Homemade Laundry Soap

Transitioning from working full time at a demanding job that paid pretty well and being a single parent to not working away from home and being half of this phenomenal partnership was not easy for me.  It still isn't all that easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  The burden of guilt I felt initially for not contributing to our family's financial well-being was pretty heavy.  I felt like I simply was not doing enough, even knowing that I was holding down the fort pretty well.


So gradually, I've embraced this whole domestic guru/student/mom deal, and I've done it in a few different ways.  The first is to realize that more than anything, my little ones deserve my time.  Working took me away from home during more of their waking hours than I wanted to be away from them.  It also made me a grumpy jerk to be around sometimes, which was highly uncool (by the way, Mikey is kind of a saint for putting up with me during that).  


Not working allows me to spend time with them (especially in the summer time) and to really *be* with them.  Woot!  I get to really know who they are, what they like and dislike, and how to guide them in growing up.  Looking back at my own childhood, the times that my parents actually spent with us were the best, regardless of how much money we had.  Camping trips, walks on the beach, playing board games - those are the fondest memories I have.  The fact that I have the opportunity to spend that kind of time with our spawn is awesome.  


Another way I've begun to embrace this whole new life is to make contributions in other ways.  One of my favorite ways to do that is to make as much as I can at home.  Food, clothes, and cleaning products are my favorites at the moment.  I'll cover making jam and wedding dress sewing in other posts.  In this one, I'll show you how I make laundry soap.


I got the idea about making laundry soap after taking a look at the most expensive items we purchase on our grocery list.  We used to buy Tide at Costco once or twice a month.  So that's $23.11 for 110 loads, or about $0.21 per load.  It doesn't sound like much, but it certainly adds up.  We purchased a bottle of Tide about once every six weeks, so that's about $415.98 each year in laundry soap.  Holy crap!


In contrast, the laundry soap I make costs about $0.03 per load, or around $60 each year.  Here's the recipe, which I originally found on The Simple Dollar, and have tweaked slightly based on usage and research on other recipes:


1/3 bar Fels Naptha
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
water


You'll also need a five gallon bucket and a large pot. 

First, grate the soap, and add it to about 5 quarts of water in a large pot.  Heat until the soap melts, careful not to let it boil and get all sudsy.  It'll look like grated cheese at first.  Don't eat it.   

Next, fill your five gallon bucket about 2/3 full of hot water, and add the washing soda and borax.  I like to make a little bit of a paste with a bit of water and the washing soda and borax first.  It makes it easier to get a smooth consistency, since the borax likes to clump up sometimes. 

Next, you simply add the Fels Naptha and water to the mixture in the bucket.  Stir it, and let it sit overnight.

In the morning, you'll have a bucket of goo that works great at cleaning clothes.  You'll need to use about 1/2 a cup for a normal sized load.

BomMom

On the day that Mikey asked me to marry him (Father's Day 2011), Kirsten asked Mikey if she could call him Dad.  It made both Mikey and me tear up a little because it was so sweet and heartfelt.  It was totally her idea, and she asked me first if it was ok.  I said it certainly was, because that's how their relationship had already developed.  So I let her know that she should ask Mikey how he felt about it.  Mikey said he'd be honored to have Kirsten call him Dad, and Mikey's been "Dad" ever since.

Chloe has been a little bit of a different story.  She's much more of an introvert than Kirsten is, and asking questions like, "Can I call you Mom," is not something that she is comfortable articulating.  She has brought up the subject shyly before, and we have had some discussions that we kept light, but made sure that she is aware that she can talk to us, ask questions if she wants, and that if she decides she wants to call me by something other than "Shell" that that's ok.  But she's been pretty hesitant about it.

Anyway, the last week she was here, Chloe decided that her new name for me is "BomMom".  I felt like my heart was going to grow out of my chest when she first said it. So cute and sweet.

Our kids are freakin' cool.

Our Tia

Sometimes you get really, really lucky in life, and you find that some really special people have walked in and taken a space that you didn't even know needed to be filled.  Our Aunt Tia is just such a person.  She is such an important individual to all of us,  we don't know what we would do without her.  Tia is like your best friend, your favorite auntie, your mom, and your therapist all wrapped in to one person.  She's a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason when you need it, and just about the sweetest person I know.

We call her Aunt Tia, but a more accurate description might be Mom.  Or Gramma Tia.  Our girls love spending time with her, especially if they get to sleep over and have some of Tia's special pancakes, which I have on good authority are the Best Pancakes Ever.

When I'm feeling sad, the best person to call is Tia.  And when I'm feeling happy, the best person to call is Tia.  Funny how that works.

 Tia has been there for most all the memorable moments in my life since the day I met her.  She knew that Mikey was going to ask me to marry him before I did.  She was there in Maui.  She was there to talk me off a ledge when I screwed up.  She is always there, like the friend you always hoped you'd have.


She's been there for Mikey since he was a kid.  She's been there for Chloe since the day she hatched.  She's been there for Kirsten since they met.  Tia was indescribably helpful in Kirsten's transition to a new school.  We were even so fortunate to have Tia actually in Kirsten's class this last year.

In addition to being Aunt Tia to us, she's also got two adorable grand-doggies.  ;)  This one is Scrumpy when she was still just a pup.

