Thursday, January 12, 2012

Reusable cleaning wipes

I love the convenience of cleaning wipes such as Clorox or Lysol wipes.  It sure beats finding a rag and a spray cleaner or using paper towels, that just go to waste to clean up my home.  However, I don't love all the trash they produce and the cost, if I can't get them on sale/ with a coupon can get pricey.  So, I decided to make my own.  This time, I didn't research prior, and just went with what I thought would work.  Here is how I did it.  I also went back AFTER I made them and did a little searching and found some other ways.  What's great is you can use your favorite pre-made liquid cleaner or make your own.  I think next time I will try and make my own less chemical-ly cleaner.  Depending what cleaner you use and what material you end up using for your wipes, this can save you a lot or a little money.  Overall, it is better for the environment though, so you have that going for you!

*Things you will need:
     +a container, I used a baby wipe container I already had
     +bottle of your favorite cleaner
     +2 yards of flannel (white)
     +cardboard to trace your "pattern" on to
     +scissors
     +water

*How To:

1)  Trace the bottom of your wipes container onto cardboard (you could use paper)

2)  Fold the cardboard over so your pattern is double width, cut out pattern.
3)  Using your pattern as a guide, cut out squares of flannel.  I suggest using a total of 2 yards of flannel, which should make about 40 wipes.  I am unsure of the width of the flannel when you buy it, but all in the store I went to (JoAnn fabrics) were the same width.

4)   I cut the flannel out THEN laundered it.  I did this because I wanted it to fit nicely inside the box without bunching around the edges.  When you launder it, they pieces shrink slightly making them fit perfectly.
5)   Fold each "sheet" in half, so that it fits in the container.  Stack into two piles, about 20 pieces per stacks.


6)    Add 1 cup of cleaner to bottom of container and 1/2 cup water (the cleaner I used was a little strong, so I diluted it.

7)    Add one stack of sheets into the container, squish down so they soak up the liquid.
8)  Add another 1 cup of cleaner and 1/2 cup water, stack second half of sheets on top.
9)  Squish your sheets down and/or lightly shake the container (lid closed) to help disburse the liquid.

10)  If needed, add a little more cleaner and water.  You don't want a ton of liquid swimming at the bottom, but a little is fine.
11) Label your container so you know it isn't really baby wipes!
12) Get cleaning :)

After you have used the wipes, rinse in warm water and hang to dry.  Launder with hot bleach water, no need to dry, just put back into the box and add a little more cleaner.
Make sure if you decide to switch cleaner, that you use up all of your cloths and launder them and wash out the container to prevent a chemical reaction.

**Cost:
Flannel was about $6 per yard at JoAnn Fabrics, however, I had a 50% off coupon.  They offer these quite often.  I only bought 1 yard, but to fill the box, I would buy two yards.
Container was free as it was a pre- used baby wipes container.
Cleaner was Spic & Span antibacterial cleaner I bought at Dollar Tree for $1

Normally, I have two open containers of wipes.  One for bathroom and one for kitchen.  I go through approx 1 per month  and a half or so for each room.  These wipes normally cost between $2 and $4 for a 35 count container of wipes.  I usually buy these on sale, but sometimes can't get them on sale.  Per year, if I buy the cheaper wipes at $2 each, I end up spending about $32.  Considering that one bottle of cleaner will last for two tubs, I will spend about $8 per month and a half.

**Total, $6 for fabric and $8 for cleaner, for one year it will be costing me about $14.  If I were to use my own cleaning solution made from things I already have, this could potentially be much lower or nearly free.

**Savings: $18 or more
This isn't a lot of money, but also remember, it creates less waste and can be customized to your personal cleaner preference.

*Other ideas:

     +Instead of using flannel, you could use old cut up shirts, towels, or wash cloths.
     +If you want disposable home made wipes, cut a roll of paper towel in half, put your cleaning solution in the container and add half roll of towels.  Let soak a few minutes, remove inner paper tube and pull wipes from center, much like pre-made wipes.  You could maybe use a pre-used large wipes container for this.
     +Consider making two containers of wipes so you never run out while the others are being washed, or if you like a certain cleaner for one area and another type for another area of your home.
     +Instead of a baby wipes container, consider using a large zip lock or similar container with a lid.
     +You could also not fold the wipes, but throw them into larger, wide mouth container with cleaner and just pulling them out as you need.

