Homemade bucket washing maching

That's right you did read that correctly... I'm one of the weird people that enjoys washing clothes by hand :) 

I bought a 32 gallon trash can for $12.88 and a new plunger for about $3. I drilled a bunch of holes in the plunger (so it won't get super sudsy) and that's it! I need to get a longer handle from Lowes or Home Depot but I haven't had the time.

Our friend was graciously allowing us to use her washer and dryer once a week but we found that we needed to wash clothes more often than that.

I had seen the small homemade ones people will use for camping, with a 5 gallon bucket but I needed something that could do a larger load. So hence, the trash can! :) 

And I must say it works great!!! Now, growing up we used to hang up our towels and swim clothes outside on the line after swimming and they were always SO stiff when they had fully dried :/ so I looked up online what caused them to be so stiff. Apparently if all the product (i.e.: detergent, fabric softener, chlorine) wasn't rinsed out, it would dry stiff. Also if you didn't ring out enough water that would also cause it.

I've been using homemade laundry detergent for a while now, (5gal buckets worth for .97 cents!!!) and I love it! Works great as a spot treatment too :) and I've also used vinegar as a fabric softener. Works wonderful! And before you ask, no, the clothes don't smell like vinegar after they're dry :) it helps keep everything super soft and absorbent :)

I've found that I have to do socks and underwear separately cause there's just more junk on socks and chonies are a bit more delicate then other clothes as well. I also strung a line inside our shower back and forth 3 times with those screw in loop hooks (I doubt that's what they're called lol :) so our chonies wouldn't be flapping in the breeze for all to see :)

To start off, you start filling up your bucket 1/3-1/2 way full (depending on the size of your load) of water and add in your detergent. Then add in your clothes. The first load I did was a bit ambitious and I did too large of a load :/ so my advice is, to do 2 smaller loads rather than one ginormous load! But hey if you have stronger arms and are up for a challenge, than by all means, go for it! :)

You will more than likely have to rinse twice. That's what my experience had been. You don't put the vinegar In until the last rinse. 

You will plunge the plunger up and down and swirl for a few minutes. It's kinda cool/gross to see how dirty the water gets :/ once you're satisfied that you've plunged enough (or your arms give out, either one) you will dump the bucket on its side and get as much water out as you can without ringing out the clothes or losing them all over the grass. Then tip it back up and fill to the same level as the first time. Plunge around until the water is clear or there are no more suds, or if you feel you need to do a second rinse. I usually always do a second rinse cause the water isn't quite clear yet. Don't forget to add the vinegar on the last rinse!

Dump the rinse water and start ringing out your clothes. Be sure to snap the towels and shirts as you hang them up to help get rid of excess water as well as get rid of a lot of the wrinkles.

If you hang up the tees shirts upside down they dry a little more "wrinkle free" and don't get this weird "shoulder nipples" from the clothes pins. And dress shirts and such, I hang on hangers right on the line!  So when they're dry I just hang them straight into the closet! Saves a step :) if you find your hangers fly off the line in windy situations, you can put a medium or large binder clip on the line with the little arm thingies pointing down and they are the perfect size for hangers! That also spaces them out a touch so they won't be too close together while they're drying :)

I used a swing set to hang my lines on. 2 around the top and 2 about half way down. I also made an apron to hold all my clothesline so I wouldn't have to walk back over to the bucket :)

It's cute fabric and it holds everything perfectly :) so that's my current washing situation :) and I must say its a sense of accomplishment when you bring in a load if freshly line dries clothes that smell divine and are so clean! I'm enjoying the sun and the birds and the outside time :) my Buddy enjoys it too :) he just sits there and lays in the sun :)

Hope you enjoyed my laundry routine :) if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below! :) 

Have a fantabulous day!

Diy Gel Manicure for a fraction of the cost!

Thats right you heard me!

A Gel Manicure That lasts at least 6 days!(Im still in the process so we'll see how long it will actually last!

I got a professional Gel Manicure in California a few months ago and I loved it! It lasted 8 days on me which is really good! My manicures usually only last a day or 2 at the most!

I had read a lot on Gel Manicures and wanted to try them out :) I researched the pros and cons and thought I'd give it a try! So I found a brand (Nailene) that had a diy uv gel manicure set. I searched everywhere for it! And while I was in Cali I found it in their Walmart! I didn't have the money at the time so I waited til I got home (MI) and when I saved up the $15 I went to our local Walmart and they didn't have it!!!! I searched at all the drug stores, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, all of them! Even several different Walmarts! Unfortunately there were none to be found :(

I suppose I could've just ordered it online, but I had my mom buy it and send it to me (I repaid her of course!) And I tried it! It was trial and error but I figured out the way that works best for my nails and life style :) I couldn't use it just a base coat, because it pealed really bad. But If you put on your regular polish and let it dry almost completely, then add the gel topcoat, it worked marvelously! If you don'd let the regular polish dry almost completely, it will wrinkle under the gel. I'm not really sure why....

