Saving Money on Laundry Detergent

Hello Fellow Broke Galaxians,

Have you noticed recently that the 50-ounce bottle of laundry detergent that you once bought is now available at the same price for 46-ounces? It seems that price gouging in the laundry detergent aisle has been going on for some time and customers are no longer getting great value with their purchases. Companies blame the price on higher manufacturing costs. It doesn't matter why prices are higher, my paychecks are still not increasing and something has to give. We found that one way to save money was to make our own laundry detergent.

For those who have sensitivities and allergies, knowing exactly what chemicals are in your laundry detergent can be important. One does not need expensive detergents to wash clothes, you can do it with just three basic ingredients found in a typical grocery store for a fraction of the price. All you need is Arm & Hammer Washing detergent (similar to baking soda), Borax and regular bar soap, such as Ivory soap, Fels-Naptha or Zote soap. While other soaps would work, I found Fels-Naptha to be my favorite. This is an easy off-grid project and the cost of making a 50-ounce bottle of laundry detergent is less than 75-cents.

For those who have allergies or are sensitive to certain smells, this can be a lifesaver. By knowing the ingredients in your laundry detergent, you can eliminate nasty chemicals that saturate your clothes. Modern laundry detergent contains chemicals like sulfates, fragrances, petroleum distillates, and phenols. In addition, commercial laundry detergents tend to be harder on cotton clothing, causing them to fade and wear faster.

On a recent visit to my mother's home, she had complained about the expense of laundry detergent and how the bottle didn't last very long. Her house, at times is Grand Central Station with grandkids visiting from college and friends coming to stay for weeks. All of the visitors at some point needing to wash their clothes and use up her laundry detergent. I suggested that she make her own laundry detergent. I showed her how easy it was to mix a batch with only three simple ingredients. It was a hit. The instructions were easy for her to follow and she was able to do loads of laundry for pennies, saving big bucks in the process. On average, regularly priced laundry detergent you buy at the store costs 40-cents per load. For most shoppers that’s money well spent, until you consider that you can make your own laundry detergent for about 5-cents per load.

If you have a large family or care for elderly or young children, this can be a life saver. It doesn't take a lot of time and once you see how easy it is, you'll love it.

Homemade Laundry Detergent
If you prefer laundry detergent in powdered form, the ingredients can be mixed, and stored in dry form. As you do a load of laundry, scoop ½ cup of the powder into the washing machine. If a liquid form better suits you, follow the instructions for the recipe. For us, I find using liquid detergent cleans more efficiently than powder and you don’t end up with white residue on the clothing. We also live in an area where we have high humidity in the summer and the moisture causes dry powder to clump.

Ingredients Needed: 
1. One third cup of soap (your choice). I like to use Zote Soap or Fels-Naptha. 
The bar of soap gives the detergent the cleaning power to scrub the clothes clean. You can use any favorite bar of soap that does not contain oils or chemicals. Some beauty soaps leave a film of oil on your clothing and inside the washer. While this may be great for your skin, it's terrible for your clothing. To shred the bar of soap into flakes, you can use either a cheese grater or a food processor. If you are opposed to grating the bar of soap, an easy alternative is to use Dawn Ultra Blue Dishwashing Liquid instead.

2. One half cup of Borax 
Borax is naturally occurring boron mineral/salt that is mined from the in the earth. It is used as a laundry booster and it has the ability to deodorize clothes similar to the way baking soda does. It is marketed as non-chlorine bleach that doesn’t whiten clothes, but instead it acts as a color booster and stain remover. Borax is sold commercially as a water softener in homes, so if you have hard water, you can try increasing the amount of borax in your recipe to soften the water. I consider borax to an effective natural cleaner and a safe alternative when compared to many conventional cleaners. It is safe as long as you don’t rub it in your eyes or ingest it. I also add extra to the wash when I bring cloths home from the second hand store. It helps to eliminate the off-smell the clothes absorb.

3. One half cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. 
This product is specifically for washing clothes and is not the same as baking soda used in the kitchen. Washing soda helps remove dirt and odors from the clothes. It is basically sodium bicarbonate, the same ingredient in baking soda, but washing soda is processed an additional step by using heat. As it is heated, it releases carbon dioxide and water vapor, turning it to sodium carbonate, or washing soda.

