DIY Household Products

[Beka27]

I’ve been tinkering around with making homemade household products.  So far, I’ve only made fabric softener, but I really like it and I feel that it’s working better than the expensive, store-bought stuff we’ve been using.  My next project is going to be laundry detergent.

Has anyone made their own soaps and stuff?  What has been your experience?  Any good recipes you like?

I’ve been getting some recipes on a blog I subscribe to “One Good Thing by Jillee”…

[Sarita]

What a very cool blog – just bookmarked it. I don’t currently make stuff, but this might inspire me to.

[Beka27]

It is a cool blog. I love just going through old articles and seeing what she’s done. The woman herself is a rather inspiring person; she has battled alcoholism and gone through recovery and is now helping others in various ways with her blog.

About a year and a half ago, I went on a major couponing spree and managed to get a ridiculous amount of laundry detergent for about $50. I’m still using those bottles, but I’m down to my last case so I was going to try the DIY method.

[Sarita]

I’m going to try the mattress cleaning tip. Looks easy enough!

[Deleted User]

That’s totally cool! I’ve wanted to try making my own detergent. But if I’m being honest I just don’t have the time to make it myself. -.-

[Sarita]

Are you doing those wool dryer balls? Those sound interesting.

[Bunny Daddy]

I’m not sure if this falls in to what you’re talking about, but I’ve used egg whites on minor burns to help with healing them. 

[Deleted User]

BunnyDaddy I’ve never heard of using egg whites before….That’s something that I definitely have to try. (I tend to get burned a lot while cooking -.-)

[Bunny Daddy]

Yeah, I’ve also heard of using the bit of skin on the egg shells for minor cuts as a bandage but never done it. The burn thing I learned from my friend, you run cold water over the burn first, then use the egg whites. I tend to burn myself a lot too. haha

[Beka27]

Posted By Sarita on 03/21/2013 11:18 AM

Are you doing those wool dryer balls? Those sound interesting.

Lol, actually I am! I bought the wool yarn back in October and let’s just say… I’m taking my time making them. It’s time consuming, but I’ll work on them while I watch TV sometimes. If you want something kind of mindless to do Sarita, I recommend it. You can also buy ready made balls (that sounds odd) on Etsy, but the point is to DIY, not PSET-DIY (“pay-someone-else-to-DIY”)! 

We don’t have the greatest dryer, so every load takes two full cycles to dry. I’m hoping to cut that back at least a little. 

[Beka27]

My family is very DIY averse. But the other day, Mike was drying his hands and said, “This towel is really fluffy!” I got to tell him I started using the homemade fabric softener! He was really surprised.

[jerseygirl]

These things remind me of when i was a kid and I’d read some home made recipe for things like hair conditioner or face masks. My younger sisters always got to be the guinea pigs. Raw egg….mayonnaise… Their hair always smelt “interesting” afterwards.

I like DIY alternatives and am rather cynical about how much we pay for brand products. Having said that though, I still take the quick and easy choice of picking up something at the shops! So while i enjoy reading about alternatives, my problem is actually making time to do it and use them consistently.

There is a sense of satisfaction when you make something that gives results as good (if not better) then a commercial branded product and it saves dollars.

I also like that DIY alternatives are often greener and less wasteful. I try to make green choices where possible.
It’s threads like these that get me inspired again. Ill be checking out that blog!

I tried a dishwasher powder recipe that used borax, soda and citric acid. I’ve since read you can just use soda. I’m yet to try different ones to find the best result. I did straight vinegar in the rinse aid also but I think it might have bunged something up. :\

I got inspired once and made a furniture polish. Not that I have any furniture worth polishing. Haha.
I love the smell of it and it gives the house a nice smell if I do break it out and use it. It did help on a patch of flooring that damaged by Miss Jersey-pants.

ETA: Am I weird in that I don’t mind crunchy towels?

[jerseygirl]

Beka, you might like to read this before you endeavor onto laundry detergents. It could help work out which recipe will suit and work best. http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2012/05/ten-things-laundry.html

We don’t have the greatest dryer, so every load takes two full cycles to dry.

also this site if you’re not familiar with it. It’s sort of DIY. Katnipcrzy mentioned it here a couple years ago. I’ve had it in my Favourites ever since. http://www.fixya.com

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Bunny Daddy on 03/21/2013 01:26 PM

I’m not sure if this falls in to what you’re talking about, but I’ve used egg whites on minor burns to help with healing them. 

I’ve not heard of egg white for burns either. That’s a new one!
A cook once told me they’d immediately wrap minor burns in cling film. That it stops the burning sensation and you don’t scar. It sounds wrong, like it would hurt more. I can vouch for it stopping the sting though.

[Monkeybun]

I’m hesitant about putting much of anything on burns. Cling wrap would trap int eh heat, causing it to burn more, egg whites sound similar to me. Best thing is running cold water, NOT put in standing water, and then wrap in gauze to keep it clean and dry. Gotta love having a nurse for a mom

[jerseygirl]

Yes, I should have added a caution about home remedies for first aid.

Cool running water is still the advised treatment of a burn. Anything else to treat comes after that step. Thanks MB.

[Toady]

Many years ago I tried making my own soap, only made a dozen or so batches and use some of it now, but found out that if it’s mostly olive oil it can easily go all slimy… I am using some of my later soap now to wash my hands and have a bar in the shower which is really lasting. But thankfully there’s a lovely couple that make the cold process soaps and they have such a nice range I buy off them for the same cost of making my own… but I did like doing it! I think I’ll stick to my other hobbies for now.

[Elrohwen]

Check out the blog “Mini Manor” – she makes a lot of her own stuff as well, and has a lot of posts on organizing that always inspire me (not saying I actually have anything beautifully organized, but I like seeing other people do it!)

I don’t really make anything other than vinegar+wafer for cleaning. I started using it for the bunnies, but I like it for other things too.

I tried making my own hair product once – I think it was eggs and mayo and some other stuff that I left on for a while, then rinsed. I guess it was ok? I honestly didn’t notice a difference and it made a huge mess. Haha

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