Sunday, February 26, 2012

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Well the weather here is so crazy. Hot one day, cold the next. Can not wait until spring and summer. I hope everyone is having a peaceful Sunday. I made another batch of homemade laundry detergent. I have been using my homemade detergent for almost 9 months now. And I LOVE IT! It is so easy and cost so little. Below is how I make mine.
You will need:
* 1 bar of Zote or Fels Naptha Soap ( you can also use homemade soap or Dr. Bonner's)
* 1 Cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
* 1/2 Cup of Borax
* Hot Water


First place 4 cups of HOT water in a sauce pan and grate your bar of soap into the pan. Stir over medium high heat until the soap has dissolved.



Fill a 5-gallon bucket half full with HOT water. Add melted soap mixture, washing soda, and borax. Stir well until powder is dissolved.



Fill to the top with HOT water. Let it sit overnight to thicken. 


Stir in the morning and start to use. I fill my old detergent bottle with the detergent. I just shake it and pour 1 to 2 capfuls. (1/2 to 1 cup) All washers are different so experiment to see what is best for you. This is okay to use in HE washers. I know this because I have one. Well, voila' there you have it homemade laundry detergent. I hope you enjoy. Till next time hope you have a blessed day! 



Saturday, February 11, 2012

Homemade Fire Starters

I hope everyone is having a great February! I wanted to show you what I did today, besides washing, drying, folding clothes and cleaning house! I made homemade fire starters. What I did was got some cardboard egg cartons. Then I started saving all my dryer lint. Yes, you read it right dryer lint. Just pack the lint tight in the egg cartons. (The only lint I don't use is the lint from my son's work clothes. He works as a mechanic. So sometimes he has gas and oil on his clothes. Not good for making fire starters.)





Once you have your lint packed into your egg cartons, you need to add wax. You can use paraffin wax that you can get at your local grocery store or you can use old candles that you don't use any more. Just melt the waxes.



I used a mixture of both the paraffin wax and some old candles. Once your wax is melted you can use the pan to pour the melted wax or use a pyrex measuring cup to pour the wax over the lint.


After you have poured wax all over the lint and coated it. Let it dry for 12 to 24 hours. Then cut them as big or little as you want them. Use them just as you would fire starters. 



And volia' homemade fire starters! Hope you enjoy! Till next time have a great day!