Moved the "education station" to the basement

As you can see from the pictures, our room upstairs was filling up fast. I needed some wall space (other than the ceiling) more than anything. I was feeling cramped and not enough room to move around or add one more thing to our room.

Sooooo down to the basement we went. Aahhhh! Breathing room. Our basement is not what I would call finished but not a gross basement at all. The floor is painted concrete at this point but now we will be adding flooring to both sides. I am thinking vinyl on the school side and carpet on the bar and family room side. So here are a few of the pics but I have been tweaking things as we see a need.

It feels like we have 10 times more space now and can actually find and use all of our stuff.  I am loving it and so do the kids. It is great to actually be able to get to the calendar area now without taking the board down to do our work. Oh the list of positives just goes on and on. I am excited to see how this room evolves as the years go by. I am NOT yet ready to accept that someday they may not need a train alphabet on the wall though. :) 

So there is a glimpse at where some of the learnin' takes place around here. I love checking out other homeschool rooms that is why I like to share ours.

Julie

Frugal living- Laundry detergent and Fabric Softener

I realize that making my own is a "tiny" contribution to our  family but it all adds up in the end. I found many recipes online and found 2 that I like.

Laundry detergent-

1 bar Fels-Naptha
1 1/2 cups Borax
1 1/2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

Grate bar of soap and add to a pan of approx 6 cups of water. Heat and stir until melted.

Add Borax and Washing Soda. Stir to get even consistency then lower heat to low/med and let thicken for approx 20 minutes. DO NOT let boil.

Add approx 8 cups of boiling water to a 5 gallon bucket. Add in soap mixture and stir well. Continue adding cold water to the bucket, stirring until full. It will be clumpy after filling. Let sit uncovered 24 hours. Then you will be thinking "Oh No" this is just a big wad of mess, but NOT TRUE. Hubby put a paint stirring thing on the end of his drill to break/mix it up and that works great. Tada!! Now it is a BIG bucket of love. Okay that may be a little over the top. A big bucket of great laundry detergent! :) I filled an empty laundry detergent bottle and keep the covered bucket in the garage. Just so you know this will get clumpy after sitting so shake the container good before each use.

This soap works better than the store bought detergent for my 3 and 4 yr old who love to live outside and get awfully darn messy.

Fabric Softener-

3 cups White distilled vinegar
2 cups hair conditioner (any scent you want)
6 cups hot water

Dissolve conditioner into hot water. I used a whisk to stir it up and it dissolved quickly. Then add vinegar and stir.

I have read many different ways to use this. It can be added to the washer ball (which is the way I do it) or to the fabric softener compartment. Also it can be used in the dryer in a couple of ways. Cut up a sponge and dip a pieces into the softener and wring out and toss in the dryer. Also you can take a wash cloth and saturate it in the softener. Wring it out a bit and let sit to dry. Then it can be used over and over in the dryer as a dryer sheet. When it seems to be losing the effect just repeat. I read it can be used for approx 40 loads. I have not tried it yet, although I plan on it, but I have a feeling it may not last me that long. :)

So here is my newest adventure in frugality! I am enjoying my laundry more than ever.

Julie