Quirky & Best homemade all-purpose cleaner recipe...day 7 of 30

Kinda weird but I can’t even start typing a post until I upload pictures to my post.  Even like in this case where the pictures don’t match the topic I’m covering.
I’m tired don’t feel much like posting, I’ll be honest.  Thinking I’d rather and will be in a moment watching some brainless, feel good show on Netflix.  I’ve had a productive eventful day trail running to kayaking, preparing food, even cleaned up one kids room a bit sorting through what is trash, pig food, and even discovering food that had already been composted. Yes still in her room!   Closed the other kid’s bedroom door and opened his window widely because of the raunchy stench coming from his incubator.  He had 3 geese hatch and never cleaned out the bottom and he has eggs in there due at a later date.  He is away for the weekend, how convenient.  Love my kids…have I mentioned that lately…REALITY, lol!

Speaking of cleaning, my intent was to make a brief post about my absolute favorite homemade all-purpose cleaner.  I’ve tried several recipes but this is my current favorite.  I like it for a couple reasons #1 it does a good job cleaning #2 it’s cheap and you probably have all the ingredients under your kitchen sink!

2 parts water
1 part vinegar
dash of dish soap ( I use dawn)
10-20 drops of essential oil (I use lemon)
You can buy a spray bottle for a couple bucks or repurpose one.

Just Ducky

Warning: this picture has nothing to do with the post.

I like making some of my own cleaners mostly for financial reasons but I also feel that it allows for a little less plastic consumption. Nothing fancy, just quick & easy. In the past I have bought the plastic squirt bottles at the dollar store or from a local department store. Most recently I bought one at Sally's Beauty Supply. It did cost a more but the sprayer seems much more durable. The cleaners I like to have on hand: ammonia & water for as a window cleaner. Bleach & water for my counters and cutting board. A mixture of half rubbing alcohol/half H20/splash of vinegar, and a dash of essential oil (eucalyptus is my favorite) as an all-purpose cleaner. For quite some time I made my own laundry detergent. I have been lazy lately using store bought. I do however have supplies on hand and could easily throw a batch together if I run out so I don't have to make a special trip to the store. Would love to hear if you make your cleaners and how? I am interested in making my own wood floor cleaner, anyone have experience with this?

It's the simple things.....

To spice it up this week I have decided to do a series of posts titled "It's the simple things" as a way of sharing some photos and some of the happenings from around the farm. Tonight I scheduled posts that will appear every night with the last one appearing on Saturday. They will not be filled with lots of words but the pictures should tell the story.

Maine Man found the above clothes line out back on our land shortly after we moved here. He put it up the other day and I strung it with clothes line. I have only used my dryer once or twice since. I can't wait to see my electric bill. Nothing like the smell of clothes on the line after being washed with homemade laundry detergent.

I have given up on making the liquid soap mixture, the dry mix is what I use. It is quick and not so darn messy. I make a batch every week, it takes all of 2 minutes. At a high estimate I'd say it costs 75 cents a batch and it usually lasts us 1 week or more. I always have a back up of store bought liquid detergent that I use on occasion if I am out of the other.

Waking up your Senses

Maine Man has been asking me for some time to learn how to make shampoo. After a bit of googling I finally made it happen. I have made 2 batches so far and the kids and MM like it.

~I heated 16 oz. of distilled water (I would think tap water would suffice)

~Added 2 tea bags (cranberry pomegrate)

~Let it seep for 30 minutes and then removed tea bags

~Added 8 tablespoons of castile pepermint soap

(In the second batch I added a dash of olive oil)

The consistency is watery but the smell and the cool clean feel of the pepermint make up for it.

Here is one of the sites I referenced.

Total costs approximately .75/16 oz bottle.

While researching I found many great sites about the multiple uses of castille soap.

Here is one I'd like to share. This site interests me most because of the recipe for the laundry detergent at the very bottom. It is similar to the one I use but instead of Fels Naptha it calls for castile soap and it has baking soda in it. What I've missed most of store bought detergent is the scent. I love yummy smelling stuff but it costs too much to add essential oils to a few gallons of detergent. Fortunately, castile soap comes in many scents and may be the answer I've been looking for. I will definetly experiment with this and report which I like best.