If you find yourself in a situation where you can't find the washing soda, consider making your own. Spread baking soda in a glass pain and bake it in an oven at 325°F, for approximately 45-minutes to an hour. While it is baking, stir the baking soda every 10-minutes. Allow it to cool and store in a container marked washing soda.

You should be able to find this product in the cleaning products section at the grocery store.



4. One and half gallons of water. 
Finally, something that's free. 

Step-by-Step Instructions
1—This recipe makes 1.5 gallons of laundry detergent. Grate ⅓-cup of soap using a cheese grater or food processor.
2—In a sauce pan, add grated soap to 6-cups of water. Dissolve over medium heat, stirring continually. (Note: Do not allow the mixture to boil).
3—Add one ½-cup of Borax, and½-cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda to the grated soap mixture and stir, ensuring that all dry clumps are dissolved. Once dissolved, remove from heat.
4—Transfer this mixture to a 2-gallon container.
5—Add 18-cups of warn water and stir.
6—Let the mixture sit for at least 12-24 hours, stirring occasionally. It will resemble a slurry mix.
7—After letting it sit, stir with an electric hand mixer. Just a few seconds of mixing should work.
8—Use the laundry detergent straight from the 2-gallon storage container.  If needed, stir before each use. Use ½ cup for smaller loads and 1-cup for larger loads of laundry.

Super Quick Homemade Laundry Detergent
Here's another recipe that's easy to make. I actually like this one better.

½-cup borax
½-cup washing soda
¼-cup Dawn Ultra Blue Dishwashing Liquid

1—Use an old laundry detergent container.
2—Add the borax, washing soda and liquid Dawn to the plastic container.
3—Add two cups of very hot water.
4—Screw on the lid and shake until the soda and borax have dissolved.
5—Now fill the container with cold water. Screw on the lid, shake, label and you’re done.
6—Shake the bottle before each use. Use ½-cup for smaller loads and 1-cup for larger loads of laundry.

Helpful Tips
1—Adding Vinegar to the wash cycle neutralizes the laundry detergent and you end up washing with salt and water. I have a neighbor who likes to do this and their laundry smells just as if it was never washed. If you want to use vinegar as a softener, use it during the rinse stage and you will get the results you want.
2—If you let your detergent sit and it separates into two layers, run it through a blender or use a hand mixer to blend it together again.
3—By using a liquid detergent, you will have less clogging in the pipes and less detergent clumps on your clothing. Dry detergent leaves residue on the clothing and you might have to rewash it.
4—If you're worried about how this will fare in your septic tank, don't. This laundry soap is better than store-bought detergents that have countless chemicals. 
5—You can use a food processor to grate the soap, which might save you from grating your knuckles.
6—Although homemade laundry soaps cause less residue in high-efficiency washers, manufacturers may not consider this viable and may discontinue the warranty if they know you are using it.

And there you have it--another way to save money. So my friends, go forth and save $$$. 

Peace Peeps, 

Broke Girl

Sadness for the next few days--so make some Sprouts

Dear Broke Galaxians,

Alas, I have sad news. I cut a chunk out of my finger so I will not be posting my blog for the rest of the week. So I will re-post a previous blog until it heals. I hope that if you haven't tried making your own sprouts yet that you will do it now. 

I'm always on the look out for new ways to eat healthier on the cheap. As such, I buy whole grains when I can find them. One grain that has multiple uses and is particularly healthy, inexpensive and useful is wheat berries. You can order wheat from many different Online Stores, but if you're lucky, you may also find it at Walmart. If not, you can order it from them online and they will ship it right to your door. 

Wheat is versatile. If ground into flour, you can make anything you would make with regular flour. You can grow it into wheat grass, which has wonderful health properties and you can sprout it. 

Wheat Sprouts 

You can get the most nutrition from wheat by sprouting it. It can stimulate food enzymes, boost vitamin content, and counteract anti-nutrients like phytic acid, which prevents you from fully absorbing needed nutrients. And, in the sprouted form, you can enjoy massive increases in B vitamins, E vitamin, and fiber by as much as three times more. 

