Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Being Productive.

Two things that have been on my to-do (to-learn) list I have checked off this week.

I have been wanting to learn to braid K's hair for a while.  It is getting significant length to it and needs more done than just the afro with bow (because it gets SO tangled).  I have watched countless videos and read innumerable tutorials, I just needed to try it.  I was nervous about trying because she is not okay with sitting still.  I tried it in my hair a few times, but it is so different with long straight hair than kinky short hair.  I finally made the decision to just do it.  The only way to get good at it is to practice.  I put Sesame Street on the tv and just followed her around the room attempting to braid at the same time.  They didn't look very good, but they were honestly better than I thought they would be.


Because they were so loose by this morning, they looked awful, and I had to take them out.  Her hair needed to be washed anyway, so after washing I sat her in the bumbo this time (she was tired, so it actually worked really well).  The only thing is that she went to bed on it immediately, so we will see in the morning what it looks like.  They weren't any tighter this time, so...





Please forgive how bad the parts are.  It was a combination of a moving child and pulling the hair out of the clips during braiding.  What can I say, my fine motor skills leave something to be desired.



This afternoon I checked off item #2:  homemade laundry detergent.

Two reasons why I wanted to try homemade detergent: cost (I'm incredibly frugal) and I secretly want to be green, which is frequently in conflict with being frugal.  This time it wasn't so there's no reason not to do it right?

Here are my ingredients
I used Ivory soap because I couldn't find Fels Naptha anywhere in Memphis.  I don't know if it would make a huge difference or not, but I didn't want to have to order it online in case I didn't like it.  I got the giant package of Ivory because it was $.50 more than the three pack.  Silly grocery store prices.


Ingredients that aren't necessary, but help with the process:
Starbucks frappuchino and listening to Adele on the computer.


I started by grating the soap.  I used 2 bars.  I doubled it since I was going to the trouble.

Ivory soap smells so good.  Well, at least the smell has good memories attached to it.  It makes me think of going to the lake as a kid.  When I was little we camped at the lake, so we often "bathed" in the lake instead of the gross bath houses.  Since ivory soap floats it was the soap of choice for lake time. This was back in the old days before body wash was the norm.  As I was grating the soap I was flooded with fun lake memories.  I don't know if there is any part of my childhood that I treasure more than our summers at the lake.



When grating anything in my kitchen, I always end up grating my finger.  Does anyone else have this problem?



I stirred in 2 cups of Washing Soda (not baking soda) and 2 cups of Borax.



Put it in an empty oxyclean container with a Tbsp measure (1T for small load 2T for large load)


I have done three loads of laundry with it so far and I have been pleased.  I also added a scoop of Kroger brand oxyclean, which I was doing with regular detergent most of the time.  At some point I want to try adding vinegar for a fabric softener, but I still have a bounce bar in my dryer.  When it is gone I'll try that to see what I think.

All of the supplies for this cost approximately $12.  I should be able to make 8-10 batches, each batch is 32 loads.

2 comments:

ashley addison said...

K's hair looks awesome! Great job, mama! :)

Nikki said...

ok... so I need an update!! how is the homemade laundry detergent doing?! I want to try it this summer, but I've heard some people say the clothes have a mildew-like smell after long-term use of the homemade stuff!