Clean Laundry!!!

I have heard about a homemade soap last Spring.
but did not think about trying it until someone else did!
I wanted to see how hard it was to make & how it cleaned.
Boy was I surprised...
the main recipe calls for a 5 gallon bucket.
I opted for 1/4 that.
mainly I didn't have room for something that size, that you have to refill a bottle once a month or so. I found an old bucket that had a lid.
I am glad I did 1/4 the stuff I have no idea how you would stir a 5 gallon bucket & make it smooth!...

this is the recipe for a 5 gallon bucket & how far it is suggested that it will go-
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*Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

- 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 5 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.

- To make it easy to use, pour it in to an old laundry detergent container.

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once
soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 5 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 1/4 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- 1/8 Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
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as I said I did 1/4 this. it will almost make it 3 months for a family of 6.



I also added 2 Tablespoons of Tang.
2 reasons, 1 to color it so I could tell when it was fully mixed, & 2 Tang can be added to cleaners to help crisp the colors. it sounds weird but it works.


I use 2 Tablespoons of this detergent where I have a Top Load Washer.
I found that this is just enough for me. I would suggest that you do a load of Towels & see what works for you!


I also started using 1/4 C Vinegar instead of Fabric softener, it does not dull the colors & it makes everything Soft & non-staticy!


between the Homemade Laundry Soap & the Vinegar our clothes are nice & soft & they smell Summer Fresh. =)

Dish Soap does what?

I found this quite usefull!
I have been having the hardest time finding a toilet cleaner that works to take the ring off. we have Soft water & I thought it would be easier to clean seeing how there isn't the hard water deposits left in the toilets, but the Soft water does leave some sort of deposit. & the cleaners don't quite work. I have tried everything. & nothing takes that fully ring out. Then through the grapevine I had heard of a cheaper better smelling way to sparkling clean the toilets. first you need to clean out one of the old toilet cleaner bottles.

then you put in Dawn or even the cheap store brand dish soap & squirt it on into the toilet. let it set for 15-20 minutes & then scrub with the toilet brush & Presto no deposits & no ring around the toilet.
This works for Hard or Soft water. plus it leaves a non chemical fresh smell. I use the Green Apple. I have been using this for 2 weeks, & an added bonus it cleans your toilet brush & leaves it fresh smelling also!

Heartburn..............

lately I have been having horrible heartburn. first I chewed Tums then they got to the point they were not working. then I go to the point where I started using Zantac. which did not work to well so I figured I would start looking on the net to see what I could do if anything to combat the Acid Reflux & Heartburn. I found the oddest thing. I heard about it a few years ago when I did not take any over the counter medicine but I did not have a problem so I never thought about it. till I read the articles on the net. I found quite a few so I thought Hmm what do I have to loose.

it was simple Take 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar. in the past 2 weeks I have taken it 3 times. which is quite different from taking medicine everyday to a few times a day. even Orange Juice. which has given me Heartburn the past couple years every time I drink it. I have had it 2 times & NO heartburn.

When I first took it I thought Yuck what did I just do it took a few minutes but it worked it started clearing out my throat & I felt it all the way to my stomach & it neutralized the stomach acid. better than Pepto or any other liquid medicine that I have taken. even after there was no Heartburn burps. nothing. I mean nothing.

if you google Apple Cider Vinegar then you can see for yourself the helpful effects of it. I was just really impressed with what it did for me & how fast it worked.

Recycled Tank-Top???

Okay so as I am sifting through websites about Healthy or Green I found a hot tip that I just couldn't pass-up.
Recycling your old Tank Tops into a fashionable Purse
they call it a Tote but to me it's kind of like Potato or Patato!
any way the first website has lots of fun idea's
http://tipnut.com/tank-top-totes/
but they take you to a craft sewing website
http://www.craftynest.com/2009/10/tank-top-totes-six-pockets-or-gathered/
take a look around & see what both have!
before you go look at what I made from this Tank Top I haven't wore for years-
it turns to this-
you can make these as big as you want to as small as you want & you can add your own flare!

