Making Laundry Soap and saving dough

Have you ever thought about how much you spend of laundry soap?  I have seen so many things on www.pinterest.com about making you own and so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Here is what you will need:
Borax- One Box
Baking Soda (4lbs)
Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda - One Box (This was tricky to find.  I found it at Kroger)
Biz Stain Release and Laundry Boost (5 lbs box)
2 bars Laundry Washing Soap (Also tricky to find, but Kroger had it)
Gain Fabric freshener for a nice smell (You can pick whatever brand and smell you like.)  

Step One:  Grate the 2 bars of washing soap.  If you use the finest option, then it will make it mix in better. 

Step Two:  Mix all the ingredients together in a large container. 

Step Three: Put it in a container that will work for your laundry room.  I used a nice Tupperware container I had that is for potatoes and onions in the pantry.  It works great!

Step Four:  Wash some laundry!!!!  You will use about 1/4 to 1/3 cup depending on your washer size.  It smells so nice!!!!!!!

Price Breakdown:
Borax $6.00
Baking Soda $2.24
A&H Washing Soda $3.09
Biz $5.97
Washing Soap $2.58
Gain$6.97
Total: $26.85   

WOW!!!!  This will last us about 6 months, but smaller families can get a year out of it!!!!!!

Meal Planning fun.....Maybe not tons of fun, but good for your family.

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping....Where do you shop for the best deals and keeping it healthy for your family?  Today I am working on starting meal planning and sticking to it.  Going out to eat and to the store over and over can get very expensive.  With a growing family like mine, we need to plan our meals and snacks so that we can stick to our budget. 

One of my favorite blogs is Hello Cuteness!  She has free printables to offer that help with meal planning.  They are so stinking cute and fun to look at while planning my meals. 
Printable Grocery List and Meal Planning Calendar can be found here:
http://hellocuteness.com/freebies/free-printables/

Don't forget your large utility totes from Thirty-One to put all your groceries in!  If you shop at Aldi's then you will have to pay for bags if you do not take them along with you.