This Manicure has lasted 6 days without a single chip! That's really good for me! My manicures usually only last a day or 2 at best! Even professional ones! And as a bonus, they don't destroy your nails!!!!

You do have to use 100% acetone to remove them, but thats a minor con :)


Next I will be trying the "Gelish" brand of uv gel nail polish (the brand salons use) and see if there is much of a difference between the Nailene brand and the Gelish brand :) I bought it from this seller on ebay. Ill be sure to keep ya posted!

Btw, I did buy a uv lamp on ebay from this seller. I am very pleased with it and it has a timer button that automatically turns off the uv lamp so you don't have to stare at the clock :) it has a 2 min setting and a 3 min setting.

Anyway, have a fantabulous day!

Personalized wedding plates

I have a friend getting married in 2 days! How exciting! And I wanted to something special for them and I still wanted to be personal, without going super expensive!

So I decided to make a personalized plate with their names!

Tada!!!!

 

It's not as pretty as I wanted, (I'm a perfectionist, as I've mentioned before)

But I still love it! :)

But then I wanted to wrap it pretty, but didn't have a cute box, or cardboard to make one, and I didn't know what I was gonna do! O dear!

So I found some candy cane striped paper and cut a thin strip, wrapped some lace, and tied it all together with a white ribbon! :) What'd ya think?!

 

 I actually like how it turned out! :) You can't see the names under the paper, but that's ok :) I still need to make a little tag so they know who it's from and all that good stuff!

I ended up liking it so much I made one for us! Except I just used our Last Initial :)

Pretty right? LOVED how it turned out! :)

BTW, if your wondering how to do it, she gives an excellent tutorial!

I also did our name on a glass baking dish, but I'll show how to do that later! :)

Have a fantabulous day!

How to only have to buy fabric softner sheets once for 2 whole year!

 ya you read that right!

My mom used to do this when we were little and it would help stretch the dryer sheets to last longer!

With a family of 6, mom was always finding ways to save money!

It's pretty simple actually :)

we buy a box of 160 sheets for like $4 and....

Just cut them in half! then you have 320!!! and I've never had a load come out all stat-icy yet!

So it does work!

So if you do 2 loads a week for a year (104) you'll have plenty! If you do 3 loads (156) You still have plenty! Now I know you're probably thinking *If I just buy one with 160 sheets I won't have to buy one for a year!* But who doesn't love to save money?! 

Am I the only one? Well I don't think so! lol :) But do whatever you want! lol :)

Or you could buy the box with 80 sheets and cut it in half and have 160! It's totally up to you! :) I just love not having to buy them! :)

And it does work on large loads too! I hate doing laundry so I have a habit of trying to get everything in only 2 loads (my hubby and I) and I usually fill my machines up pretty full!

Thank the sweet Lord that we have a heavy duty washer and dryer for maximum capacity! :)

We were blessed to be able to get them both for $100! and we also got a fridge for $50!

So all our major appliances we got for $50 each! Pretty sure we've been blessed big time!

We'll have been married for 2 years in September! :) And I just had to buy more sheets today... Pretty awesome if I don't say so myself! :)

Anyway! Have a fantabulous day!

Homemade bagels :)

I'm in the process of trying my hand at homemade bagels! :) I'm thinking I should have made the bagel hole a little smaller... Maybe I'll make a ball next time and then just poke or cut a hole in it! Lol :)

Lemme know what you guys do!

We've officially moved!!!!

Sorry I've been so absent! We've been busily working trying to get our new house all fixed up so we could move in :) I'll be sure to show you pictures as we go :)

Anyway have a great day and well talk later!

Diy Off Brand Swiffer Mop Pads (Libman)

Well I've been experimenting with making some pads for my mop :) its like a Swiffer mop but a different brand... Libman is the name :)

I've been crocheting some and I even have a friend who's buying some for her swiffer mop :) (the dimensions are different but same idea :)

So wanna make some?

*Start with a slip stitch and chain 50.
*DC in the second chain from hook and *DC across.
*Faux DC (if you dot know how to do a faux double crochet go to YouTube and look it up) and DC across.
(for swiffer mops do 8 rows)
(for Libman mops do 10 rows)

Now you might have noticed its much longer than the mop head. That's on purpose! :) you're gonna center the mop head in the middle of your mop pad and fold over the edges. It'll make a little pocket on each side :)

Starting with the end of the row where your last DC was, SC through BOTH layers and continue across the length of the mop pastille you get to the next "pocket" SC through both layers til edge.

Now in the last stitch SC 3 times and across the back and up the other side same as the other side.

You'll have to finish the first pocket til you come to your first SC. Cut yarn, pull through, and weave in ends :) Tada!

I'll do a full picture tutorial later :)

But for now have a fantabulous day!