On penny pinching and laundry...

Just when I think I have the budget down to the bare bones...sometimes I need to make more cuts. But where? Sometimes it gets a little stressful agonizing over numbers.

Of course that darn electric bill doesn't help any, average of $3.48/day last September...average of $5.00/day this September. If only there were room here for a windmill.

So where do we cut now? How about in the laundry room? I just did that. In June I switched to a new laundry soap called Ecovantage, one small container was $40, but lasted 2 days short of 4 months. Average monthly cost of $10. I don't keep track of how many loads of laundry I do per day/week/month. I would average about eight to ten per week. Let's say 10, times 4.3 (average weeks/month. 43 loads/month times 4 months, 172 loads for $40. 23cents per load. Not bad, and it did a good job of getting both nasty farm clothes and less than desirable baby diapers clean.

I also switched to using Vinegar in the rinse cycle in place of fabric softener. That costs about $2/month. Huge savings there and the clothes do not smell like vinegar:)

So I started researching alternatives, because there are always alternatives. I've seen the episode where the Duggars made their own laundry soap and this is what I stumbled upon when I started researching. As I told Wayne, they have 19 children that always look clean, it's worth a shot. So off I went to gather the ingredients. Borax (I had some, but couldn't remember how much was left/how much I needed), Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and a bar of Fels Naptha soap. I figured I would check Walmart first and there they were, all lined up next to each other. I must not be the only one in Saratoga County embarking on this adventure. The total spent on these products was $6.50. I repurposed the cat food 5 gallon pail in my house (we're almost out of cat food anyway). I actually made the whole thing while on the phone with my mom, super simple to do. Grate the Fels Naptha--in the food processor, it looked like neon cheddar:) melt that in 4c water on the stove then mix with more water and the powders. If I spend $4 more I can make 4 more batches of this. Which would produce 320 washes per batch. or 1600 washes for $10.50 or 6/10 of one cent per load!!! Holy smokes!

That's great, but does it work? Indeed it does. The diapers are not only clean, but also a lot softer. They are a fleece material inside so this can be attributed to a better rinse/less build up of cleaners. They are also a bit brighter. Wayne brought home, on his person, a really gross pair of pants the other day (he was moving calves...) guess what? they came out clean...well it didn't remove old grease stains, but the pants were clean. As for the smell, they smell clean without being over-perfumed. We're not dealing with any additives, dyes or perfumes. Making it safe for both sensitive skin as well as cloth diaper friendly.

In related news...I love cloth diapers. I'm so glad to not be shelling out $50/month, that I don't have, on diapers (based on sale/coupon prices). Not to mention these are so soft, so cozy, so simple.

and since I'm in cheapista mode...baby food!

Did you know that $1.46 worth of fresh bananas is the equivalent of $10.46 worth of baby food bananas! OMG!!!! Outrageous. If I didn't already have a food processor, do you realize how quick it would be paid for? (best Christmas present ever) I'd go broke in a big hurry feeding this kiddo!:)

Oh, and back to that electric bill. Did you know you have a choice of suppliers in NY? (and some other states also) I researched, we're with the cheapest one...of course:) Worth the investigation however.