Homemade Laundry Detergent!

OK, so for the past year I've been making my own laundry detergent. I started for a few different reasons: Seth (my oldest son) has horrible eczema, I hate the smell of most detergents and I wanted to save money. So today I'm sharing this recipe.

I looked for a lot of recipes and all of them are about the same ingredients. I have only used the powdered recipe but they do have liquid recipes and I will post those also.



Powdered Laundry Detergent:

1 cup/bar grated Fels Naptha

1/2 cup 20 mule team Borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda (please be sure to get Washing Soda)

Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light or small loads, use 1 tablespoon. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons. Cost per load .15.


Liquid Recipe #1:

3 Pints Water

1/3 bar grated Fels Naptha Soap

1/2 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

2 Gallon bucket to mix it in

1 Quart hot water Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket completely with additional hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. You may add additional HOT water if the mixture becomes too thick. Mix Well before each use. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. Makes 64 loads. Cost per load .03.

Liquid Recipe #2:

Water

1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap

5 gallon bucket

1 cup washing soda

1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

4 1/2 gallons water

Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax and mix well. As it cools, it will thicken. If mixture becomes too thick, add hot water to thin it to desired consistency. May be used immediately. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2(normal) to 1 cup per load (heavy). Cost per load .04.

-You won't see suds with this detergent, this is totally normal-

*Fels Naptha is also a great stain remover. Dampen the stain and rub with the bar to pre-treat

**All of these ingredients are usually located on the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store. Fels Naptha bar is about $1.29, 3 lb Box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda about $3.00 and 4 lb box of Borax is about $4.00. The Borax and Washing Soda will last quite some time.**

Edit: Prices have all gone up on the ingredients (as of 8/25/2012), but they have also gone up for regular detergent. Fels Naptha bars have gone up to about $1.79, Washing Soda is now about $4, and Borax is now about $5.

My newest projects

Hello all! Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, life is insane. The Army likes to keeps the hubs busy and I've been spending lots of time with our Valarie, effectively keeping both of us from posting.

Anyways I figured I'd share some of the recent sewing projects.
My BIG sewing bag!



My sewing kit



and my personal fav; My Skull and Crossbone Dishcloth

-very easy pattern-

Please feel free to ask for the sewing pattern numbers or for the knitting pattern (we would love to see the completed projects)


**I'd also like to give you all a heads up, Valarie and I will be making a 1950's dress and also we will be knitting some snoods (40s-50s knit hair net) soon so keep your eyes peeled!!!

**Also feel free to send us ideas of what you would like to see, we are both always looking for new ideas

Pillow Case Dresses!

I made some pillow case dresses for a dear friend of mine, and I just had to share some pictures of the finished products. They are so easy to do, I recommend them as a beginner project for anyone new to sewing! I didn't realize I hadn't done so already. I just love the fabric, all of which I got on sale from Joann's, and the ribbon is from Joann's as well. Boyfriend not for sale.

Don't mind my handsome model ;)

 

My first experience with fondant

For my brothers' friends birthday, I made a Mario 1-Up cake with Marshmallow Fondant. It was much easier than I thought it would be! The cake had a chocolate base with chocolate frosting, and I covered that with the fondant.

We also got him an ice cream cake.

Warning, video has naughty language, but it's funny.


The Marshmallow fondant was really easy to make.

I don't remember where I found the recipe, there are numerous ones online.

You basically take mini marshmallows, add a bit of vanilla (how strong depends on how much you like vanilla), splash water in with your fingers, pop it in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl, and heat in 10-15 second incriments until the marshmallows are soft and fluffy looking. You don't want to over do it.

Then you mix them all up. If you're going to add color, now is the time. Gel coloring is the best to use. Mix it in with a tooth pick, then mix the marshmallows up with a buttered spoon.

Toss in a little powdered sugar until it starts to get stiff. Then you're going to need to knead it. I always butter my hands when it comes to this part. You want to keep adding powdered sugar by kneading until the fondant is nice and stiff. If it is TOO stiff, you can add a little butter.

I've heard that this stuff has a shelf life of 3 months, but I don't know about that. Make sure you sprinkle something when you go to roll it out, or it will stick like mad!