**Recipes for cleaning solution I found:

 3 cups water  
1/2 cup vinegar 3 good squirts of Dr. Bronner’s baby-mild liquid castile soap
 about 10 drops tea tree essential oil.



mix two tablespoons of white distilled vinegar and one teaspoon of borax.

 Add 1 cup of hot water and stir until the borax is dissolved. 
Let this mixture cool a few minutes
Add 1/4 cup of castile soap OR 1/8 cup of liquid dishwashing detergent.







Baby Wipes- not just for baby's bottoms

Baby wipes are good for much more than wiping your baby's bottom.  Not only for baby's and kids either!
There are many disposable personal wipes of different types in stores.  Some for babies, some marketed for wiping up kid messes, make up removers, skin cleansing, hygienic wipes, etc.  So, why waste money on a different wipe for everything.  I have found that, for most things, baby wipes are the way to go.  They are gentle enough for a baby's skin, so why not kids and adults as well? They are large, thick and soft moist cloths  and are much cheaper than most other wipes.  They come in unscented and hypoallergenic for people who may have irritations.  You can also find them made of organic materials.  Here is a list of things they work good for and a price comparison to similar products.

Makeup Remover:
 Almost every day, I apply makeup.  I am one of those who feel "naked" without it.  I have found that washing makeup off with soap can get messy and irritate my eyes.  The next best thing?  Facial cleansing cloths and eye makeup removers.  However, these wipes are expensive at about 20 cents a wipe, are small and are very specific to being a facial wipe.  I prefer baby wipes for makeup removal.  They wipe away makeup easily and leave my skin feeling refreshed.
Personal Cleansing cloths:
Another product I see on the market are "personal" cleansing cloths.  The ones you find usually near the toilet paper, basically an adult baby wipe.  These too are fairly expensive, yet less expensive than makeup removal wipes at about 10 cents a wipe.  They tend to dry out quick if you don't use them often, rendering them useless.  Baby wipes, naturally would work well for this.  Unlike most personal cleansing cloths however, they are not flushable.
Kid's Flushable wipes:
There are basically baby wipes targeted to kids so they can jack up the price as well.
Other uses:
Baby wipes work well for quick spills, face wipes, wet naps (think of eating chicken wings with no wet naps) and other uses.

Cost comparison:
This cost comparison is based on a quick search on Amanzon.com
Huggies/ Pampers baby wipes-   $0.03 to $0.04 cents per wipe
Facial cleansing/ makeup removal wipes (Neutrogena, Ponds, Noxema) -   $0.16 to $0.20 per wipe
Personal Cleansing wipes (Cottonelle, Charmin, Wet Ones)- $0.06 to $0.10 cents per wipe.
On average, you'd save 50% or more.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Originally from weightwatchers.com, this gumbo is more like a thick hearty soup.  It is simple and healthy.  Since discovering it about 8 years ago, I have made it many times and more than likely altered it in accordance with my personal preference as well as ingredients I can find.  The original recipe called for a bag of frozen "gumbo style" vegetables, but to this day I can't seem to find such a thing, so I came up with an alternative.  This soup is unlike the traditional gumbo as it is quick and easy, doesn't take a pretty penny to make or take all day to cook.  There is also no rice, yet it is still a very hearty and filling meal.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1/2 lb of chicken breast diced
1/2 lb of rope style sausage such as smoked sausage- chicken or turkey variety diced
1 cup of chicken broth
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons flour
1 bag of frozen vegetables
     *I use "Mexican style" that includes broccoli, cauliflower, corn and peppers
1 1/2 cups frozen cut okra
garlic- fresh about one clove, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic power
onion- fresh about 1/4 cup worth, diced or 1 teaspoon onion powder
pepper
salt
chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes or hot sauce if you desire a spicy gumbo

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add chicken breast and garlic and onion, saute until chicken turns white.  Add sausage and continue cooking until both chicken and sausage are browned, reduce heat slightly if needed so meat doesn't burn.  Sprinkle in salt, pepper and spice (if spicy is desired). Stir together and add frozen vegetables and chicken broth, scraping the bottom as you go.  Once mixture starts to bubble, sprinkle in flour and mix.  Let heat until the liquid starts to thicken.  Add crushed tomatoes, stir and cook until heated throughout about 10 minutes.

Cost:
For this recipe, which makes a total of about 8 cups of soup, here is a breakdown of approximate cost.

