I wish that I could have finished this for you before Christmas-- but I didn't actually finish the gifts until Christmas Eve! So, tuck this away in your "I need a gift quick" file & I hope you can use these ideas throughout the year! (And I actually started writing this on the 4th! Geez o Peez! I won't even begin to explain the house problems we have been having, that have kept me so busy...it's just gross)
One of the gifts I showed you were the Body & Hand Scrubs! I love these things! Here are my finished products; I really wound up with some yummy scents this time around! I painted the tops with chalkboard paint rather than stick labels on them-- that way when they are empty, they can be re-purposed!
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| Lemon Drop, Vanilla Brown Sugar, Orange Coffee, Coffee, & Banana Foster's!! |
Everyone on my list also got the Chalkboards I made in A "Homemade Christmas" Part IV.
Now, onto the things that I didn't get to tell you about!! This Christmas I gave everyone "Green" Cleaning Baskets! My husband & some of my family like to make fun of me "saving the environment" or being "crunchy"... but I'm ok with that. And I rather like the adjective "Crunchy!" So BAH, to them. In addition to being kinder to Mother Earth & my family's health... these products are WAY cheaper! So, I'm saving money right along with the environment! Hehehe. Any who, my pregnancy brain attributed to me forgetting to take as many pictures as I would like to include with this; such as the FINISHED PRODUCT...DOH! I will just have to give you what I have... imagine the rest.
The first thing I included in my baskets was homemade laundry soap. Super easy to make & so much cheaper than the store bought stuff. There are tons of recipes out there on the net. The one I use is plain & simple...
-1c. Borax
-1c. Washing soda
-2c. Soap flakes (sans suds)
-Essential Oil (optional)
So here are my supplies...
-Borax $3.99 (and yes, if you eat it, it's toxic...otherwise it is completely safe to use)
-Washing Soda $2.99
These are both BIG boxes & will make a ton of detergent.
-Yardly Soap $1.49 (I like Yardly because it already has essential oil in it & smells great; but you can use Fels Naptha, Ivory, etc. I think you can get an 8 pack of Ivory for under $3. You will also see in the pictures "orange soap." This was an cold pressed, organic bar I got for free & wanted to try out.)
Ok, so first thing you do is grate the soap. I have a big ol' plastic bowl & a grater from the $1Tree that I use just for "making" stuff. The hard soaps grate REALLY easily. I was done with the Yardly in just a few minutes. The cold pressed, softer soap is a little bit more of a challenge. It kept melting on me & clogging up the grater. So, I finally put it in the freezer for 5 minutes & tried again...much easier. But I had to do this a few times. The smell of the soap is amazing, so I pressed on! 
Next thing you do is mix it all together...find a nice container to put it in & you're done! I've had a lot of luck finding glass containers (I try not to use plastic ones) at the $1tree. The ones in the picture above had perfect little squares on each side that I painted with my favorite chalkboard paint! (Then you can write a little note on them too!) But you can really put it in anything...even you're old laundry soap box. As you will see in the picture of my own "counter" box, I keep it in a metal canister. You know the ones that sit on your counter & don't really have anything in them--but everyone has a set? Yea, those. =) If you are giving this as a gift, don't forget to attach a little note letting people know that this detergent is safe to use in HE washing machine & front loaders. Also, with directions to use about 1 Tablespoon per load & to add 1/2c. white vinegar to the rinse cycle. This detergent smells great going in, but will leave no lasting scent on clothing. So, if you like your clothes to "smell" then you can put some essential oil on a piece of felt or cloth & throw it in the dryer. Make sure the oil is dry or it will leave spots on your clothes... I learned this the hard way =(. Otherwise, just enjoy the chemical freeness that your clothes now have!
The next two things in the basket were a shaker (you can get S&P shakers 2/$1, that are glass at the $1Tree) filled with baking soda & a nice fat lemon. Yes, I did say lemon...as in the ones that grow on trees. I give instructions to sprinkle the baking soda in sinks, stove tops, bathtubs, showers, etc. Then cut the lemon in half & scrub! I use this all the time to clean pretty much everything. DO NOT use this on granite. Lemon juice & vinegar both, are far to acidic to use on granite.
The next item, was an aluminum spray bottle containing a disinfecting spray. Guess where I got the bottle? Yupp, $1Tree. Again, super easy to make-- equal parts distilled water & isopropal alcohol. I add a few drops of essential oil for a nice scent too. This is safe on all surfaces. As soon as it dries, the alcohol smell just disappears.
I think that about wraps it up for my baskets... but at this point I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, so I might have missed something. There are some other things that I have been making, that I want to share with you as well-- hopefully later today, but I make no promises! =)
The next item, was an aluminum spray bottle containing a disinfecting spray. Guess where I got the bottle? Yupp, $1Tree. Again, super easy to make-- equal parts distilled water & isopropal alcohol. I add a few drops of essential oil for a nice scent too. This is safe on all surfaces. As soon as it dries, the alcohol smell just disappears.
I think that about wraps it up for my baskets... but at this point I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, so I might have missed something. There are some other things that I have been making, that I want to share with you as well-- hopefully later today, but I make no promises! =)