Here is another informative site from Green Living Tips.

I also made soap for the VERY FIRST time and I am SO EXCITED!

I followed the recipe that I saw at From My Homestead here is the link. What I liked MOST: It was SO EASY! I used lemon eucalyptus essential oil and it smells HEAVENLY!

ALL YOU NEED IS:

5 simple ingredients: water, olive oil, oatmeal, lye, and essentail oils me

If you to are a beginner soap maker THIS is great soap recipe to follow. I used a mixer to combine the ingredients because I did not have a blender. I have read that immersion blenders work great for mixing too.

I guess the scariest part for me was working with the lye. I took precautions, wearing gloves, protective eyewear, and I made it in the shed (away from the kiddos and with room to run in case of an explosion.)

Despite all my worries I pulled it off without incident.

Anyone have any soap recipes they'd like to share?

Experimenting with Homemade Household Cleaners

All Purpose Cleaner

2T vinegar

1 t Borax (I used a Tablespoon)

Hot water

a few drops of dish detergent

10-15 drops of essential oil (optional)

I used a funnel to add the ingredients into a 16 oz spray bottle using orange for my essential oil.

I also added a splash of hydrogen peroxide because I have heard it is a good substitute for bleach and I am a bit of a bleach fanatic but I am trying to cut back.

Glass Cleaner

1/4 cup vinegar or 1 Tbsp lemon juice (I used both)
2+ cups water

I used a 16oz spray bottle for this too and added several drops of lavender essential oil.

I cleaned a few items with both of the above recipes and they seemed to do the trick for a fraction of the cost.
Now I am off to make some more liquid laundry detergent.
That last batch lasted a month and I do a fair share of laundry here. I think this formula works as good as any store bought detergent and I have been asked by a couple people if you can use these in the front loaders and I just read that people do use this recipe and do not have any issues so I'd say yes. I have also read that some people double the amounts of washing soda and borax, I have not because I felt it cleaned my clothes good as is.
I have always preferred liquid laundry detergent over powder but I do use the dry formula I made up on whites (when I use warm water). I added eucalyptus essential oil to the last batch and it made it smell really good but I think I will hold off this time because you have to use about 1/2 - 1 oz which can be pricey as essential oils aren't cheap.
My next experiment will be on bar soaps. I am waiting for one of my friends to e-mail me with her goat soap recipe. Do any of you have any soap recipes to share?


A final note click here to see why we are better off eating home grown or local foods. What is this world coming to?

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have been wanting to do this project for a while now and today it finally happened. I usually prefer liquid laundry detergent but since I had the makings to do both I made both. These are the only three ingredients you need.

costs $1.09/bar

costs approximately $3.00/box

costs approximately $3.00/box

Dry Laundry Detergent:

Grate 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap (I used my food processor)
Mix 1 cup of grated soap with 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of washing soap
Store in plastic container. Use 1Tablespoon for a light load and 2 Tablespoons for a heavy load.

Liquid Laundry Detergent:

There were a few more steps involved in this process but it only took a few more minutes to make.
Ingredients:
1/3 bar of grated Fels Naptha soap ( I used what I had left from making recipe above, it was close enough)
1/2 cup of washing soda
1/2 cup of borax

Heat 6 cups water in sauce pan, add grated bar soap. After soap is melted add remaining ingredients. In a pail pour 4 cups of hot water then add soap mixture followed by 1 gallon & 6 cups of water. Stir and let sit for 24 hours.
The end results are a watery gel. Use 1/2 cup per load.
(I have read that some people double the amount of washing soda and borax and I did that on my second batch. I have also read that this recipe can be used in a front loader, it is not sudsy.)

The dry soap recipe I came across on several sites but the below liquid recipe I found on this site http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

The author suggests adding 1/2 - 1 oz of essential oil if you want it scented. I may pick some up this week and add to because I do like smelly stuff. On the site there is a breakdown of costs for the soap, she estimates the cost at 0.1 cent/load. A bit cheaper then Tide.
I'll let you know how it works and which I like better!
Happy Weekend to All!