Home Made Laundry Detergent

So lately I’ve been reading a lot of articles regarding the home made laundry detergent powder that a lot of bloggers have been using, I decided I would give it a go. Not because I’m green, or trendy, or anything like that. Simply because I’m broke, and each batch is supposed to yield 40 or so loads. I bought everything at my local Market Basket for a total of $9.68.

 

One cup of Washing Soda

 

One cup of Borax

 

One bar of Ivory Soap (you can use Fels Naptha too)

Sure, $9.68 might seem like a lot for detergent, but I'll be able to get at least three batches out of it (my Ivory soap came in a pack of three)!  So if I'm able to get 120 loads, that comes out to about $.08 a load, or $3.22 per "bottle" of detergent. I used 1tbsp in a load of laundry the other night, and it definitely came out clean. No fake powdery laundry scent, just a plain clean cloth scent. I did read that if you're so inclined, you can add some sort of essential oil to the mix to get that scent, and some of them are anti-bacterial so its a win win!

Right now I've got my mix sitting in an unattractive plastic container, but there are lots of creative ways to store this stuff. I got most of my information from the Yellow Brick Home, so be sure to check out all the useful things they had to say.

New Knobs!

The knobs I’ve had my eyes on at Anthropology went on sale a few days ago. I was able to pick up the knobs I wanted for our entertainment stand, for $2.95 each! They were $8.00 each.

I even picked up a yellow version for the cabinet I want to put in our bathroom, after we gut the whole thing.

There is still a lot we have to do to the living room, hopefully I’ll have more to update soon! You can find these knobs at Anthropolgy, on sale. Total cost of the three knobs? $8.85. All three for the original price of one knob! Score!

What do you think? I can't wait to see them in!

Office Before and Progress

So we've spent the past few months getting ready and doing our mini-renovations which including repainting the entire house, installing new laminate flooring, new trim work, etc.

This is what the room looked like the day we came to see the house:

 

The previous owner used it as a guest bedroom. It had yellow walls, navy blue carpet, and a spacious sliding door closet. 

This is what the office looked like about two years ago, when it was so messy that we actually moved our desks from the office into the living room in hopes that we'd be less messy. Normal people would've cleaned the room and made it a useable space. We literally closed the doors and left all the trash in there.

Yes, there is a person in there.

All trash.

How did we get shit done?

Vacuum is clearly for decoration.

This is what the room looks like today:

Cleaned desks, bought some task lighting.

New flooring/paint.

Behr Propoise/Behr Colour matched to Martha's Magnetite.

Clearly, we removed all the shit (almost literally), installed our Pergo Presto Virginia Walnut flooring (thanks for installing it for us, Dad!), painted the room Behr Porpoise, painted the closet Behr colour matched to Martha Stewart's Magnetite, removed the trim, removed the giant eye-sore heater (you can still see the bare wires where we have yet to install the new baseboard heater).

This room still needs a lot of work, here are things still on the to-do list:

• Remove funky-old-not-to-code-wiring in the closet
• Install last row of flooring once said wires are removed
• Re-caulk window
• Install casing around window
• Hang curtains/hardware
• Move computers back in
• Paint closet doors/shelving white
• Hang art
• Install new baseboard moulding
• Install new baseboard heater
• Install new light fixture 
• Install new switch plates/outlets/light switches (all white, yay!)

Then there are the extra credit things that I'd like to do:

• Buy sleeper sofa/futon for guests
• Buy new bi-fold closet doors
• Investigate running Ethernet wiring along baseboard moulding
• Install new wire shelving system in closet 
• Install lighting in closet (repaint lighter?)

Here are some additional images of things we have left to do.

Figure out what these go to, remove.

Re-caulk/Clean window, paint window surround white.

Remove window ledge, sand down/repaint/resintall level.

Paint closet doors/shelving.

Install new light fixture.

That's right, its actually liveable now! Imagine that! First time in two years. Sad, yes. However, progress is progress.

Dining Room Mood Board Breakdown

 

Table: West Elm Angled Leg Expandable Table $424 (15% off, 10% off w/ Military discount)
Chairs: Ikea IVAR Chair $19 (3 finished white, one finished red)
Paint: Behr's Irish Mist
Light: CB2 Eden Pendant Light $50
Art: Etsy Modern Kitchen Prints 3 $38
Rug: World Market Plain Weave Jute Rug 4x6ft $70
Bowl: CB2 Scoop Bowl $25

Total: $609

Bathroom Mood Board Breakdown

 

Paint: Behr Dark Granite

Mirror: Ikea HEMNES $50 (painted Martha Stewart's Egg Yolk, high gloss)
Sconces: Progress Lighting Lynzie Collection $40 each (need two)
Shower Curtain: Cotton X-Long Waffle Shower Curtain $25
Shower Curtain Liner: X-Long Fabric Shower Curtain Liner $11
Hooks: Everbilt Single Robe Hook $4.30 (painted Martha Stewart's Egg Yolk, need two)
Flooring: US Ceramic Tile Avila Gris 12x24" Porcelain $3.53 sq. ft. (need 50.4 sq. ft.) $178
Bathtub: American Standard 5 ft. Whirlpool $599
Wall Alcove: US Ceramic Tile Bright Snow White 3x6" $.23 ea (need 480 sq. ft.) $110.40
Faucet: MOEN Chateau Single-Handle Tub/Shower Faucet $90
Art: Paris Postcard Collection 4x6 Yellow $15
Frames for Art: Ikea RIBBA Frame $3 (need 9)
Bath Mat: Already Owned
Bath Hardware: Already Owned

Project Total: $1,157

Office Mood Board Breakdown

Paint: Behr's Porpoise

Light: Overstock Geometric Hanging Lamp $95
Curtains: UO Asian Poppy Curtains $32

Rug: Dangerous Liasons Rug $179

Sleeper Couch: Convertible Sofa Sleeper in Charcoal $199

Desks: Z-Line Desks from Staples, Already Owned
Flooring: Pergo Virginia Walnut from HM, Already Owned

Total Cost: $537

Tonight's To-Do List

Well, we finally have some money put aside to get our floors! We've been working lots of over time since I last posted, and I've also finally managed to get a gym membership! So between all the new time-consuming going-ons, I have not been keeping up with the house as much as I'd like. Now that we've got the money for the floors, its time to kick it back up again. Can't get rid of the carpets with all this crap on them!

• Load of laundry, one for work clothes, one for gym clothes, one for whites (?)
• Load the dishwasher
• Wash the pots and pans
• Make breakfast melts and muffins for breakfast (recipes to follow, my notations in red)
• Sweep kitchen/dining room
• Clean off table
• Figure out Calories for breakfast things using our products

Will post pics of tonight's progress either tonight or tomorrow!