It looks like our little family will be moving very soon. For the past 2 years we have been fortunate enough to live in a house that belongs to a local church. It is lovingly referred to as the "mission house" and has been home to many a missionary, pastor, youth pastor, etc. over the last 20 years. Living in the mission house has been a tremendous blessing to Daniel and I as we settled back in town and started Vigilant Hope and began working at LifePoint. I will always have a special place in my heart for the little house. After all, it's where we brought our first baby home to live. But our time has come to venture out and find a place of our own. We are not sure where we will land... but this I am confident... it will be wonderful.
 
A lot of thought has gone into the whole process. What part of town do we want to live? Is it too early to think about school districts? How many bedrooms do we need? Should we look for a house that is big and something we'd grow in to... or just something that will work for the next few years? It's overwhelming really... and exciting... and stressful.

This is what we've settled on... We want to be where God wants us. No where else.

So, today finds us waiting as patiently as we can (the suspense is killing me if we're being honest!) to hear back from our real estate agent. We put in an offer on a house that we just LOVE. It seems perfect for our little family. However, we haven't prayed that God would give us the house. We've prayed (and continue to pray) that he puts us where he wants us. That means, if they don't accept our offer we walk away knowing that God has something even better for us. So while I wait and pace around the mission house I'll rest in the knowledge that God already knows where we're gonna be resting our heads in a couple months. And maybe I'll start packing some boxes.

I know I run the risk of sounding like a free spirit, granola eating, bathing optional, all you need is love type (what with the previous post being about cloth diapers and all)... but I'm doing it anyway. I'm going to talk about making my own laundry detergent.  

I like to save money. I like to make things. The idea of making my own laundry detergent just seems like a natural progression, right? And I was pleased to discover that making your own detergent really isn't that hard and it is more affordable than store bough stuff. Unless you're one of those extreme couponers that gets 70 bottles of Tide for free because you spend 40 hours a week clipping coupons and figuring out how you can store the 200 free spicy brown mustard's you just scored. I digress.

Join me on this magical adventure of detergent making. Here are the things you'll need...

1 bar "Fels Naptha" soap bar

2 cups Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 cup Borax 

4 cups hot tap water

A 5 gallon bucket (make sure to buy a lid for it too)

 To get started...
-Grate the entire soap bar. Pour grated soap and 4 cups hot tap water into pot and place on stove over medium heat. Stir continually until melted. 

- Fill 5 gallon bucket up halfway with more tap water and add the melted soap, washing soda and borax. Stir until everything is well combined and dissolved.

 -Finish filling the bucket full of tap water and stir.

-Cover with lid and let thicken and congeal overnight.

-In the morning stir vigorously until combined. Then fill a 1 gallon jug or pitcher 1/2 to 3/4 full with the detergent. Add tap water to fill to the top. Shake well. Store remaining (undiluted detergent) out of the way until next time you need a refill.

-Shake well before each use. Use 1 to 2 cups for each full load.

The only place I could find all the soap stuff in my town was Harris Teeter. All together it cost about $7. I got my bucket at Home Depot for $3. For $10 you get between 7 and 10 gallons of laundry detergent. I call that a win. AND... the next time you make detergent you will only have to buy the Fels Naptha soap bar ($2ish) because you'll have left overs of everything else. Hooray! 

I use this homemade detergent mainly on my towels, bed sheets and jeans. For baby clothes and our nicer shirts I use store bough stuff. The homemade detergent doesn't get stains out very well. However, I've been told a scoop of Oxi Clean along with the homemade detergent works well. Also, if you would like a fresh sent (the homemade detergent is unscented) add a scented fabric softener sheet when you throw your load in the dryer.

And that's it. :)