I've posted about making the homemade laundry detergent before, here and here .
I've just (at the beginning of October) bought another box of Borax and Washing Soda, meaning three boxes of each for the ENTIRE year.
They're something over three dollars each, we'll say $3.50 for fun, so about $21 for laundry detergent for the year.
Our clothes are clean and smell fresh, I haven't had any more problems with stains than we had before (I'm not real big on working on getting stains out anyway.....I'm more likely just to turn it into a rag than try to re-wash), and no one has had an allergic reaction to any of it. All good things, IMO. ; )
Showing posts with label homemaking hints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homemaking hints. Show all posts
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Dyeing Eggs Naturally
Dyeing eggs with natural dyes is SO cool!
We dyed some a couple years ago....the girls really enjoyed it, and I thought it was interesting. Plus, it's better for the environment than chemicals. : )
We dyed some a couple years ago....the girls really enjoyed it, and I thought it was interesting. Plus, it's better for the environment than chemicals. : )
Friday, January 16, 2009
Homemade Laundry Soap Update
I've added a bit to the Homemade Laundry Soap post. I made some last night, and added about my experience.
Monday, January 12, 2009
GREAT Site!
My wrist is still hurting dreadfully, but I wanted to share this site I came across last night. It has wonderful articles and great hints!
Sage Mommy
I particularly liked the Frugality page.
Sage Mommy
I particularly liked the Frugality page.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Reusable Shopping Bags
I'll admit...I enjoy bringing home plastic bags from the store. They're so handy for cleaning litter boxes or picking up after the dog, or lining a small trash can. BUT, even with all the things I can think of to use them for, we simply get too many! I keep a glass jar (large pickle jar, if anyone wants to know) and when it gets full I stick the rest in a paper bag to donate to a thrift store where they re-use them. HOWEVER, even doing all that, sometimes I still want to simply not bring them home with me in the first place!
So I have reusable bags. Which I forget to take to the store with me. (I actually remembered last week...my first time!)
This site has lovely bags....if you're wanting to buy some.
I like mine free or next-to-free, and one of the best sources I've found is the thrift store.
First, find a good, cheap thrift store.
Next, look for bags like this one.
Once you've found your bags, look for any tears, rips, stains, dirty ick...anything that will affect your use of it.
Assuming you've found a good sturdy bag, buy it. Go ahead and buy it, and don't worry if it says, "George Washington Teachers ROCK!" on the front. We'll take care of that.
Don't pay too much for it. If you're going to pay a lot, you might as well buy a nice one and be done with it. I wouldn't pay more than $1, and that for a really BIG, very sturdy one. I would hope for .50 or .25.
When you get it home, wash it; carefully, some will shrink, although I've never found that to matter too much.
If it says something you don't like on the front, cut out a piece of cloth a bit bigger than the picture and sew it over it. You can make a patch (I've done one with cross-stitched cows cut off the front of a sweatshirt...they were too cute to toss when the sweatshirt was unwearable...I used a crossed stitch to sew it on), or you can leave the top open for an extra pocket. My aunt completely covered one with lots of extra pockets, but I thought that was over-kill. Besides, she was using a sewing machine, and I can't. So I simply hand-sew on a square and call it a pocket. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.
And there you have a personalized, easy, recycled, shopping bag which was practically free!
(Maybe I'll take pictures...I could get one and walk you through all the steps in pictures. What a good idea. Maybe.... Someday.....)
So I have reusable bags. Which I forget to take to the store with me. (I actually remembered last week...my first time!)
This site has lovely bags....if you're wanting to buy some.
I like mine free or next-to-free, and one of the best sources I've found is the thrift store.
First, find a good, cheap thrift store.
Next, look for bags like this one.
Once you've found your bags, look for any tears, rips, stains, dirty ick...anything that will affect your use of it.
Assuming you've found a good sturdy bag, buy it. Go ahead and buy it, and don't worry if it says, "George Washington Teachers ROCK!" on the front. We'll take care of that.
Don't pay too much for it. If you're going to pay a lot, you might as well buy a nice one and be done with it. I wouldn't pay more than $1, and that for a really BIG, very sturdy one. I would hope for .50 or .25.
When you get it home, wash it; carefully, some will shrink, although I've never found that to matter too much.
