DIMDS (aka DIY)

* Do it my damn self.

I dream of being an Extreme Couponer but when I see the products that most of those folks purchase and stockpile, I can't even picture it. I mean, who needs 172 bags of croutons? But I TOTALLY covet the toilet paper stash so I continue to strive to make that happen. I just think I'd sleep better at night knowing I had a years' worth of loo rolls in the basement...

So anyway, the other night a friend of mine posted a thrifty DIY project to save money on dishwashing detergent. I had seen some of my hippie-ish friends making laundry soap last year and I did not partake, but the dishwasher detergent project piqued my interest because we are running low on Cascade and I had all but one ingredient listed for the project on hand. Plus, I haven't found a detergent that really does the job. That could be related to someone not rinsing the dishes well or loading the dishwasher wrong. (I'm not talking about the hubs!)

I tried to locate washing soda at Target and Sprouts to no avail, and I was not interested in hitting yet another store because I'd been at the mall with my 7th grader for way too long prior to going Target, the skating rink and then Sprouts. I was getting kinda hangry. I figured I could google how to turn baking soda into washing soda whilst eating my dinner.

Turns out I could, with the help of my oven. All I had to do was bake the soda for 45 minutes or so at around 400 degrees et voila! I did that and wondered if I should be wearing a respirator when I was stirring the partially baked baking soda around.

Ingredients

Fizzy Reaction

Looks a bit like butter pats...

So far the jury is out on the effectiveness of the home made detergent. We were having an issue with spotty dishes because we ran out of rinse agent and I decided to try plain vinegar.  I'm thinking that maybe I needed to clean the dishwasher with white vinegar to resolve.

I didn't calculate the cost for me to make this detergent, but the fact that I know how to make dishwasher detergent is inspiring me to learn to do more. I am not only interested in savings but being more MacGyver-like in taking care of the family and home.

Our Haul

Emi, Aubri and I had a short window of time this morning to hit a few local garage sales and we were richly rewarded for our efforts. We hit 3 sales within an hour and spent less than $20. This is some of what we hauled home:

Life is Good diner mug $1

Wooden duck $1

(not pictured, Breezy's 50 cent watering can ; J.Jill sweater, chocolate brown Lacoste thermal shirt and red/white striped Banana Republic top all three for $3) 

Made in PI, this $1 shirt matches my $1.50 thrift store OU capris

Wooden Cafe Table with 2 chairs for $10

I have been looking for a table set like this for a long time, something to add into the sun room for when we have friends and family over, another conversation area...like a coffeehouse...or The Mont! Not sure if I should paint or condition and reseal these steals!

Old Lawn Chair for $1

Will probably paint this chair....

Emi got a Nerf gun for 25 cents and Aubri got a thermal lunch bag for 25 cents also... not a bad morning at all!

Tea and China

When we got married (So Long Ago) we registered for 10-12 place settings of Ralph Lauren's "Megan" pattern china. We received 5 place settings and I never got around to getting more before they discontinued our pattern.  That does not keep me awake at night because we have white everyday dishes and we've added plain white plates bought from the thrift store or garage sales to use when we have a bigger group over for dinner.

So our nice china sat in boxes for years - Dallas condo, Norman apt and then the whole tenure of our Country Living, we're talking 9.5 yrs in toto -until we moved into this house a few years back. I finally unboxed the china and put it into the built-in china cabinet (*which I love*). Occasionally Emi and I would use the cups and saucers for tea. Most of the time they were on display...sort of...you can't really see anything but wine, beer and champagne glasses in this picture.

But last year I decided I wanted to use the "good dishes" more often so I took a cup and saucer to work.

Now I use them almost daily and it brightens my day just a little and reminds me of when we were married so many years ago...

Memorial Recap

First things first:the turtle came back and he was curious about the chickens. He tried to get into their run...Grass is greener?



Emi and I were able to hit up a few of the local garage sales and snagged a few good deals:

• We got David a metal toolbox for $2. He's informed me that he wants to paint it blue! That's my boy! We want to pick up real tools for him to add to his toolbox over the years...no more stinkin' plastic tools!

• I got a baby aqua trench coat for $1! The trench coat matches a cool dress I got from Athleta a few years ago... don'tcha think? Not a clear or good picture, but you get the idea. Now I just need some cute shoes...

• Emi bought a mini Christmas tree (the perfect size for our unmatched earring project) for 25 cents!

• And I got a replacement picnic blanket for $1. (I left my cool maroon/star zip up blanket at the soccer fields a couple of seasons ago) (no picture yet as I've already washed it and thrown it in the back of the Disco)

I updated (finally!) my high school alumni website with a few items that were pending. And I also back posted some blog entries from 2005-2007 that were stored in the confines of my CoffeeCup blogging software. Along those lines I found some old lake party pictures and ski trip photos (Keystone 2007) that were embedded into web pages on my site and posted them to my flickr. Lots of sorting and publishing but I wanted to do that for completeness.

We opened up the pool this weekend and hosted a Memorial Day gathering for family and friends. It was a nice, relaxing day full of swimming and cheese balls!