So I told you that we were going to try to mostly eat from the pantry this past week since we’d gone over-budget on groceries the week before. Well, we ended up stretching what we already had on hand to last all of last week. So that means we’re now almost back on track with our budget — yay!
My husband swung by ALDI with a list and got the above items. I forgot to ask him to save the receipt, though, and we’ve been unable to figure out where it went off to (ever have that happen??). The beauty of using cash is that you don’t have to worry so much about exactly how much you spent so long as you stuck with the cash budget.
So I’m not sure on the exact, exact total, but the above shown groceries were just under $49 based upon the cash he spent. He also bought a bag of tortilla chips that I failed to get in the picture.
The tub of Tide Pods was purchased from Amazon using Swagbucks. I’ve not tried these before and splurged on them because I wanted to see how they worked compared to regular detergent.
We also used the 2 FREE Malt-O-Meal coupons to get cereal and the 2 FREE Hillshire Farms coupons to get two tubs of deli turkey. And I failed to get a picture of those, too, before they were opened and partially eaten. Because clearly, I’m super on top of things today. Ahem.
Wondering what we’re eating this week? See our weekly menu here.
I have made homemade laundry detergent for years. I used to grate and melt soap, add: more water, Borax, and Super Washing Soda until I found a recipe I liked more on The Prudent Homemaker’s site. It uses Oxyclean and is a powder so it takes up less space. My husband’s only complaint is that homemade laundry detergent is unscented. These are my cost saving laundry tips:
*Make your own or buy store bought with coupons and sales (All is often $1 or so and sometimes there are freebies available)
* Publix often has great deals on Resolve stain fighter with coupons and BOGO and their store brand bleach is often a penny item
* Email the company that makes Borax and request coupons
* Stock up when laundry supplies are at rock bottom prices (I sometimes buy a year’s supply of an item at a time. ex. Right now, Clorox bleach is 32 cents per bottle after coupons, sale, and $2 OYNO wyb 3 catalina coupon)
I wouldn’t do all of that – that is why I like my liquid no effort crockpot method and oh it smells really good – the felsthnapa soap has a great smell.
have to say I have been making my own liquid detergent for over two years – takes seconds with a crockpot and cleans better than Tide. I have proof – my middle schooler did her science project and tested it against a cheap brand and tide on many different stains – it outcleaned them both on all stains! It costs me about $2 for 2-3 months worth and I do laundry every day.
How do you use your crockpot to make the laundry detergent?
so easy melt a bar of felsthnaoa soap in 8 cups water on low in crockpot for 6-8 hrs – pour into a 5 gallon bucket – add 3 more gallons warm water, 1/4 cup borax and 1/2 cup arm and hammer washing soda. stir – let sit overnight and will be thick in the morning – stir and use 1/4 cup per load. It works great.
felsthnapa soap sorry
Thanks-that does sound really easy!!
Traci,
Would you mind posting the recipe that you use for laundry detergent? Thanks 🙂
I did – right above – super simple – no effort
Tide pods are wonderful! They get stains out so welll without me having to worry about pretreating. They are the only detergent that keeps my son’s white baseball pants mostly white. The car wash sprayer helps when the tide pods just can’t get all of the red clay stains out….
has anyone used the All Pods? I only use All and I recently bought a new washer and dryer, the washer is High Efficietn and it has a tray for the liquid detergent, but I want to know how do you use those pods if you have a tray for a liquid detergent? They look easier to use.
I currently use the All brand detergent packs/pods. You don’t put them in your detergent dispenser. You just throw them in with the clothes.
I’ve also used the Purex brand. It simplifies my laundry routine.
I highly recommend making your own detergent! It is really fast and easy! It works great!! And it costs our family of five $18 for an 8 month supply!! And btw… looking forward to meeting you at Flame Fest!! 🙂
I’ve tried multiple times and multiple recipes… and each time I end up so disappointed — and with clothes that have stains that won’t come out. I know I must be doing something wrong because so many other people RAVE about homemade laundry soap and it makes me sad that it hasn’t worked for us. 🙁
See you at Flame Fest!