If it says something you don't like on the front, cut out a piece of cloth a bit bigger than the picture and sew it over it. You can make a patch (I've done one with cross-stitched cows cut off the front of a sweatshirt...they were too cute to toss when the sweatshirt was unwearable...I used a crossed stitch to sew it on), or you can leave the top open for an extra pocket. My aunt completely covered one with lots of extra pockets, but I thought that was over-kill. Besides, she was using a sewing machine, and I can't. So I simply hand-sew on a square and call it a pocket. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.
And there you have a personalized, easy, recycled, shopping bag which was practically free!
(Maybe I'll take pictures...I could get one and walk you through all the steps in pictures. What a good idea. Maybe.... Someday.....)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A Recipe and a Hint You May Not Know
Since gas prices are supposed to be going back up, I thought I'd post this cheap and easy recipe which has been SUCH a hit around our house in the past month.
Last month Daddy and I were battling a cold, and I decided to make chicken noodle soup to help us fight it off. I put chicken broth, a little cubed chicken, two diced carrots, a stalk of celery, diced and a sliced onion in the pot and boiled them, then when I went to get the noodles we were out. I asked Daddy if he thought I should run out to the store or try something else, and then I thought of rice. I didn't measure how much broth was left in the pot, just poured in a cup of rice and expected it to be chicken and rice soup. Well, the rice soaked up all the broth (sometimes it takes a while, depending on the amount of broth in the pot, and the amount of rice), and instead of chicken rice soup we had rice with bits of chicken, carrots, onion and celery in it, and it is SO good! I've been making it a couple times a week since then, and I've started adding cabbage and whatever other kinds of leftover vegetables I have around. Tonight I re-heated some in the microwave with a bit of pepper jack cheese on top...YUM!
As for the hint....I read this in a magazine, I think, but I don't remember which one. Did you know you can pop regular popcorn in the microwave in a plain brown paper lunch bag/sack if you don't have an air popper? I've used it for making popcorn to snack on, or for popcorn balls. I keep a 1/3 cup measuring cup in the bag with my popcorn, and just scoop it out into the bag, fold down the end of the bag and pop it. (I'm not saying how many minutes, because microwaves are all so different...just stay close and listen for it to slow down its popping.)
Last month Daddy and I were battling a cold, and I decided to make chicken noodle soup to help us fight it off. I put chicken broth, a little cubed chicken, two diced carrots, a stalk of celery, diced and a sliced onion in the pot and boiled them, then when I went to get the noodles we were out. I asked Daddy if he thought I should run out to the store or try something else, and then I thought of rice. I didn't measure how much broth was left in the pot, just poured in a cup of rice and expected it to be chicken and rice soup. Well, the rice soaked up all the broth (sometimes it takes a while, depending on the amount of broth in the pot, and the amount of rice), and instead of chicken rice soup we had rice with bits of chicken, carrots, onion and celery in it, and it is SO good! I've been making it a couple times a week since then, and I've started adding cabbage and whatever other kinds of leftover vegetables I have around. Tonight I re-heated some in the microwave with a bit of pepper jack cheese on top...YUM!
As for the hint....I read this in a magazine, I think, but I don't remember which one. Did you know you can pop regular popcorn in the microwave in a plain brown paper lunch bag/sack if you don't have an air popper? I've used it for making popcorn to snack on, or for popcorn balls. I keep a 1/3 cup measuring cup in the bag with my popcorn, and just scoop it out into the bag, fold down the end of the bag and pop it. (I'm not saying how many minutes, because microwaves are all so different...just stay close and listen for it to slow down its popping.)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Homemade Cleaning Supplies
We're beginning a cleaning project this year....deep-cleaning the most heavily-used rooms in the house every month. We have four rooms we use most (2 bedrooms, living room and kitchen), so we're picking (at random, from a box) a room to concentrate on each week for a MAJOR cleaning. (I'm hoping DH will take the time to make a few minor repairs while we're working, too...hint, hint...)lol
Anyway, in the spirit of cleaning and saving money while you're doing it, I present links for home made cleaning supplies. Enjoy!
25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Anyway, in the spirit of cleaning and saving money while you're doing it, I present links for home made cleaning supplies. Enjoy!