We have her over for dinner as often as we possibly can.  In fact, Tia pretty much has an open invitation to our house, always.  She doesn't need to knock.


I really can't say what we'd do without her.  And I don't have the words to describe how important she is to our family.  We love our Tia.

BFK and the Peanut

When I was little, I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister.  I dreamed of sharing clothes and talking about boys and doing our hair together.  I thought it would be the coolest thing ever.  My mom tried to tell me that it wasn't all tea parties and mutual interests, but I was convinced that it would be the most awesomest thing in the whole world.  

I hear my mom might have been right on some accounts, but I still always wonder what that would have been like.

But I do have a brother, and he's pretty much one of the coolest dudes I know.  The bond I have with Brando is, like, better than super glue and peanut butter and jelly and Yogi Bear and Boo-boo.  I know, it sounds weird, but stay with me here.  There's a point to this.

So when Kirsten and I were doing the *just us* thing (in the days pre-Mikey-and-Chloe) I tried not to be too terribly saddened by the fact that she might just be an only child permanently.  All the rivalry she'd miss out on, all the fights, all the laughter, all the tears, all the play time, all that bond that you share with a sibling based on your mutual enemies (plus less pressure, because Mom and Dad have more than just you to keep an eye on) - I tried to block it all out because it simply wasn't going to happen, through no one's fault really.  That's just how it shook out.

But then Mikey and Chloe came along.  It must have been around March of 2010 that Mikey sent along a video of Chloe singing in the car an adorable little tune with very simple lyrics: "Shell and Kirsten, Kirsten and Shell."  It melted my heart clear through.  I'm pretty sure there's still a little melty spot left.  I may never recover.

Through our time together, they've grown closer and closer.  They still struggle with each other, like siblings do.  Kirsten gets annoyed that her little sister copies everything she does.  Chloe gets annoyed that her big sister bosses her around sometimes.  Normal sibling stuff.  But something really fun happens when they're just playing together.  Parenting them is like watching a little bit of magic happen.

I remember one night we were at the table having dinner together, and Chloe started to have a bit of a meltdown over something.  Chloe has been known to get worked up to such a degree that almost nothing will calm her down.  But this particular time was completely different.  Chloe was crying, her face was red, and she was really working herself into a monster temper tantrum.  Then, Kirsten whispered something into Chloe's ear, and she just stopped crying and started giggling.  Her tears were quickly replaced with laughter, and her sad face was awakened to a bright smile.  Every adult at the table was confounded.  What?  You mean she can just stop?  Just like that?  What did Kirsten just say?!

I'll tell you what she said.  

Fuzzy Lollipops.

It's so incredibly cool to watch them grow up together, figure each other out, and be sisters.  The way they play together and make up stories to go along with what they're playing is like a glimpse into what a cool world they're creating.

I love these two goofballs.

Seriously, cutest kids ever.  Just sayin'.

Third Annual Ka-boomfest

Mikey has had to work every Independence Day that I've known him, so we make a special day beforehand (usually the third of July) to go out to the reservation, buy some massive fireworks, and set them off from our special beach.  We started this tradition the first year we were together.  It's stuck ever since, and each year (like a lot of things around here) it gets better and better.  

It starts out like this:  we head to the Swinomish reservation's Boom City, and buy some mortars, some Roman candles, some bottle rockets, and whatever else looks cool.  This year was no exception, with the "whatever else looks cool" spots being filled with a fountain called "Purple Rain" and some super loud poppers.

Then, we head over to the beach, the exact location of which is under debate every year.  Basically, Google Maps fails us, and somehow converts itself to a mappa mundi.  Luckily, we find it every time anyway.

Once there, we take a quick scan of the beach, and choose our base.  Depending on the day we go and the time we arrive, there are between two and four other groups there.  We unload all our ammo celebratory fireworks, and get all set up.

This year, we added to our tradition in that Mikey built a sweet bonfire from a piece of cardboard and some damp driftwood.  His fire-starting skillz are superlative.  Kirsten and Chloe are great helpers when it comes to collecting firewood, too.

Once the fire was going, and we had all gotten settled in, we played on the beach while we waited for the sun to go down a little more.  After having lived in Washington for over 11 years, one thing that still amazes me is how late it stays light out in the summer time.  I mean, right now it's 9:03 PM, and still bright enough outside that you wouldn't have to turn your lights on to drive.

We even found Aunt Tia her own special seat.

See what I mean about those fire-starting skillz?

The sunset was particularly gorgeous when we went back the next night.

Kirsten found some, uh, interesting artifacts as well...  Really, set Kirsten in a room that is empty in the middle of nowhere, and she will find something unconventional to play with, and she'll know everyone within a five mile radius.  

We didn't take too many pictures once the sun went down far enough and we started lighting fireworks.  We were too busy enjoying them and each other to take many pictures.  I did get a few, though.  And Tia helped in that department, too.

Run!  Quickly!

We had a fantastic evening together.  Building little traditions as a family is super fun, and bonds us all together even more.  Kirsten and Chloe were exceptional, and enjoyed the time to play on the beach as much as we enjoyed watching them and playing with them.  The fact that we got to spend more time with Aunt Tia was an added bonus, too.  The girls really love it when Aunt Tia is around.  (So do we, of course, but we're not as cute about it as they are.)  Here's to another family tradition, an evening to remember with our whole family together.  Happy Independence Day!