Crystal, it won’t work for us either because we have really hard water. So it could just be the water you have!
Thanks for making me feel better. I’ve always felt like the one and only Homemade Laundry Soap Failure.
The homemade laundry detergent doesn’t work for us either. I have been a tide user for years, but I recently switched to Arm & Hammer and love it. It goes on sale at Kroger all the time and I have found with coupons it is almost as cheap as homemade (and works much better for me). It is worth trying if you have never used it!
could be if you are using the powder kind? We have tons of stains and a 3 yr old son and the liquid works on all our stains?
Maybe consider soap nuts for laundry, they are a very cost effective way to do laundry not to mention they have no chemicals! We’ve been using them for over a year and have invested a total of $23 on them and have plenty more to last at least another 3-6 months and I am doing laundry for a family of five!
If you have a high efficiency washer you need to be careful with the pods. Sometimes they just do not dissolve and leave a purple blue stain on your clothes. Especially if you are washing large items like towels, sheets, robes and blankets.
If the pod fails to dissolve you need only to rewash the load, but if you miss an undissolved pod and it get put into the dryer with the laundry you will have a permanent purple/blue stain on your clothes.
Thanks so much for mentioning that — I really appreciate it!
I, too, have had the issue of residue from the laundry pods. I have been getting the ALL brand pods with coupons and deals. I thought it was the brand causing the residue remaining on the garments so I have been using them only with terry cloth towels. I do have an High Efficiency washer and had never heard of the problem until reading this particular comment. I guess it is worth taking into consideration as to why the problem exists.
I have heard of this problem as well (with HE front loaders). It happens more often than not, and has the potential of permanently damaging clothing. Just a word of warning . . .
Yep, happens a lot with the Tide ones. Unfortunately: (
The Tide pods are great! I don’t ever pre-treat when I use them and clothes come out spotless. However, to save money, I usually buy the small Tide bottles and Tide stain release with coupons while they are on sale. It’s way cheaper than the pods, but it does the same job. Over the weekend my kids got chocolate syrup and colored cake icing on their clothes and just threw them in the hamper. I did laundry today and they came out perfect. I know it’s a more expensive brand, but I figured I am saving time by not having to inspect all my kids clothes every time I do laundry and I am saving money because I’m not replacing stained clothes. I think I heard somewhere to weigh the value of my time against the value of a product 😉
Thanks so much for these recommendations and suggestions! And I so agree that return on investment of time is something that has to be considered… time is money, too.
Yes, I seem to remember reading that from SOMEwhere … From SOMEone very wise …
Love the Tide Pods also! Makes it easy for my 8 year old to do his own laundry since he can’t reach the detergent cup on our front loader.
Glad to hear they work so well for you — and I love the idea of how they make it easier for your son to do laundry!
Our family had company last week from Germany and our refrigerator looks like it was wiped out! The pantry doesn’t look much better even though we did eat out 2 meals. I really need a trip to Aldi’s to fill it up again. Lucky’s farmers market is a new store in MO that has great sales on healthy meats and veggies. I need a meat stock up as well as fresh fruits. The grapes this week at Aldi’s are GREAT!
I know! I was so excited about the grapes, pineapple, and cantaloupe deals this week!!
I absolutely love my pods! No more measuring, drips, or residual detergent in the jug. I think they work better because they have the stain booster mixed in, so extra stains come out.
I love my pods too. Especially when hubby decides he wants to do laundry. I don’t have to worry about him overfilling the measuring cup. I still have liquid on hand for when I do laundry or need to pretreat but the pods leave the guess work out.
I love them for exactly the same reason! My DH has a bad habit of filling up the detergent dispenser and then dumping some more in with the laundry.
HAHA!! Your comment made me crack up.What exactly is it that makes men think that if a little bit is good then more must be better? LOL!!
I am curious to see if they work better, too. So happy to hear they work well for you!