25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Ways to Save on the Electric Bill
My DH was talking to him mother today, and she said her brother had just gotten his electric bill and it went up $100. I checked online for hers, and it has jumped $100, also. We haven't gotten ours yet, and it's not yet available to check online, so I don't know what it will be, but if their's is any indication, we can expect a higher bill.
I've been doing my best to save electricity this month...since last month's bill had gone up by $20...but it still remains to be seen if it's going to help our next bill.
I checked for some easy, cheap ways to save electricity, and these sites have some good ideas. (I tried to avoid the sites which said, "Change all your appliances to energy-saving appliances." Yeah. Like I've got a couple thousand dollars to spend on new appliances. SO, working with the appliances we have, here are some ideas for saving a bit here and there.
Save Electricity for the Environment
http://www.linux-host.org/energy/ssavelc.htm
13 Easy Ways to Save on Electricity!
And now, I'm turning off the computer. ; )
I've been doing my best to save electricity this month...since last month's bill had gone up by $20...but it still remains to be seen if it's going to help our next bill.
I checked for some easy, cheap ways to save electricity, and these sites have some good ideas. (I tried to avoid the sites which said, "Change all your appliances to energy-saving appliances." Yeah. Like I've got a couple thousand dollars to spend on new appliances. SO, working with the appliances we have, here are some ideas for saving a bit here and there.
Save Electricity for the Environment
http://www.linux-host.org/energy/ssavelc.htm
13 Easy Ways to Save on Electricity!
And now, I'm turning off the computer. ; )
Monday, December 29, 2008
Choosing Voluntary Simplicity
I *know* I've heard of this site before...I must not have been ready for it, though, because it didn't "click" for me until just now. : )
I was searching for information on salt...I started wondering what those "anti-caking agents" are that they put in table salt...and Choosing Voluntary Simplicity was one of the sites that came up with information about salt.
I started exploring the site, and WOW! knew I had to share it here.
They even have a recipe for Homemade Ketchup which looks really easy and TASTY! (Homemade ketchup is one thing I've always wanted to try.)
She also makes this GREAT point about Being Sensible About Frugality ..."What sensible frugality does mean is getting the most value for the money spent. By practicing sensible frugality and saving money on necessary purchases… and perhaps eliminating unnecessary purchases… we actually end up with more money and more options of how to spend (or save) that money.
One of the first things most people discover when they try to live a frugal lifestyle is that extreme frugality is almost impossible to live with long term. It’s a lot like dieting. You can cut back on what you eat in a sensible way that you can live with happily for the rest of your life, or you can go on an unhealthy starvation diet that will make you miserable and is impossible to maintain. Some people try to save money by cutting so much out of their life that they end up feeling very deprived… the reason, I think, why some people get so burned out… they try too hard and deny themselves too much… almost guaranteeing that they will end up feeling impoverished and very dissatisfied with their new lifestyle." (end quote)
I was searching for information on salt...I started wondering what those "anti-caking agents" are that they put in table salt...and Choosing Voluntary Simplicity was one of the sites that came up with information about salt.
I started exploring the site, and WOW! knew I had to share it here.
They even have a recipe for Homemade Ketchup which looks really easy and TASTY! (Homemade ketchup is one thing I've always wanted to try.)
She also makes this GREAT point about Being Sensible About Frugality ..."What sensible frugality does mean is getting the most value for the money spent. By practicing sensible frugality and saving money on necessary purchases… and perhaps eliminating unnecessary purchases… we actually end up with more money and more options of how to spend (or save) that money.
One of the first things most people discover when they try to live a frugal lifestyle is that extreme frugality is almost impossible to live with long term. It’s a lot like dieting. You can cut back on what you eat in a sensible way that you can live with happily for the rest of your life, or you can go on an unhealthy starvation diet that will make you miserable and is impossible to maintain. Some people try to save money by cutting so much out of their life that they end up feeling very deprived… the reason, I think, why some people get so burned out… they try too hard and deny themselves too much… almost guaranteeing that they will end up feeling impoverished and very dissatisfied with their new lifestyle." (end quote)
Monday, December 22, 2008
Homemade Laundry Soap
****UPDATE AT BOTTOM****
I haven't tried this yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it very soon. It looks SO interesting....I'm always looking for ways to save money, and this looks like a GREAT way! : )
I'm having to wait because my usual grocery stores don't carry the ingredients...and I haven't been over to the farther stores for a while.