What Can You Do With Wheat Sprouts?

Wheat sprouts can be added to most recipes for an extra boost of nutrition. Some sprouts will have to be put through a food mill or blender beforehand. It will come out as a green mushy mess, but don’t let that stop you. This can be added to breads, cereal, rice dishes, stir-fry, casseroles, cookies and brownies, muffins, pancakes, sandwiches and salads. Wheat sprouts can be dried in a dehydrator and then ground into flour to be used in tandem with flour for breads. For a nutty flavor and texture, toast the wheat sprouts in a frying pan with a little oil. As a side note, sprouted wheat bread has been around for centuries and is a great non-gluten option for those with allergies. 

Let's get started!

How to Sprout Wheat

§  Rinse the wheat berries

§  Place about ½ cup of berries in a jar.

Fill up the jar halfway with water then cover the top with a nylon net or cheesecloth. Secure it with a Rubber band or a canning ring and soak for 12 hours or overnight.

§  Drain the water from the seeds.

§  Place the bottle in a dark area, such as a cupboard.  Be sure you haven’t covered the lid as the sprouts will need air. 

§  Twice a day, rinse the seeds with room-temperature water. 

§  In about 3 to 4 days, you’ll have sprouts.  I let them sit out on the counter for a day to green-up, but that is a personal preference.

Store your sprouts in the refrigerator and plan on using them within 6 days. 

How to Make Sprouted Flour

§  When your grain has just barely sprouted and the sprout is barely visible at the tip of the kernel a day or two into the sprouting process, it’s ready to use. If the sprout is too long, it will be harder to grind. 

§   Pour the grain in a thin layer and dry it in a dehydrator or oven of about 105° to 110° F. It’s better to use a dehydrator, than an oven. Grind the dried grain in a grain mill for flour.  

If you don't want to make your own sprouter, but you want to get started, consider getting a sprouter. 

If you're a serious super sprouter, this could work for you. 

And there you have it--you've just added valuable nutrition to your diet.

Happy Sprouting, friends.

Peace Peeps,
Broke Girl

Earning Extra Cash in a Pinch

Hello Fellow Broke Galaxians,

You may need extra cash . . . and soon!!!  There's so many people on the Internet yelling at the top of their lungs that you need to buy their system to make money that I don't know where to turn. I thought I would share my experience with AirBnB and let you know that the hype about this company was all true--they really do deliver on their word.

I was in this situation last year when I was minimizing all my expenses and still needed extra money to pay off my credit cards so I could get out of debt faster. I pulled out all the stops to reach my goals. After selling everything I could, I knew I had to find another way to bring in some quick cash. That's when a friend told me about renting a room on AirBnB. This brought in the money needed to put me over the edge of paying off my debts. It was extremely easy to sign up.

You can find them here at https://www.airbnb.com/

Once you've signed up, clean up your room, take some pictures and voila--you may have another stream of income. You don't have to have a 4-star residence to rent a room, many people just need somewhere to stay while working in town or vacationing and they're looking for a good deal. I've had both kinds of people contact me and I've stayed at an AirBnB when attending a workshop.

Once you have signed up, cleaned up your space, take pictures and post it.

PHOTO TIPS
1. Not everything needs to be in the photo. Crop out items that are messy.
2. Use an editing program (preferably free) to create the best photograph. I use Picasa, but that is discontinued and I suppose I will have to move on to another program.
3. Take photographs in the middle of the day when it is light, but overcast. This will give you a softer light and not produce hard shadows. You'll want to show your home in the best light possible.
4. Be honest. Don't take photos of the bear that passed through your yard 5 years ago. If the bear doesn't visit nightly, don't post the picture of it. People want to see exactly what they're getting.
5. Take a photograph of each room that will be available to your guest, as well as any amenities (deck, hot tub, patio set).

AFTER YOU'VE SIGNED UP
Walk through your home and decide what you will pack away and what you will leave out. This protects you and your guest as well.

