Homemade Dryer Balls (Or Refurbishing the Ones That You Have)

The wool dryer balls that I purchased several years ago were in bad shape and no longer effective in cutting down on dryer time. 

My first instinct was to just throw them away and buy more, so I put them in the trash can that I keep near the dryer. I use it to put lint in that I clean from the dryer screen.

As I sat down at the computer to start looking for new dryer balls, and, with times being what they are, I wondered what instructions could be found online for making homemade dryer balls.

In exploring the possibilities I came across this site:

 

No-Cost Dryer Balls (A Back To Basics Lifestyle)

Instead of ordering new dryer balls I decided to make my own.

Instead of starting totally from scratch, I decided to retrieve and refurbish the dryer balls that I already had that were falling apart. 

This was the end result...

By inserting a falling-apart dryer ball inside of a first sock, then, twisting, and folding over, then inserting the whole thing inside of a second sock (turning inside-out, if necessary, to make them come out right), twisting, folding over, and whip-stitching the edge down, I got a whole new dryer ball and the old dryer ball just added extra weight, which should add to the savings even further.

I repeated the process with each of the other five dryer balls that I had retrieved from the trash and ended up with half a dozen newly refurbished dryer balls at no cost using items already on hand. 

That's a savings of $30.00 over dryer balls previously purchased and I'd say that's a win-win all the way around! 

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Five Minute Friday - Laundry

It's FRIDAY! That means it's time for another Five Minute Friday where, as our hostess and inspiration, Lisa-Jo Baker, puts it, we write "For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not." 

At least this is how it's supposed to be! The truth is, it's, literally, been months since I last participated in Five Minute Friday and that's sad, because I really enjoy it! It seems like life has been lived in such a whirlwind lately that I very seldom have time to do anything justice and today is no different. BUT when I saw Lisa Jo's prompt for today...laundry...I couldn't resist! A past post flashed in my mind and I thought, "Well, it might not be current, but it is definitely one of my own personal favorite posts from the past. So, why not? Why not share it again for others who might enjoy it?"

So, in hoping that it's okay to share, even though it's not from today (this post was written and originally posted on May 6, 2011), here goes...


 Today's topic is laundry. So...here...we...

Go!

Laundry Hung In The Early Morning

I know we've had this "Little House on the Prairie"/laundry discussion before, but having grown up on Laura Ingalls Wilder books and, now, after living on the tall-grass prairie, not all that far from where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived during her "Little House on the Prairie" time, I can't help it. There are just certain things that trigger a thought, or a quote, from one of Laura's books, and this was just such a morning.

When I went out to hang my towels, the morning sun was streaming in deep angles from the eastern sky spilling out across the lawn. Naturally, I was bare-footed and the grass was wet and cold as I made my way to the clothesline. Immediately, thoughts raced through my head..."dew", "wet", "chill", "grass", "clothes", "dry"..."Laura"!

My mind was filled with swirling thoughts of the Ingalls family living their lives on the prairie...Pa bringing water up from the creek for Ma to wash the family's clothes in, Ma washing the clothes in the tub and laying them out on the grasses to dry, Laura and Mary running barefoot through the prairie grasses...taking simple pleasure in God's magnificent creation...a meadowlark flitting up from the grasses in front of them , the song of the little yellow-breasted "Dickie-bird", the beautiful prairie flowers (Indian paintbrush, birds-foot violet, and prairie phlox are in bloom right now) and the jackrabbits with their long ears flopping as they bounded away over the blowing grasses.

How many of those simple pleasures I've experienced myself over the years since moving to the tall-grass prairies of Missouri!

After hanging out my laundry, I came in and looked these quotes up from a couple of Laura's books...

"In the mornings they ran through the dewy, chill grass that wet their feet and dabbled the hems of their dresses. They liked to splash their bare feet through the grass all strung with dewdrops..." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder from On The Banks Of Plum Creek

"How beautiful the prairie was in the spring! The blue cornflowers waved in the wind, meadowlarks flew singing up into the sky, and the dew sparkled on the grass. How cheerful it made everyone feel!"  ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie

Now, as the sun moves higher and the soft prairie winds begin to blow, it's time for me to get on with my day. I pray God's best over each and every one of you. I pray that each of you have a beautiful and a blessed day!

All My Love,
~Rebecca 

Laundry Later In The Day

 

Another "Little House on the Prairie" Laundry Day

Laundry Hung In The Early Morning

I know we've had this "Little House on the Prairie"/laundry discussion before, but having grown up on Laura Ingalls Wilder books and, now, after living on the tall-grass prairie, not all that far from where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived during her "Little House on the Prairie" time, I can't help it. There are just certain things that trigger a thought, or a quote, from one of Laura's books, and this was just such a morning.