Going Green(ish)

this is actually something healthy but I figure it's all tied in.

this is probably the EASIEST thing I have ever done.
actually I have been doing this for 15(ish) years.

"APPLE SAUCE"

but it's only been the last 2 years I have made my own. my kids have always loved apple sauce, when they were little we use to buy the apple sauce cups. now they just get a bowl. lol!

but that's not what I mean by being healthy.
it's using Apple Sauce as a Recipe substitute for Oil & Butter, Etc!
it makes the Cookies, Brownies, & Cakes M-O-I-S-T-E-R.
I use it in everything of that nature from preboxed mixes to things made from scratch.
I have also been using it in Muffins, Sweet Breads, & Waffles.
the only things I don't substitute Apple Sauce in is the Spritz Cookies.

as an added thing I thought I would try this year I made Pear Sauce.
now when you use this you don't need as much sugar.
(I actually used hardly any sugar on my Apple Sauce & Pear Sauce.)
Pears are naturally sweet.



using the Apple Sauce
or Pear Sauce
it all looks the same as
if you used oil or butter.

I have decided I am going to change my Blog...

I am going to change how I do things...
so if I miss LONG periods of time it won't look as bad. we shall see!
I have decided in many ways to go GREEN.
not only for the health benefits of knowing what exactly is in your body, but what exactly is put on your body.
Going Green doesn't have to be lots of $$$ by buying everything at the Health food store.
over so time I am going to post a few things that my family and I are changing out.

now don't get me wrong you can't change everything over because the cost of things, and it would also shock your system. (our bodies are use to all kinds of chemicals.)

it's what you can do in small steps.

Part of going Green for us means (frugal). but if it works I will gladly share the info.

One other note somethings may work for us but that doesn't mean they will work for everyone. if you see something you like try it & see for yourself!

there are a few products that my family & I use that may not be so cheap but the health part is worth it in the end result.

these are my TOP 3 favorite things.

#3- Bio Freeze!
for my household with 4 kids in athletics & a very active husband. we have ran the gambit of muscle relievers! One of my girls Softball coaches said to use this & my girls won't use anything else. they describe it as a easy to use long lasting Ice Pack in a bottle. there is times they won't even take an Advil. My oldest will use this if she has a Headache. she loves it better than my next favorite. about 3 weeks ago all 4 kids were sick & we even used it just 2 lines on their backs while they had a fever & it helped break it faster. when I bought these I bought about 6 bottles. at the time they were about $12 we still have 3 & that was about a year & a half ago. & anyone who knows us knows my girls especially are always involved in something sporty.
(you should be able to pick these up at a Physical Therapy outsource place)

#2- Fever Patches!
I discovered these things when my kids were babies. I use to cut them in 1/2 length ways & put them on there foreheads when the were going through a fever or on their necks. I even found if they were congested they worked really well on their chest to open up their breathing. I found they work for headaches! then after I found they they did put them out for a couple years off & on. but they costed more, more times than not. I have been using these for my headaches w/o added medicine whether Advil or Tylenol or anything inbetween. they cost just under $3 a box that holds 4 sometimes they is 2 more. so in the long run they are not cheaper than pain medicine but you aren't putting that medicine into your body. so it's up to you to decide. btw: this works fpr 6-8 hours & that is 4-6 hours longer than head-on! that stuff is $$

#1- Crystal Light!
I use to drink a soda a day & at family functions I might have 2. but soda isn't cheap anymore nor is it good for you & Diet soda is even worse. so I went back to Crystal Light there is about 12 different flavors now. :) I have been drinking 60-75oz of water a day & I need something that tatse good. this product has come a long ways from harsh tasting Lemonaide I like The Morning Rise kind. it taste a lot like Sunny D but better for you! I also like the berry & Peach flavors. I even have the kids drinking this. they love it!

Last but not least I will do my best to post all the Blogs with pictures!
nothing worse then reading about a product or how to do something with out real pictures!
Thanks for reading!!!