Chicken breast-  on sale for about $2/lb, so around $1
Sausage- on sale for about $2 for a 14 oz package, often there are coupons as well, so about $1
Chicken broth- store brand 80cents a can, use 1 cup, so about 50 cents
Crushed tomatoes- $1.25 on sale
Mexican Vegetables- $1.25
Okra- $1.50/ bag, you use about 1/3 of the bag, so 50 cents worth
Total- About $8.80 to buy the packages you need, about $5.50 for the soup.
          This would cost about $.69 per cup.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

The Soap Saga- Turning bar soap into liquid soap

For those who know me, know I am a bit of a hygiene-a-phobic.  So, naturally I have soap at every sink and back up soap, so I am never without.  I also am a bit of a soap prude.  I CAN NOT stand bar soap!  It sits there on the sink, collecting hair, dust, pooling in its own goop, many hands touch it, then you wash with it?  I know people have used it for years, but I just can't seem to bring myself to accept bar soap.  But still, I do have a few random bars that seem to float around in my supply.  Some were gifts as others I was "paid" to take from the store (as with the Olay bar soaps I will mention later, I had a $4 coupon off of a 2 pack bar that was about $3).  Anyhow, I have been thinking of ways to make things I use every day to cut costs.  Then I thought- bar soap... I won't use it, sure I can give it away, but if i can make use of it then I will.  So, I searched yahoo (I don't usually Google) and found a few and went with one.  Here is my saga.  It is indeed pretty lengthy and it was somewhat of a battle, a battle I refused to lose against soap!  Some good and some bad results.
*** For best results, use a soap that is a "dry/hard soap".  Steer clear of soaps that are called "moisturizing" or "beauty bar".  The soap that works best is one that if you squeeze the corner of the bar between 2 fingers, it wont mush down.  When grated, it looks like small flakes or grated Parmesan cheese (the powdery cheese that comes with a plastic shaker top usually). ***

First, I will tell you I read through most all the comments before tackling this project here: http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/how-to-turn-a-bar-of-soap-into-liquid-hand-soap/comment-page-5/#comment-150221  I also commented in that blog with the basics, but here is my more in depth tutorial/results.


*To make liquid soap, you need just a few things:

Measuring cups (1 cup size is the one I found most useful)
Bars of soap (the type matters BIG TIME, read for more info)
Water
Large pot (you will need it to hold 10+ cups)
Glycerin
Bottles (to put soap in)
Funnel

Here is what (in a nutshell) the previously mentioned blog said to do-

*Mix 1 cup of grated soap (they used Yardley brand) with 10 cups of water and one tablespoon of glycerin.  Heat in large pan over low/med heat until soap flakes are melted. Let cool and our into bottle.  Just like that.  Well, its not QUITE that easy from my experience.

So, being determined and reading a zillion comments and questions, I took all the information and decided to try myself.
I had what I needed except for glycerin.  It can be found in either the health care section of most stores.  I have heard near either vitamins or first aid.  It can also be found at craft stores.  I ended up getting a bottle for about $3 at JoAnn fabrics with the cake decorating supplies.  Basically it is an edible liquid that is derived from plants.  It helps add softness and elasticity to things.  If you can't find or don't have glycerin, it isn't an absolute must.


****Now, for the instructions and results of each type****

Neutrogena transparent facial bar: this is a glycerin based facial bar.
+What I did:
     Grated the whole bar of soap, about 1 1/2 cups, added it to 8 cups of water to the pan, heated on medium until melted.
+How it turned out:
     The soap was very watery even after letting it sit and even after refrigerating.  I will use this soap in the shower, so the runny-ness isn't of huge concern.
+Overall:
     Not a good/ Ideal soap.
+What I would do differently:
     If I were to make a glycerin based liquid, I would add only 2-3 cups of water to the bar.




Olay Luscious Embrace Moisturizing Body Bar: this is a hybrid regular soap and moisturizing soap.
+ What I did:
     Grated one bar about 1 1/2 cups of soap, added it to 10 cups of water and 1 TBS of glycerin and heated on medium until melted.  I then put it in the refrigerator to cool and help speed up the process of turning into a "gel".
+How it turned out:
     Soap stayed runny- looking like milk.  I added another full grated bar, still did not improve.
+Overall:
     Not a good/ Ideal soap.  However, I did use it in addition to other soaps, keep reading for more info.
+What I would do differently:
     Not use a "moisturizing bar" again.



