The yard sale

Yeah.

So we had a yard sale.

We were short on tables, as yard sale hostesses usually are. I felt pretty smart about turning some tubs into more surface space. We just covered them with $1 tablecloths.

We offered a box of silly little goodies...free for the taking.

I know what you're wondering. And the answer is $15. 

Then we boxed most of it up for donation at the end of the day.

Here are more photos:

The free box is at the bottom of the above photo.

Storage tubs offer a big tabletop. Aren't we resourceful?

Colorful large items near the street. They didn't really attract anyone.

The Lingerie Department.

Clothespins attempt to keep hangers from slamming to the middle.

Baby stuff.

My house is still a mess.

Have you had a successful yard sale? Or a more humble one like ours?

Obligatory laundry soap recipe

I know. I know. 

You've seen this recipe all over the Internet. Please forgive me as I add it to my recipe collection here. 

As a bonus, I have done the math about cost savings of making laundry soap vs. buying detergent. 

Here is how I make homemade laundry soap. It only takes me five minutes to prepare a batch.

Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients:

Bar of Ivory Soap, unscented
Borax
Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
Essential oil (optional)

Directions:

You may wish to wear rubber gloves but I don't.

1. Get a plastic bucket with lid (like an empty ice cream tub).

2. Shred one bath bar of plain Ivory soap—not scented, with a cheese grater.
    (Beware of any soap or beauty bars with perfumes or oils. They may stain 
    your clothes!)

3. Combine the Ivory soap shreds with:

    2 cups of Borax

    2 cups of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

Don’t inhale the cloud of powder while stirring. It’s not too much of a cloud, but still the same…keep your distance. 

Use 2 tablespoons of this soap per load. Some loads I use double (dog blankets) and some loads I add a couple drops of essential oil (um, dog blankets).

If you use cold water and hang your laundry to dry (way to go!), then you might notice white soap spots, just a few. These brush off with a toothbrush, hair brush or fingernail. No big deal, really. Shredding the bar soap finer may remedy this. If you use cold water and dry clothes in the dryer, you probably won’t notice any white spots.

This soap does not make suds and that’s OK. It also doesn't have a scent other than the Ivory soap scent, which is nice. For more of a laundry smell, tumble dry load with a dryer sheet or hang clothes outside for a fresh air scent.

The math:            

       
Borax (76 oz.—11.5 cups) costs $2.98 at WalMart.
Washing Soda (55 oz.—5.5 cups) costs $2.79 at Schnucks.
Ivory soap costs about 35 cents per bar.

There are 16 tablespoons in one cup.
One bar of Ivory soap shreds into about 4 cups.

To make 44 cups of laundry soap (704 tablespoons):
(1) Box of Borax, 11.5 cups - $2.98
(2) Boxes of Washing Soda, 11 cups - $5.58
(5.5) Bars of Ivory Soap, shreds into 22 cups - $1.93

Total -$10.49

$10.49 should do approximately 352 loads of laundry (704 tablespoons divided by 2…to reflect using 2 tablespoons per load). Compare this to brand name laundry detergent selling for $11 to do only 80 loads.

This method is only smidge more effort but a lot of cost savings!

*Disclaimers: I am not an expert. Your results may vary. Keep out of reach of children. This recipe was not tested on a high efficiency washer. This recipe was used in a home with a sewer system as opposed to a septic system. Prices may change and vary from store to store.

Common sense? How offensive.

I would love to hang out my laundry, but I'm fairly certain local covenants and restrictions prohibit such a thing.

Let's look it up.

The precise wording from our community association is as follows:
"No permanent poles for attaching wires or lines for the purpose of hanging laundry thereupon shall be erected, installed or constructed on any Lot."

I spoke to the ACC (architectural control committee) coordinator at the community association. He told me laundry poles were the issue, not laundry itself. If we rigged up a retractable system, that would be fine. He also told me to check with the city to make sure they did not have an ordinance against drying laundry outside.

So, I spoke with the city code enforcement representative. She told me there was no ordinance she knew of against it; but almost no one hangs their laundry outside here. 

Her voice oozed discouragement. 

She said maybe one or two people have done it within the last five years; but usually their neighbors report them to code enforcement. (Why? There is no ordinance against line drying!)

She helpfully took my street name so there is now a record of my phone call, just in case someone complains about our laundry. Once again...I don't know why it matters if there is no ordinance against it!

The benefits of hanging laundry are so many--energy conservation, sterilization by sunlight, money savings AND aesthetics. I gaze dreamily at the clothesline photos on the Project Laundry List website. 

Come back common sense!! 

I miss you.

This post was shared on these neighborly sites:
Fresh Eggs Daily
Natural Living Mamma  
The Prairie Homestead