Homemade laundry soap

For the past year or so I have been making laundry detergent. I have friends who have been making it for years, so the idea was not foreign to me. What kept me from doing it before was the fact that some of the recipes I had read were more complicated and did not seem to last long, as well being as expensive to make as the detergent I was using. I have not done the math yet, but I know this is considerably cheaper than my former detergent, Sun.  Okay, to be honest I probably will never do the math, let's face it, I am an English major. The ingredients and my bucket and lid came to just at $11 and all of the ingredients, except the Fels Naptha, make multiple batches. It was really easy, taking less time than I imagined, which had been another deterrent in making it. I mean, come on, if it was going to take three hours I might make it the first time, but I know myself, it would not be something I would do on a consistent basis. Michelle Duggar's book, The Duggars: 20 and Counting changed my mind. Here is her recipe:

1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated
1 cup WASHING soda
1/2 cup borax

I have adapted her direction:

Grate the soap into a medium saucepan. 


(Grated soap? I don't think so, unless it is in the food processor! I grate mine in the processor, then pulsed it until it was the consistency was as close to powder as it gets.  The soap grates better if it is opened and allowed to harden for a week or two beforehand.  As soon as I buy my soap for the next batch I open the end of it.  I put it on the list as soon as I make soap so I am never left without ingredients.)

Cover with hot water. Cook over medium low heat, stirring continually, until soap completely dissolves.

(Note: I would reserve a pan for this use since metal can retain smell and taste. I opted to put mine in a large Pyrex measuring bowl with a handle and cook it in short bursts of time in the microwave. It has to be watched carefully so it does not overflow Glass does not usually retain smell and taste and I didn't want to ruin one of my pans. I used an oven pan liner in my small crock pot the most recent time I made soap.  It worked great and only took about an hour to melt.  Since this is not the use according to directions, please use your own judgment.)

Put washing soda and borax in a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight.The next morning, stir the mixture.

(Note: You can use a five gallon paint stirrer, but we have a paint stirrer that attaches to a drill.  It does a great job.  We had this anyway from DIY projects.)

Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using. 1 cup for top-loading machines and 1/3 cup for front-loading.

(Note: I am going to vary again here. I see no reason to add water at this stage since it will be going into the washer directly. I am just going to use a 1/2 cup in my top loader. That should be the same as using the new ultra concentrates. Shake well before pouring.)

At first I set my old laundry bottle on a tray beside my homemade detergent and using a funnel and soup ladle I filled it. You have to stir the bucket each time you remove detergent from it and shake the bottle each time you dispense from it. It is a very gelatinous mixture, reminiscent of something Nickelodeon would package and sell as a bodily fluid to gross people out. Now I just stir it with the extra long paint stirrer every few days and just get it straight from the bucket.

The detergent smells exactly like the Fels Naptha soap, which is a little medicinal, but I cannot smell it after I wash with it.  Essential oil could be added if scent matters.  I have sensitive skin so that is not an issue for me.

I have been grating Fels Naptha and using it as a laundry additive for several years-even before I made detergent. I also have a reserve bar that I use to spot treat stains. It is incredible. 

Here is the breakdown of what I bought where and how much it cost.

Fels Naptha soap Yeagers on Rogers Ave $1.27
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda Yeagers $2.97
Borax (had it at Yeager-cheaper at Wal-Mart on Rogers) $3.36
5 gallon bucket with lid Lowe's $3.72
5 gallon sized paint stirrer- already had.

I have tried doubling this (then you would only use 1/4 cup unmixed, 1/2 cup mixed with water.) but have had problems with the ingredients not melting as well and coming to a pure liquid mixture.  I am going back to my original to see if I have the same problems.  Perhaps I was just in a hurry and did not let it melt well enough. 

Out with the old, in with the new (especially if it was on sale!)

I really like my Christmas wreath. It isn't especially fancy, but it was a labor of love. One year I found a sheer red ribbon with snowflakes on clearance. I kept that ribbon for several years, hoping to find some use for it. Then I found cute little wooden snowflake cutouts. A little paint and some smushing of not-quite-enough ribbon and I made a personalized family Christmas wreath.

However, it is time to put the Christmas things away. I found this lovely wreath on sale at Wal-Mart for $3.75. I think it has a great wintry look, without being too holiday-ish.

It is kind of funny that I am decorating my door when it is currently painted three different colors. (I tried to crop it all out, but it was not possible!) I tend to do that when I am choosing a color, which leads my husband to say things like "Can't you just tape up paint samples," "I like that color best," and "When are you going to paint the whole thing," "It will look nice when you are finished."

