirsties pocket diaper)

bumGenius Organic AIO- ok so I was torn on this one. It takes forever and then some to dry because of all the "all in one" parts. I also felt it smelled horrible when she peed in it. I washed it 10 times before using it and I washed it immediately after she soiled it. It came out clean and smelling fresh but within minutes of urinating...I could smell a terrible odor...and not of pee either! We did keep this one for nights because it is super soft, organic and it is very trim. I would not stock up on this one for the price.

During my trial I washed the heck out of these diapers. I washed them EVERY day! I wanted to see how they would hold up, plus I wanted to use them a lot and with only this small amount of diapers I had to wash often.

I was pretty sure I was switching to cloth so I started shopping around Des Moines to see who carried what.

I found bumGenius at Simply for Giggles. I bought one diaper and paid $21.99 plus tax. If I were to purchase 6 or more I would pay $17.99. This is a competitive price as long as I buy 6 or more. Online I can pay less but in most cases there is shipping. (Jillian's Drawers offers free shipping on your next order after the trial). So at this point I wont be buying 6 of the bumGenius diapers because they still aren't "perfect" for Avery.

I stopped at Little Padded Bottoms in Valley Junction. What a GREAT selection of products. I had no idea about this store and was in love the minute I walked in. I purchased the following items:

Wahmies Pail liner $16.50

Wahmies wet bag (regular size) $15.50

Grandma El's diaper cream (suitable for cloth diapers) $10.95

1 Swaddlebees Nappi (in super cute chocolate and pink!) $28.95

3 GAD Pocket Diapers $15.95 each

3 Knickernappies LoopyDo Inserts $6.95 each

I love the Wahmies pail liner and bag- I wash them every time I wash the diapers.

The diaper cream is nice but it doesn't compare to Desitin- which I can't use with a cloth diaper! :(

The Swaddlebees diaper is rather bulky but it is so cute that I just don't care! It is very absorbent but overnight, Avery woke up with wet skin and a slight diaper rash. The Velcro is extremely strong.

The GAD diapers are by far THE trimmest diapers I have tried. The inserts are great but my super soaker needs a little more. We will be heading down to the store again this week to add a second insert to her diaper. Even if we add another insert I think these diapers will continue to be super trim. The snaps hold well too.

Finally, I ordered a 3-pack from www.smartipants.com for a total of $45 including shipping. The features of these diapers make them my all time favorite. They hold well, they absorb exactly like the bumGenius diapers and they are extremely trim. The colors are pretty basic but they do have some added flair here and there. They are easy to wash because the liner comes out on its own in the wash!

Conclusion:

I'm going to order a few more bumGenius from Jillian's Drawers with my free shipping, a flushable liner that goes on top of the inside of the diaper (so you can just flush the liner with any poo!), and maybe a few extra absorbent inserts to "beef up" my other nappies.

I'm ordering another 3 pack from SmartiPants.com because so far I love these diapers.

Little Padded Seats is such a cute store...so once I get the inserts I need I will try to stay away from the store! :)

My total spent so far on diapers is just under $275 and I have enough for 1.5 days. (meaning I do laundry every day). My goal is to spend about $75 more and have enough for 2 days and a morning.