my tide challenge UPDATE!

Remember my Tide Challenge?  I’m trying to see how many loads I can milk out of one bottle of Tide liquid laundry detergent by cutting it down with vinegar.  (check out the original post about the challenge: Tide Challenge Blog Post).

My Tide Challenge: Update!!

I’ve officially lived in Hawaii for a year, and thus I’ve owned the same bottle of Tide for a year.  I think an update at this juncture is, by all means, appropriate.

As of  12:33am HST, July 20, 2011 – I’m at ONE HUNDRED THIRTY loads.  From my “sixty-four load” bottle!  Yeah, take that!

tally marks of green and thrifty greatness!

At 130 loads in a year, simple math says I average two and a half loads a week.  That feels about right.  For seven months of the last year, my husband was deployed.  During that time I only had my own clothes to wash.  I own a ton of clothes and I can really stretch it out a while before doing laundry becomes necessary.    Also, living in Hawaii, my loads are of small summer clothes: I can fit a few weeks worth of wardrobe in one wash. (wowee awesome alliteration).  I re-use towels several times, especially beach towels.

(For tie dye loads I don’t use Tide – I use a special product; so business loads haven’t been factored into my guestimates/stats).

I still have a bit left, I’d say maybe 15% or so?  We’ll see.  With the bottle being so dark and varying in widths, it’s hard to guess for sure.  I’ve marked some lines show a couple different levels.

112 loads

the big ONE - THREE - OH

Boasting “64 Loads”  I’ve just doubled their claim.   My goal was to possibly triple it, but we’ll see.  That would mean 62 more loads.  As optimistic as I am, I sure will try!  But even I know that we’re pushing it now.   I’m not going to start using super tiny amounts just for this project, don’t worry.  I’ll stay the course and we’ll see what happens. For anyone who made the switch to using vinegar in the laundry room – what do you think? How clean are your clothes? How happy is your budget??

I’ll keep y’all updated, and for sure I’ll post when the bottle runs dry (hopefully not in the near future)!

VINEGAR = THE BEST!

 

Love, Rose

PS – this makes me realize… i really need a signature.  i hate how i just kinda… trail off… without any strong sense of finality…