It's important to ensure your family's safety, so check locks on all areas of the house that will not be available to your guest. It's great if the visitor can have a separate entrance with their own bathroom, then they will be able to enjoy privacy and safety as well.

Play up any interesting features the home has to offer. This may be your biggest selling point. My home was a log home with a totem pole out front and many guests wanted to feel like they were truly on vacation.

MAKING YOUR GUESTS COMFORTABLE
One of my guests told me a horror story of how they stayed with a family and the father told them under no certain terms were they to mix with the family. Their room was a small little hovel at the top of the stairs and once they came into the house they were expected to stay in the room. Wow! It's important to find out all expectations before you leave on a trip.

Make guests feel as comfortable as possible. Since it is considered a bed and breakfast, provide some kind of breakfast. This doesn't mean you have to feed them a 4-course meal. You can provide coffee, some drinks and some quick breakfast snacks. Either way, it's good to communicate with your guest beforehand and ask them what they would like. Some wanted a special tea and some were happy with whatever you had on hand. Asking will help you keep your expenses as low as possible, but not to the point where your guest has a bad time and doesn't feel welcome in your home.

ALTERNATIVE IDEAS ON AirBnB
If you don't want to rent your home, consider offering an experience on AirBnB, such as a hike or bike ride. Sometimes people want to do something fun, but they don't want to go on a guided tour with 15 other people. As a local, you will have experience in the area and may know the best fishing spots or hiking trails. Some people even offer cooking classes. There may be something that you're good at that someone wants to learn so put your hobbies to work for you to earn some extra cash.

One of the good points of AirBnB is that they handle all the money. If there's an issue or complaint, they work hard to resolve it. In the end, I enjoyed my experience as a host and as a guest.

So, go forth and save $$$.

Peace Peeps,
Broke Girl

Putting a Little Life into the Fire--Heating with Wood

Hello Fellow Broke Galaxians,

Sometimes it's so hard to start a fire in your wood stove you wonder how forest fires even start. Those of us who heat with wood know the work involved with keeping the cabin warm all winter. Sometimes when you heat with wood, starting a fire and keeping it going can be exhausting. To save time and money, you can make your own fire starters.

Fire Starter Sticks and Fuel
We keep a squirt bottle filled with 90% rubbing alcohol. It comes in handy when starting the wood stove. Squirt a small amount on the newspaper or kindling and light. Although others have used fire starter, I prefer rubbing alcohol.

The secret to a great fire is a lot of dry kindling. Keeping fire starter available can be expensive if you're heating on a full time basis.

Kindling 
I have a friend who collects twigs and limbs all year and ties them in small bundles with string or yarn. Then when it's time to start the fire, she grabs her tied twigs and tosses it into her stove.

Garbage
One thing I like to do is to save cardboard boxes and stuff them with junk mail and old newspapers and kindling we've collected throughout the year. This burns fast unless you add some wood strips to the box.

Candle Strands
Dipping a couple of cotton mop head strands into hot wax can act as a large candle. You can use any cotton string twisted together into a big knot and dipped in wax. These can burn for approximately 8 minutes or longer.

Orange Skins
Dry orange skins and use them as a fire starter. Oranges contain flammable oil inside the skin that can be used to start a fire. In addition, they create a citrus scent when burned. To dry orange peels, lay them on a cookie sheet and set them next to your wood burning stove. Store the dry peels in a zip-lock bag until needed.

Cotton Balls and Petroleum Jelly
Find the largest cotton balls you can find and rub Vaseline into the center of each one. When the cotton ball turns into a giant ball of goo, drop it into a zip-lock bag and start another one. Although these are messy, they work great at starting fires.

Fire Nuggets
There are plenty of fire sticks sold in camping section of stores. Most of them are made of paraffin, paper and cotton. Lighting a small nugget made of wood chips and candle wax can produce a 10-15 minute burn that will help keep a fire alive. For most logs, this will give you plenty of time to get the fire roaring without having to repeatedly stuff in more paper and cardboard. This fire starter is easy to make and simple to store.

Making Your Own Fire Nuggets
You should be able to find most items you need at yard sales or second-hand stores. Look for ugly, old used candles that are cheap.