I do have another link, too...Homemade Laundry Soap .
Looking forward to reporting back on this experiment! : )
***I found TWO other links for this today, after I posted, so I'm adding those, also.
THREE INGREDIENT LAUNDRY DETERGENT
And from this article about the Duggers I happened across this recipe...I'm cutting and pasting because it's annoyingly hard to find in the article.
(Begin copy)
Homemade liquid laundry soap
Ingredients:
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup washing soda
½ cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
Fill a five-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (It will gel.)
Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per two gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons. Top-load machine: 5/8 cup per load (approximately 180 loads). Front-load machine: ¼ cup per load (approx. 640 loads).
Powdered laundry detergent
Ingredients:
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup washing soda
½ cup Borax
Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use one tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons. Yields: three cups detergent (approximately 40 loads).
Inexpensive fabric softener recipes
Recipe No. 1: Add one cup white vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.
Recipe No. 2:
1 container of name-brand fabric softener
4 inexpensive sponges, cut in half
Pour a whole container of softener into a five-gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice (two parts water to one part softener). Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use, wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.
(End Copy)
I liked that this one tells how to make powdered detergent...I don't remember the other ones doing that....or maybe I just missed them. Anyway, I can find it easier here. ; )
***edit***MY EXPERIENCE WITH HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT
I finally ran out of my laundry detergent, so it was time to try making my own. I started out by grating a bar of soap. And spent the rest of the night sneezing. It was DREADFUL!!! I didn't expect it to be so small and powdery when I grated it. When I make some up again I'll wear a dust mask and a pair of goggles (it got in my eyes, too, and burned like, well, soap).
I used a recipe that was on a local homeschooling group this past week to make it, one bar of soap, one cup of washing soda and 2 cups of borax. Now I notice that the recipe up there says 1/2 c. borax...so I wonder if what I made is *really* off, *but* I still ended up using 3 tablespoons per load instead of the 2 tablespoons, because 2 simply didn't seem to clean well enough. I liked adding a splash of vinegar to the rinse cycle, too, because it seemed to help it rinse out better. (My first load I missed the rinse cycle, and the clothes seemed a bit slimy.)
My DH came through the kitchen while I was grating soap and asked what I was making and when I said "Laundry soap." He said, "I will BUY you some detergent." I told him I am trying to be more frugal and he'd better stay out of the way. lol
Bottom line....I like it, with reservations. I'll have to see how long it lasts before I decide if I'll be using it forever or not. If it lasts like some people have said (6 months or so) I will probably keep using it.
****Update: I used the last of my Borax and Washing Soda the last week of April, so it lasted four months. Not the six I was hoping for, but still, four months without having to buy detergent was nice. : ) (Some *really* heavily dirty things it wouldn't clean well...I don't know if anything would have, though. Thinking specifically of a shirt my DH had ground-in clay mud on...that might not have come out even with an expensive detergent. Anyway, he has more shirts.) ; )
I haven't tried this yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it very soon. It looks SO interesting....I'm always looking for ways to save money, and this looks like a GREAT way! : )
I'm having to wait because my usual grocery stores don't carry the ingredients...and I haven't been over to the farther stores for a while.
I do have another link, too...Homemade Laundry Soap .
Looking forward to reporting back on this experiment! : )
***I found TWO other links for this today, after I posted, so I'm adding those, also.
THREE INGREDIENT LAUNDRY DETERGENT
And from this article about the Duggers I happened across this recipe...I'm cutting and pasting because it's annoyingly hard to find in the article.
(Begin copy)
Homemade liquid laundry soap
Ingredients:
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup washing soda
½ cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
Fill a five-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (It will gel.)
Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per two gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons. Top-load machine: 5/8 cup per load (approximately 180 loads). Front-load machine: ¼ cup per load (approx. 640 loads).
Powdered laundry detergent
Ingredients:
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup washing soda
½ cup Borax
Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use one tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons. Yields: three cups detergent (approximately 40 loads).
Inexpensive fabric softener recipes
Recipe No. 1: Add one cup white vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.
Recipe No. 2:
1 container of name-brand fabric softener
4 inexpensive sponges, cut in half
Pour a whole container of softener into a five-gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice (two parts water to one part softener). Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use, wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.