When I went out to hang my towels, the morning sun was streaming in deep angles from the eastern sky spilling out across the lawn. Naturally, I was bare-footed and the grass was wet and cold as I made my way to the clothesline. Immediately, thoughts raced through my head..."dew", "wet", "chill", "grass", "clothes", "dry"..."Laura"!

My mind was filled with swirling thoughts of the Ingalls family living their lives on the prairie...Pa bringing water up from the creek for Ma to wash the family's clothes in, Ma washing the clothes in the tub and laying them out on the grasses to dry, Laura and Mary running barefoot through the prairie grasses...taking simple pleasure in God's magnificent creation...a meadowlark flitting up from the grasses in front of them , the song of the little yellow-breasted "Dickie-bird", the beautiful prairie flowers (Indian paintbrush, birds-foot violet, and prairie phlox are in bloom right now) and the jackrabbits with their long ears flopping as they bounded away over the blowing grasses.

How many of those simple pleasures I've experienced myself over the years since moving to the tall-grass prairies of Missouri!

After hanging out my laundry, I came in and looked these quotes up from a couple of Laura's books...



"In the mornings they ran through the dewy, chill grass that wet their feet and dabbled the hems of their dresses. They liked to splash their bare feet through the grass all strung with dewdrops..." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder from On The Banks Of Plum Creek



"How beautiful the prairie was in the spring! The blue cornflowers waved in the wind, meadowlarks flew singing up into the sky, and the dew sparkled on the grass. How cheerful it made everyone feel!"  ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie

Now, as the sun moves higher and the soft prairie winds begin to blow, it's time for me to get on with my day. I pray God's best over each and every one of you. I pray that each of you have a beautiful and a blessed day!

All My Love,
~Rebecca 

Laundry Later In The Morning

The Basics Of Homemade Cleaning Supplies

I've made my own homemade cleaning supplies for many years and have never regretted it. Occasionally, I have slipped back into the convenience of purchasing ready-made laundry detergent, but am never as satisfied with it as I am with my own homemade. Even though I have shared some of these recipes before, I thought I'd share my basic cleaning supply list of homemade formulas with you today...

ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
 Mix in a sprayer bottle:

1 T. ammonia
1 T. liquid laundry detergent
2 cups of water

This recipe costs virtually nothing to make and, in my opinion, works as well or better than the 409 All-Purpose Cleaner that I used for years at almost $2.50 a bottle! 

HOMEMADE GLASS CLEANER

Mix in a sprayer bottle:

1 cup rubbing alcohol

1 cup water

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon ammonia

This is the best glass cleaner I've ever used and it's streak-free!

HOMEMADE CARPET FRESHENER

1/2 cup of borax
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cloves and/or cinnamon (cloves help keep moths out of the closet too)

Or, if you've got pets, instead of the spices, use about 20-25 drops of sweet orange oil (I use the spices AND the orange oil), which is a natural flea repellent; be sure to mix in the oil into powder mixture thoroughly and never use directly onto your pets.

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP - LIQUID

1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap

½ cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

½ cup 20 Mule-Team Borax powder  

 

You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use ½ cup per load. 

(Note: The finished soap will not be a solid gel; it will be more of a watery gel. And the soap is a low sudsing soap. You won't see suds, but that's okay. Suds are not what cleans; it's the ingredients in the soap.) 

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP - POWDERED

2 cups finely grated Fels Naptha soap
1 cup 20 Mule-Team Borax
1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

Mix and store in a coffee can or what have you. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per load.

HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTENER

6 cups water
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups hair conditioner (the best I've found so far is Suave Ocean Breeze...Mmmmmm!)

Use as you would any softener (I use mine in my Downy ball). It won't leave a residue on your clothing or towels. 

Well, these are just a few of the homemade products that we use in our home. I find their cleaning ability equal, or superior, to what you would typically purchase at the local retail stores, and only the Lord knows for sure how much money we've saved over the years since switching to these products.

Happy Cleaning!

~Rebecca

FROZEN DRYER VENT THIS MORNING

Here in southwest Missouri, as with most of the rest of the country, we are in the deep-freeze this morning. The actual temperature as I write this is ELEVEN DEGREES BELOW ZERO Brrr! 

I had an interesting experience this morning. I threw some clothes in the dryer, set the timer, and let them run. A little while later I went back to check on them and discovered that they were still VERY wet. I also noticed at that point that the dryer smelled a little funny. I turned it back on and ran outside to peek around the corner. No steam! So, I came back in and started feeling the dryer vent hose. It was frozen solid! I ended up breaking the hose (it was so cold that it was brittle), and steam came pouring into the back porch...where now we have a HUGE cloud!

This was a new one on me and I can't help wondering...has anyone else out there ever had an experience like this?