Next, find hamster bedding in the pet section or saw dust in the home improvement sections. You can use cedar chips for dogs, but they are large and cumbersome and will probably need to be put through the blender first. If you have enough dryer lint, this could also be used instead of sawdust.

If you know a wood-worker, ask them for their sawdust. Next, take fiber-based egg cartons and use them to mold the wood chips. The egg carton serves two purposes, first, it will hold the chips in place while pouring hot wax and second, it is flammable. Once finished making the fire starters, use scissors to separate into individual fire starters. Don't use foam egg cartons because they are not environmentally sound.

Next, line a mini cupcake tin with mini cupcake papers so that when you pour in the hot wax, the holders will be secure. Minis fit perfectly in the egg carton. They're easy to find at the grocery store and not expensive.

Items Needed

·         Wood Chips, Saw Dust or Dryer Lint

·         Old Candles

·         Tin Can and Pot of Water

·         Fiber Based Egg Carton

·         Mini Cupcake Holders and Mini Cupcake Tin

Step by Step

1—Start by melting the wax in a discarded tin can, set the can in a small pot of water and add heat. If you have an old pot and you are not worried about ruining with melted wax, then use it.  A double boiler is the best for melting the wax without causing the wax to burn. Don’t forget wax is hot and will burn if splashed on your skin. Wax has a low flash point, and can catch fire if left on the stove unwatched.

2--Place cupcake papers in either a cupcake tin or a fiber-based egg carton. 

3—Slowly pour a small amount of wax into each cup. Just enough to act as a base for the sawdust.

4--Layer in some fine-textured sawdust or wood shavings and cover the top with more wax. Let cool, and add repeat if necessary. Store the nuggets in  a zip lock bag.

  
5--Slightly cool the layer of sawdust and wax.

6--Add another layer of wax, followed by another layer of sawdust.

7--Cool the final sawdust/wax cupcake holder.




Light the nugget and let it burn. 



There you have it Fellow Broke Galaxians. No need to freeze or exhaust yourself with fire-making this winter/spring.

Go forth and save $$$ my friends.

Peace Peeps,
Broke Girl
   

Extreme Couponing . . . or not.

Hello Fellow Broke Galaxians,

We’ve all heard the stories about people who use so many coupons that they only pay $10 for $200 worth of groceries. I have never had the ability or patience to go to extremes, but I have saved quite a lot of money with coupons.

For one thing, I use a list when I go to the store. Finding a coupon for specific items on my list is difficult. Am I truly saving money by couponing? Yes, it takes time to coupon. However, if you’re like me and have time but no money, this is a perfect trade off. Searching for each individual coupon may be worth it.

Before you do anything, create a list of items you will need for upcoming meals. Some people shop every two weeks. I find it easier to make a weekly shopping trip. On Tuesday evenings, we sit down as a family and create a menu for the week. Why Tuesdays? We go to town and shop on Wednesdays. Everyone is different and will have their own way of doing things. Bottom line—we start with a list of ingredients needed for each meal.

Now that you know what you need, search the area store circulars for “loss leader items.” These are sale items that are designed to lure you into the store with hopes that you will purchase other items not on sale.

If possible, find coupons for those loss leaders to save the most money. Find out if the store will let you double your coupon or even Stacking Coupons. When you combine manufacturer coupons with store coupons, this is called stacking.

Where do you find coupons?

Newspaper circulars. Since I don’t buy the paper, I am sometimes able to find extra circulars at the recycling depot or friends who will contribute to my cause.

Store Internet Coupons. Most stores will have internet circulars that will be sent to your personal email.

Internet Coupon Sites. The Blog site, “The Well Kept Wallet,” by Laurie Blank, has a wonderful list of internet sites that I have never considered. You can find her at
https://wellkeptwallet.com/best-coupon-sites/. However, I have used www.coupons.com and www.coolsavings.com with success.

Other sites include:
www.coupons-grabber.com
www.befrugal.com
https://thekrazycouponlady.com
www.passionforsavings.com
www.grocerycouponnetwork.com
www.couponmom.com
https://hip2save.com/grocery-coupon-network

Coupon Apps will provide cash back for some items you buy. Some App sites are Snap by Groupon, CartSmart, Ibotta, Checkout51, SavingStar. Passion for Savings App. Downloading Apps from grocery stores where you shop can help.