The wreath is just one of the great finds I scored this past week. For less than $50 I have beautiful ornaments for our annual family ornament exchange. At 50-70% off I can afford high quality ornaments that will cause a nice friendly fight at the dirty Santa breakfast. All of my wrap and ribbon is stored away for next year, as well as some extra little gifts. Shopping at this time helps me extend my giving to those who I want to show affection and appreciation, but may not be in our budget...such as Sunday school teachers, our wonderful mail-lady Ms. Debbie, and any drop in visitors that may pop up. These go in my gift box to be saved for the right moment. My absolute favorite two things are my clearance Grinch t-shirt for the annual Grinch party and the beautiful paper-mâché skates that can been seen in the post below. On my list of places to hit after Christmas are: The Now and Then Shoppe, Kohl's, Target, T.J. Maxx, and Wal-Mart.

One of my resolutions for the new year is to spend smarter, maximizing my dollars to bless more people and make the most of what God has given.

Books: My Not So Secret Obsession

I will be completely honest and admit that I am totally book crazy. I love books. This fact, in addition to being a homeschool mom means that it would be easy for books to overtake our home. To keep the addiction under control I purge our books at least twice a year. I take those to a used bookstore and get credit. I turn around and use that to get books for gifts or books we need for our history or language curriculum.

It may sound odd to buy used books as gifts, but our family does not mind at all. My niece loved the beautiful vintage horse book I bought her and my nephew was thrilled with his Jeff Gordon book that I found one day. I bought my friend Jamie a bag full of books from a used bookstore for her classroom as a graduation gift, and was able to buy more there than the couple of books I could have afforded new. In addition, our girls get books for their birthdays and Christmas. Every year for Christmas they get a classic hardback book. We have bought vintage copies of books in lovely condition from various sources. It may be trendy now to buy resale as well as being seen as a green shopping choice, but true book lovers know that there is nothing like having a hardback even if it had another love before you.

Another great source is library book shops and sales. One of our local libraries has a shop and I have found lots of things there. I try to look each time I go in. I know my areas of interest. Classics and children's for the girls and schooling, as well as Christian fiction for Nicole. Barry ahas been given gifts from their military section. I also check out their art section, as the large glossy books that go for a few dollars there are usually expensive at retail bookstores.

The books that are pictured in this post were all bought for around $11.00, not including trade-in credit, which amounted to about $9.00 I think. Five of them were required for history and language, two are for gifts, two are excellent composer biographies, three are supplemental history books, and one is a great living science book.

I do have checks in place to keep my book buying to a minimum. Any new release just "for fun" reading books we check out from the library. I use the First Baptist library, as well as Crawford County and the Fort Smith Public Library.

I have copied and pasted book lists from my history and literature curriculum from the publisher websites to my computer and searched for each book at all three libraries using their on-line card catalogs. I have printed the lists and keep them in my purse for quick reference. (I am going to post my annotated lists here eventually.) I usually try the author's name as well as the title, because subtitles and how the books have been entered into the library system can sometimes give false negative searches. I then go back to my saved lists and make a notation as to which library it is available at. If they are not available at any library locally I either buy or request by loan. Some books that take longer for us to work through I make a point to look for used or may even buy new. This also comes in handy for hard to find books; because I had my list I was able to recognize the title of an out-of-print book required for Bitsy's next year's lit curriculum and bought it for $1 at the FSPL bookstore. On e-bay the same book would have cost me a minimum of $5.

I also use the inter-library loan system to borrow books from other libraries through my local branch. FSPL just requires you to fill out a form. There is no charge for this service, but it does require advance planning on mom's part to utilize this during the school year without creating lulls. It is also important to move through inter-library loan books at a brisk pace, as some have a higher late fee and are not always renewable. Even with all these sources, there are times when I have just not been able to find or afford books for our history curriculum and I have simply found something I thought was similar enough and went with it instead.

Hope this is helpful as you plan for your school year.

Love,
Shawna

Debt Free...Almost

We are well on our way to being debt free except for our house payment. We have less than $2000 in debt and that should be taken care of soon. This is a relief and blessing considering the fact that Barry might be laid off soon. We have been thinking of ways to cut costs and save. Couponing, ad watching and planning out my shopping trip takes a bit of work, and I am trying to figure out how to work it into my everyday life so I don't put it off and not get it done before I go shopping. I wonder if I can get the same good deals locally as I read about people getting. I know we have Walgreens, but grocery wise there is not much competition with Wal-Mart and they do seem to have the lowest prices. I would appreciate any suggestions about that. One continuing frustration that I have is the fact that all budget menus/recipes/ideas are very heavily wheat based. If anyone has suggestions that can help me think outside the box on that I would love to hear them. I have been encouraged by Sandy's blog postings on frugality.

I can do this!

Love,
Shawna