Call me Miss Frugality

So, I've hopped on the bandwagon and am now a "couponer." I can't say that I love it. It definitely takes time to organize and then shop at the different stores in order to "stack" coupons on top of sale prices. However, I've been able to stock up on some key items cheaply and my kids are enjoying some of the fringe benefits of fruit snacks and other foods that I don't typically purchase. Another way I've tried to cut costs is to make my own laundry soap. I do approximately 20-25 loads of laundry a week. In order to minimize the cost of soap (even beyond couponing prices) I've made my own homemade soap using Super Washing Soda, Fels-Naptha, and Borax. I saved some of my old containers and have marked them so that I know what soaps are mine and what are store bought. I love it! It smells good and cleans just as well as my purchased soaps. I looked at numerous different recipes online and have found one that works for me. The one I used takes 1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of borax, and 1 bar of Fels-Naptha (grated). I had to dissolve the soap in a pot of water. It's then added to more and more water until you have 10 gallons of soap! Which means 10 gallons of soap costs a little over a dollar. I have a high-efficiency machine, but because it doesn't have the sulfates which make bubbles, it works just fine.

The kids were totally confused when they came home from school and smelled soap over the stove, but think it's pretty cool now. I have been using it now for 4 weeks and believe the hour it takes (and shaking the container before you pour each time) is worth the cost.