USPS Mail. Sometimes, you can receive coupons from companies that you contact.
Sign up for Store Rewards Programs. Some stores will offer discounts and specialized coupons depending on your purchases. It pays to sign up for these.

Rebates. Be sure to save your receipts for rebates. You may not find a rebate when you bought the item, but it may be available a few weeks later.

When you find a good deal of products you use on a regular basis, make multiple purchases.

After you start collecting coupons, organize them. I used to use an index card box with dividers. You will be able to create a system that works for you.

The next step is to search weekly store circulars for sale items. Circle them and then find a coupon, if available, to go with that item. If you don’t have a coupon for that particular item, enter that particular item on a search engine and you may be able to find one.

It’s easy to get carried away, buying a lot of different grocery items you may not need. Stick with your list. You won’t save money if you’re buying a lot of unneeded things.

So, go forth and save $$$.

Peace Peeps,

Broke Girl

Broke Girl is Still Here

Hello Other Broke Galaxians,

Yes, I'm still here. I spent the last week in New Smyrna Beach, Florida taking the Level I Bob Ross Painting Course. I plan to finish off the course with Level II and Level III eventually so I can (1) Learn to be a better artist and paint awesomely wonderful paintings and (2) Give classes so I can be less broke and teach others to paint awesomely wonderful paintings.

As you see, I have a plan.



Whether I'm able to pick up a job or not, teaching Bob Ross Painting classes on the weekend could help me meet great like-minded people and I wouldn't mind having a side gig to help with expenses for my hobby and pay a few bills.

Hobbies are important. They build self confidence, as well as new skills. Collecting things--not so much because you may have a hard time parting with your collectibles. Seriously, what are you going to do with that matchbox car collection that you can't part with?

Take a look at your hobbies and interests and see if there's something you can do to bring in extra income, whether it's piano or guitar lessons, or how to put together a kicking resume. There's something that you excel at that will benefit someone else. Take a good look at yourself and make a list of what you can do.

Take care my fellow Broke Galaxians. Go forth and save $$$.

Peace Peeps,
Broke Girl

Popped Wheat Berries -- The Perfect Healthy Snack

Hello Broke Galaxians,

One of our big expenses at the grocery store come in the way of snacks--crackers, chips, sweets. When I shop when I'm hungry, it's even worse. Crackers are a big downfall. 

One way to avoid the extra expense and still enjoy nightly snacking is by making your own popped wheat--not puffed wheat, but popped wheat. 

Wheat is fairly inexpensive when bought in bulk. Many health food stores carry it. You can even buy wheat berries online at Wal-Mart. 

Although you can buy puffed wheat cereal at the store, this is not something that can be safely done at home. Commercial manufacturers have equipment that pressurize the wheat berry with high temperatures and steam to the point where the steam flashes and the kernel puffs up like popcorn. So when "they" say, "don't try this at home," it's probably best to listen. 

Wheat can still be popped, it just won't fluff up like popcorn. However, the kernels will expand slightly and can be eaten as a tasty, healthy treat that has a nutty flavor. 

How to Pop Wheat.
1. Soak the berries overnight. 
2. The next day, boil the wheat berries for a few minutes, then simmer them for 45 minutes. They should double and triple in size.  
3. Drain the wheat berries and then put them on a clean, dry towel and pat them dry to take the excess moisture off them. 
4. In a frying pan, add a few tablespoons of oil and the boiled wheat berries. 
5. Cover the frying pan with a lid. 
6. Pop the wheat berries as you would pop corn. (Gently shake the berries in the oil on top of the stove). 

When your wheat berries are popped and still hot, remove the lid and add salt or seasonings to the popped wheat. 

You can even add popped wheat to salads or sprinkle on top of your granola. 

The popped wheat berries are much better than processed snack food that is much more expensive and bad for me. 

So, my fellow Broke Galaxians, go forth and save $$$. 

Peace Peeps,
Broke Girl 



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