Generic soap that came from a bath gift set: This was a hard soap that grated up like the aforementioned Parmesan cheese.
+What I did
     Grated the bar of soap, it ended up being just under 1 cup.  I added it to the pan with 5 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of glycerin.  I heated it until melted then transferred to refrigerator.  Within about 20 minutes, I had a thick gel.  I used a hand mixer and mixed it up, then added 2 cups of water and re-heated.  I repeated this process until I had about 10 cups of soap total.
+How it turned out:
      The consistency is somewhat snot-like.  I tried it out as soap on my hands.  It doesn't suds much, but seems to work well, just very drying.  I ended up adding about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil to the whole batch, which improved the drying.


+What I would do differently:
     As I don't know anything about this soap I used, it is hard to say for sure.




At this point, I gave in and bought a bar of Yardley soap and a 3 pack of Jergens brand soap at the Dollar Tree for $1 a piece.

Yardley Oatmeal and almond soap:  This was the one that was used in the previous blog, so I decided to use it.
+What I did:
     I grated 1/2 of the bar and added it to 4 cups of the Olay soap-water that didn't set properly.  I heated as with the others, I didn't add any glycerin.  After soap was melted, I put it in a cold water bath in the sink, it started to thicken.  I grated and added the remaining of the bar and added a couple more cups of the Olay soap water.  .I mixed with hand held mixer and it became a very nice thick, frothy "goop".  I continued to add a little water at a time, all together about 6 cups.
+How it turned out:
     I could have added more water and had it be a more runny soap, but the consistency was that of a nice whipped frosting, thick and creamy, not snotty like the prior soap.  It smells great and I decided to keep it thick and use it as a body wash as it had the added moisturizers.  This combination also doesn't seem to produce suds.
+Overall:
    Wonderful as a body wash!  Would probably not be ideal as a regular hand soap.
+What I would do differently:
    I think this combination is great for body wash.  In the future, I think I will use these same soaps again, using 1/2 bar of Olay and 1 bar of Yardley and kind of playing with the mixture to find a good consistent formula.
No photos of this one, as I was in a rush.

Hand made natural oil based soap: 2 types and 2 results
I had one bar of olive oil based soap, and another with a few different oils.  Both are very similar to the glycerin soap as far as melting and consistency.  I processed them both differently and got totally different results.  The olive oil soap was not originally a soap that produced suds, while the other produced some.

+What I did:
    The olive oil soap I grated (a little over one cup) and added about 5 cups of water and melted, stirring frequently.
     The other oil soap I grated (about 1 1/2 cups) and added just 2 cups of water and melted.  This soap didn't seem to want to fully melt.  I took it off the heat and  looked something like honey with lumps.  I used my hand mixer with an egg whisk attachment and mixed.
+How it turned out:
     The olive oil soap was more or less useless as it didn't seem to thicken at all.
     The other oil soap turned out alright. While mixing, the lumps dissipated and the mixture became opaque and frothy.  It wasn't a thick consistency, but more like most store bought liquid soaps.
+Overall:
     Soaps of this nature (oil based and probably glycerin) can be turned into liquid, but do not make as much and used very little added liquid.  Making the soap this way seems to work pretty good.
+What I would do differently:
     I would use only 1 bar of soap and 2 cups of water, adding more as needed for this type of soap.

***MUST read tips and suggestions***


+Do not turn your heat up past medium.  It is tempting to get it to melt quicker, but soap that is especially sudsy will start to bubble up and keep foaming.  If it happens, remove from heat.
+Stir occasionally while soap it on the stove, make sure all chunks are melted.
+As soap sets, some will be thick and gel like, while other parts will be liquid.  Mix first with a spoon, this solves most of the problem, if still not consistent, use hand mixer.
+Avoid over mixing (hand mixer) soaps that are extra foamy, it will create too much foam and you won't be very productive on getting lumps out.
+Wait for any mixture to fully cool before putting into bottles, as the consistency changes as it sets.
+Grate or chop soap first, it will melt faster and easier
+Some soap doesn't need added glycerin.  You can try without first, add if soap isn't smooth enough.  You could also use olive oil.
+Start with less water at first and add more as needed to create desired consistency.
+Make sure to have enough containers on hand for your soaps and label them.  Some look good enough to eat!