(End Copy)
I liked that this one tells how to make powdered detergent...I don't remember the other ones doing that....or maybe I just missed them. Anyway, I can find it easier here. ; )
***edit***MY EXPERIENCE WITH HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT
I finally ran out of my laundry detergent, so it was time to try making my own. I started out by grating a bar of soap. And spent the rest of the night sneezing. It was DREADFUL!!! I didn't expect it to be so small and powdery when I grated it. When I make some up again I'll wear a dust mask and a pair of goggles (it got in my eyes, too, and burned like, well, soap).
I used a recipe that was on a local homeschooling group this past week to make it, one bar of soap, one cup of washing soda and 2 cups of borax. Now I notice that the recipe up there says 1/2 c. borax...so I wonder if what I made is *really* off, *but* I still ended up using 3 tablespoons per load instead of the 2 tablespoons, because 2 simply didn't seem to clean well enough. I liked adding a splash of vinegar to the rinse cycle, too, because it seemed to help it rinse out better. (My first load I missed the rinse cycle, and the clothes seemed a bit slimy.)
My DH came through the kitchen while I was grating soap and asked what I was making and when I said "Laundry soap." He said, "I will BUY you some detergent." I told him I am trying to be more frugal and he'd better stay out of the way. lol
Bottom line....I like it, with reservations. I'll have to see how long it lasts before I decide if I'll be using it forever or not. If it lasts like some people have said (6 months or so) I will probably keep using it.
****Update: I used the last of my Borax and Washing Soda the last week of April, so it lasted four months. Not the six I was hoping for, but still, four months without having to buy detergent was nice. : ) (Some *really* heavily dirty things it wouldn't clean well...I don't know if anything would have, though. Thinking specifically of a shirt my DH had ground-in clay mud on...that might not have come out even with an expensive detergent. Anyway, he has more shirts.) ; )
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Frosting Recipe
This is the recipe for the chocolate cake I made yesterday (of which I forgot to take pictures). It was really good...the frosting is SUPER sweet, so if you don't like super sweet you might try a store-bought icing.
My DH and I decided it's a keeper, though, for *just-in-case* I ever needed to make a cake and didn't have a box mix on hand. Really, the cake part was much better than a box mix...very moist.
One last word about the recipe. The one I copied it from said to bake 15 minutes. I have no idea why it says that, but obviously 15 minutes won't be enough. Just bake it as long as you normally would a cake, and test it with a knife or poke it and see if it springs back.
Chocolate Cake (From Scratch!)
2 sticks margarine
1 c. water
4T. cocoa
2 c. plain flour
1/2 t. salt
2 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
2 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 c. buttermilk
Boil margarine and water, remove from heat and add to dry ingredients, mix well and add eggs and buttermilk. Pour into prepared (greased and floured) pan and bake at 325* until done.
Chocolate Frosting
1 stick margarine
6 T. milk
4 T. cocoa
1 box powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
Boil margarine and milk, add to dry ingredients, mix well, and add vanilla, spread on cake as soon as cake has finished cooking.
My DH and I decided it's a keeper, though, for *just-in-case* I ever needed to make a cake and didn't have a box mix on hand. Really, the cake part was much better than a box mix...very moist.
One last word about the recipe. The one I copied it from said to bake 15 minutes. I have no idea why it says that, but obviously 15 minutes won't be enough. Just bake it as long as you normally would a cake, and test it with a knife or poke it and see if it springs back.
Chocolate Cake (From Scratch!)
2 sticks margarine
1 c. water
4T. cocoa
2 c. plain flour
1/2 t. salt
2 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
2 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 c. buttermilk
Boil margarine and water, remove from heat and add to dry ingredients, mix well and add eggs and buttermilk. Pour into prepared (greased and floured) pan and bake at 325* until done.
Chocolate Frosting
1 stick margarine
6 T. milk
4 T. cocoa
1 box powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
Boil margarine and milk, add to dry ingredients, mix well, and add vanilla, spread on cake as soon as cake has finished cooking.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Another Amazing Site!
I'm getting tired...I've been out most of the day; grocery store, library, school Christmas play and a funeral tonight. I thought I might skip a day on posting but then I started browsing through this GREAT site and wanted to share!
I'm linking to the kitchen page, because that's where I am right now. ; )
I'm linking to the kitchen page, because that's where I am right now. ; )
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