Weekly Planner - Free Download

This year, like most years, I try to get a little more organized. I love perusing the isle with all the daily planners and schedulers, things of that nature that can help me keep organized. It's insane what some people pay for to keep organized.

I bought a Franklin Covey planner a few years ago. The design is clean and sleek and the size of the paper inside was about a 5x7, not too big and not too small. I had to get a refill for the upcoming 12 months and boy they're expensive!!! So I thought, I could recreate something for myself and incorporate what I liked and leave out what I didn't need.

I like the idea of having a weekly calendar so I can see what's coming up on a weekly basis. Also, I wanted a section where I can write down the menu for the week. This really helps in preparing what to bring out of the freezer the day before. A 'to do' list and a 'to buy' list was had to be in there somewhere, as well as a section where I can just write some notes down. So, here's what I came up with and I've been using it for about a month now. Feel free to download it if you like for personal use only and not for resale. I've made a few colors variations.

5x7" teal

5x7" gray

8.5 x 11" Teal

8.5 x 11" Green

8.5 " 11" Gray

What other scheduling ideas do you have to keep organized?

No Hail to Junk Mail

If you're like me, I really dislike junk mail. It's such a waste of so much time and energy. Starting from creating it, mailing it, delivering , sorting and trashing, then have it picked up in the trash. Everything about it is such a waste.

Similar to the 'Do Not Call List', I signed up myself and Mr. Wonderful to be opted out of receiving junk mail. Here's a site where you can be removed from the mailing lists. You can go to www.DMAchoice.org, and on the right hand side of the page, click on 'Get Started' or you can give them a call at 212-768.7277.

I just signed up today and I will give an update to see if our junk mail has reduced.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I found this awesome recipe for homemade laundry detergent from Pinterest, (which I'm totally hooked on.) Here's the original post by Jillee. It was pretty easy in fact. The only thing I found time consuming was grating the soap, but that's it. Just mix everything else and you made really cheap laundry detergent. I'm going to do laundry tonight with the Mr. Wonderful (my husband) and will definitely share our findings. I really hope that it cleans and does a good job because this can save a lot of money in the long run. 

Powdered Laundry Soap: (about 40 loads)
2 cups finely grated Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda (Washing soda can be used instead as well)

Directions: Use 1-2 Tbsp per load.

Cost Breakdown. For about the cost of 1 of the name brand laundry detergents ($12 for 45 loads), I bought all the ingredients I needed to make this concoction PLUS a batch of dishwashing soap AND I still have enough of the Borax and Baking soda to make at least 5 more batches. I bought the items from a local grocery store. If I bought it online, I'm sure I could have found it cheaper.


Update: 2/2/2012
Mr. Wonderful and I did laundry last night. According to him, the laundry didn't smell like anything, just neutral, which is a good sign.  I smelled a little of the soap. So, it looked like it worked. The one thing I did notice was that there were no suds at all. I've read up on some of the other blogs and did some of my own research on the net and found that the suds are NOT what cleans, but were put into the brand detergents to say to the consumer - yes look there's suds, so our product must be working- which is untrue. 


Also, since this homemade detergent has low suds, in theory it should be fine for the high efficiency (HE) washers. 


What I would do differently is to use 2 Tbsp for each load next time to satisfy Mr. Wonderful and I do like the smell of the soap. I want to also try using Washing Ash instead of baking soda the next time I need to make another batch and experiment to see if that does anything different.

Update: 6/20/2012

So Mr. Wonderful and I have been noticing that our laundry doesn't stay as fresh and starts to smell dingy a lot sooner now.....yaaack.  I've done more research and found that many people suggest to use Soda Ash opposed to Baking Soda. The Soda Ash is the ingredients that really cleans, while the baking soda is what neutralizes odors. I will be looking for a new recipe and posting soon!


I would love to hear your DIY tips for laundry detergents!