Homemade Laundry Detergent

I'm super excited to share with you this recipe for Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent (courtesy of the Duggar's website) I made today. I know, I know......some of you may think I'm silly for being so excited over something like this, but as a mom of 3 boys (soon to be 4), our family is only growing larger in size which means I can barely keep up with the mounds of clothes each week, not to mention I have one boy that pretty much likes to bathe in his food on a daily basis and another that always seems to add extra sheets & clothes to the piles with leaking pull-ups at night. It's a never ending laundry duty!!!!

I have used so many different brands of Laundry Detergents over the past few years trying to find something that not only will get stains, food & pee smell out of clothes, but not cost a fortune. I never have found anything that worked great, but we settled for Tide along with using Borax Laundry Booster & Vinegar in each load to help clean our clothes better.

That is until today.........I have done 3 loads of laundry with this new Homemade Laundry Detergent and it works great so far! It has gotten out food & grime, pee smell out of pajamas & the clothes look nice & clean with a nice scent. YAY!!!!! I have finally found my new laundry detergent and it literally only costs pennies per load (which I am totally stoked about). This makes me one happy frugal Mama!

Here is the items you will need:

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup- Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Do not use baking soda)
1/2 Cup Borax



Grate soap or break into pieces (do not mistake for grated cheddar cheese) :)



and process in a food processor until powdered.



Mix all ingredients together. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons (which is what I used). Yields 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

*I trippled the batch & put it in a 2 gallon bucket with a lid to store. I will be making a few more batches again tomorrow so I won't have to make anymore for awhile*



Tips: I had a hard time finding the Fels-Naptha soap bar & the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I couldn't find any store in town that carried them. After much research online, I found the cheapest route to go. I ordered from Ace Hardware online & had it delivered to the Willow/Nees location to get free shipping. You can purchase Borax either at Target or Walmart & I'm sure many other various stores as well.

My husband calculated it out to be around .05 cents per load of laundry. Not too shabby!

Another Tip: I add either 1/2-1 cup of vinegar in a Downy Ball into the washer for heavily soiled clothes. It works wonders! I purchase my vinegar at Costco.

My Huge Baby Belly

Alright, so I'm 37 weeks & 4 days pregnant and I'm feeling HUGE & very uncomfortable now! I can't wait for little man to get here......I am so done being pregnant! With this being my 4th pregnancy and having 3 boys all ages 4 and under, this has definitely been my hardest pregnancy to date. I can't wait until I can start feeling normal again!



(Obviously I need to clean our mirror in the bedroom)

My New Birthday Gift

My husband and I have a really nice Nikon Digital Camera that I absolutely love, but the only problem is, it's really big & heavy to tote around. When I'm leaving the house with 3 kids (soon to be 4) with a diaper bag, purse & whatever else we may need, it's really hard to carry my big & heavy camera case too. I love taking pictures of my kids & capturing those precious moments which pretty much happen anywhere and at anytime, especially with their age. :)

I'm excited to show you my new pretty pink Cannon Power Shot SD1400 camera my hubby got me for my birthday. I haven't used it yet, but I'm anxious in trying it out. The only thing I will need to get used to is how tiny it is. This will fit perfectly in my purse or diaper bag where I can keep it with me at all times & never be without a camera again! :)



And of course I had to get a pretty pink camera case to match.

Our Christmas Tree & Gingerbread House

I'm happy to say that we finally got our Christmas tree up Monday evening & my boys are just excited as can be. Thanks to my good friend Lindsay who came over & helped me decorate our tree. We can't thank you enough Lindsay........your the best!

I realized after taking this picture that our Angel Christmas tree topper fell off and I need to have my hubby put it back on. :)



The boys have been asking me for several days to decorate their Gingerbread house, so we finally took it out yesterday (Thursday) and got it done. They did such a great job!

My Baby Shower

I had a wonderful time celebrating my baby shower today with great friends & family! I wanted to thank you all who came & shared in this joyous occasion with me today. It meant so much to me!

God has definitely blessed me with another precious gift from above and I can't wait to meet you baby Caleb! Your big brothers are very excited to meet you too! :)


Look at this beautiful & tasty fruit bouquet that my mom & her friend Joan made. I thought this was so creative & fun!

Me & my wonderful mom!

Thank you mom for making this day so special & all of your hard work involved. I know it wasn't easy for you considering you are just recovering from your hip replacement. You mean the world to me!

Me & my Grandma! Thank you Grandma for all your hard work in cleaning up. Your the best!

My good friend Lindsay who was such a huge help in preparing for the baby shower, not to mention her much talked about pasta salad (we are all waiting for your recipe?!?!).

My moms friend Joan whom my boys have gotten to know as "Auntie Joan" over the years. She is always so creative & she worked hard in making my baby shower invitations that turned out adorable!

My friends from church that I have gotten to know & adore over the past few years. Jonna, Lora & Jackie.

Here are all my amazing friends & family that came today to celebrate the blessing of baby Caleb. Thank you for making this day so special & all the memories you have created for years to come! I love you all!

I think it's baby fever......4 preggo's all at the same time! :)

Watch out.......who's next?!?!