Make Me or Buy Me Monday: Laundry Detergent

As I'm about to make another round of laundry soap, this post seems especially appropriate today. Happy laundry soap to you!

Laundry Detergent: Buy Me?

Sneaking around on Amazon, I searched specifically for liquid, non-toxic, fragrance free laundry detergent for sensitive skin. Granted, it is quite a mouthful, but I was trying to find something to compare to my laundry detergent. The only product fulfilling these requirements were the NaturOli EXTREME 18X Soap Nuts Liquid Laundry Detergent (also a household cleaner).

Personally, I've never tried this product, but I've heard rave reviews. Currently available for $16.95 for an 8-ounce bottle, it evidently requires just one or two squirts per load to get your clothes squeaky clean. So, unlike most commercial laundry detergents, it is mostly product rather than mostly water. Each bottle is supposed to do 96 loads.

Laundry Detergent: Make Me?

It's easy. If I can do it, you can too. But, it does take some time and a bit of energy. My laundry detergent recipe is non-toxic, eco-friendly, and safe to use for children. Plus, if anyone is going to react to it, it's going to be me. Look Mom, no reactions!

My homemade laundry soap is incredibly cheap too, averaging out to around 50 cents per gallon for us without buying the ingredients on sale. It requires maybe one or two hours of your time for every ten gallons of detergent you go through, and doesn't leave your friends in a chemical-induced stupor every time you walk by them.

Laundry Detergent: The Take Home

Now that my brain hurts from the math, I figured out the sheer numbers in terms of cost per load:

• NaturOli Soap Nuts: 18 cents per load
• My laundry soap: Less than 1 cent per load

I checked the math, and while I could be experiencing "stupid fog," I don't believe I made a mistake. Granted, the time required to make the laundry detergent should be taken into account, but knowing exactly what is in a potentially product certainly gives me peace of mind.

So, which is it for you? Make Me or Buy Me?

More Priorities

Don't you think this blog is pretty? No? Neither do I. It looks incredibly awful and I will be the first to admit it. But right now... it's just not a priority.

The result of a search for "virtuous woman." Hehehe!

In all honesty, I must admit that while I do want to help people, it's stinking hard to keep yourself  accountable when all you want to do is take a Benadryl and sleep... all the time. But is that what the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs would do? Definitely not! While Christ is of course my ultimate example and strength, it certainly helps to have a female role model. (But I bet she didn't have fibromyalgia and more additional diagnoses than she can count!)

So, while I hope eventually others gain hope and inspiration and all sorts of other warm fuzzies from this blog, right now I need some accountability- and this seems like the best option.

Two days into the routine and it's going OK, aside from the fact that the routines were not followed either day! However, the general routine was indeed followed, and considering that I'm still weak from some unknown illness, that's pretty good!

Repetitive movement = ow!

Yesterday morning two rows of the garden were planted (yay!) and today I did some much-needed laundry, while still getting some work done- yet another example of how anyone with fibro has to CONSTANTLY prioritize. (Yes, I needed clean clothes.)

Granted, this can make some relationships difficult. However, anyone who truly loves and cares for myself and my husband refuses to take cancellations personally and understands that this is simply how life is. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that family members and friends who we care for must essentially be "dumped." If someone makes you feel worse instead of better, they need to go. Fibro causes enough pain without stress- relationships that bring more negative into your life than positive will only make you feel worse.

I am again well aware that this post has gone far off topic, but this is what is on my heart today. Keep taking those baby steps!