Before you throw that pickle jar away think twice! There are so many uses for jars around the house. You can use them to store cotton balls, q-tips, crayons, pencils, hair bands, etc. You get the point. But lately I began to find even more items to store in jars; salt, baking soda, homemade cleaning supplies! I love that they are clear so I can see what is inside and how much is left. I also like that I am keeping them from the landfill, this is just another form of recycling. Most of my jars are from jelly, pickles, etc. I just wash them out and clean the label off. In most cases the label is only attached in one small spot on the jar. This sticky spot can be removed with peanut butter or googone spray (I have also heard that vinegar works but I have not tried that yet, let me know if it works). Homemade Laundry Detergent1 bar grated ZOTE soap (I grate it by hand with a cheese grater. A food processor would also work) 1 1/2 cup Borax 1 1/2 cup Arm&Hammer Super Washing Soda (do not confuse with Baking Soda!!) Mix all ingredients in an jar (I bought this one at Walmart for $5). You can use 1 or 2 tablespoons per load. If you are washing in cold water it is best to dissolve the soap first. I do this by running the hot water just long enough to dissolve and switching it to cold. Do you have a HE Washing Machine? From everything I have read this detergent works well in your machine because it is very low sudsing. However you may want to research for yourself. I know you do not want to mess up your machine! There are many sites out there with recipes for homemade detergent. This was the site, DIY Natural, I guess I found first and then I modified the recipe slightly. *LAUNDRY TIP* Did you know you can use vinegar as a fabric softener and odor remover. Just put a cup of vinegar in your rinse dispenser. Homemade Cleaning Cleaning Powder: 2 cups of Borax 1 cup of Arm&Hammer Super Washing Soda 1/2 cup Baking Soda I mixed all ingredients and put in a Mason jar... I think this one used to have honey it it. I had researched cleaning powders and there were so many different recipes out there. Same ingredients just different mixtures. So this was the mix I came up with. Each of these ingredients can be used separately for the same uses. My main purpose for this mix was for scrubbing the toilets. Vinegar: I do not make my own vinegar... I don't have a clue how to! But you can buy vinegar super cheap and it can be used for SO many things around the house. I keep some in the kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms. Google "uses for vinegar" and you will see why. My main uses are for fabric softener/odor remover in laundry, mix it with my cleaning powder to scour sinks, counters, toilets, and tubs. My laundry room vinegar is in the gallon jug I bought it in... that will last me a couple months. My bathroom vinegar is in my quickly etched Yohoo! bottle. *VINEGAR TIP* I learned this from my son, who learned it in his ALPHA class. Did you know you can put vinegar on a bee sting, mosquito bite, or poison ivy rash! It is supposed to help stop the itching. I used it on my 6 year old son. He said it stung just a little but then the itching was gone :) Random Jars I saw a really cool jar on a Pineterest link for Thrifty Fun where someone had cut the top off of the cardboard container salt comes in. They put it in the ring lid of a mason jar. This got me started in the kitchen! My baking soda, salt, and homemade grill seasoning are all in jars now. All of my birthday candles and food coloring were crammed in one little box that did not work well in the spice cabinet. Now they fit and look so much better! The last problem we had was the salt for our neti pots. It was in the cardboard canister from the store. We keep it in the bathroom and I could tell that the moisture was starting to effect the salt. So I etched a small jelly jar and now our neti pot salt will stay nice and fresh! (If you or someone in your family suffers from indoor or outdoor allergies you really should look into a neti pot. They are amazing!)
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DIYMy favorite part about being creative is inexpensive Do-It-Yourself projects. These are either ideas I came up with or inspiration was found from another crafter's blog. If I found it on a blog I would like to give credit where credit is due and hope that you would do the same! Enjoy browsing and I hope you find some thrifty inspiration here. Categories
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