Homemade Laundry Detergent

I recently got together with some ladies from our small group to make another batch of laundry detergent. It is really quite simple and quick! The recipe I got from this site.

Ingredients are: Borax, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, Fels-naptha Soap and water! You will also need a grater, saucepan (4 cup capacity), measuring cups (1 and 1/2) and a 5 gallon bucket and lid! The bucket will need to be filled with warm tap water about half way.
You can do this in your bathtub if that is easier. I know - exciting picture!

Grate the bar of soap into the saucepan. Add 4 cups of hot tap water.

Stir on medium heat until it is all dissolved. Be patient! I wasn't the first time and it boiled over! Not that big of a deal, I ended up with a really clean stove top (it is soap after all)!

When it is dissolved, add to 1/2 bucket of warm water. Add in 1 cup of Arm & Hammer and 1/2 cup of Borax. Mix until all the soap is dissolved. The hotter the water, the quicker this will be.

Next step - add more water! Fill the bucket almost to the top. Put a lid on it and let sit overnight.

The end result - a big bucket of slime! Your kids will love it! It does gel up, so before putting some in a smaller container, mix it up again and each time after. Then put equal parts water and detergent in an old laundry detergent container (recycle!) and shake well. I use a top loading machine, so I use 5/8th of a cup with each load. I just measured the amount the cap to my container held and now I know to use 2 capfuls. Have fun and happy laundering!

Homemade

Well, I did it. A friend and I made some homemade laundry detergent and I liked it, so I did some research and decided to try some homemade dishwasher detergent. This is super simple and I already had two of the products from the laundry detergent. And I must say, it works! Not that my Cascade didn't . . . it just felt very costly every time I bought some . . . which seemed like every trip to the store!

The Borax and Arm & Hammer I purchased at Meijer, the Kosher Salt my mom picked up for me at Kroger and the citric acid from Grandma's Pantry in Wakarusa. You use a 1/2 cup of the first two and 1/4 cup of the last. Add 1 tbsp. to your dishwasher and wash! Oh, yeah, a rinse agent. I had always bought Cascade complete (I couldn't make my self buy the Jet-Dri) and didn't need one. I read that vinegar is suggested and I haven't had any problems using it, except some complaints from the boys when they empty the dishwasher and smell vinegar! (Really, it's not that bad). I just am not sure how often to add the vinegar? My dishwasher does not tell me when my rinse aid receptacle is empty.

Anti-Arbor Day?!

No, we are not anti arbor day, but my husband did choose this last weekend
to take down an elm in our yard.
The boys thought it quite fun and learned how to cut down a large
tree without all the special equipment the professionals use.
All we needed was a truck, ladder, chain, and chainsaw.

Fair Weather

"He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times." Matthew 16:2-3

January in the Midwest

I thought about just leaving a big blank space here to symbolize what has been going on lately. It is that very gray, blah time of year here. Definitely a major component of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some may disagree on whether or not this really exists, but one January in Indiana will convince them of its validity.

I did come across something that is worth sharing: www.catalogchoice.org
It is a free site, where you can sign up and then request to STOP receiving so many catalogs. It is helpful to have a copy of the catalogs you don't want on hand. Just a small way to cut out mailbox clutter and help the environment. However, global warming isn't sounding so bad at the moment.