Oh the humanity!! I keep stopping in here and reading your stories and laughing---SO much! If you haven't already, just go read a few, you'll see what I'm talking about. Thanks, good peeps of the earth. We are smiling again. And keep those stories coming--I'll announce the winner of the book give-away Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving.
Speaking of turkey day, are you ready? It's coming up fast and Sarah's birthday is smack dab in the middle of it too. Busy, busy... We're planning a small gathering here again this year, so time to clean my house and start making pies. Pronto!
Unrelated: I keep running across recipes and testimonies in favor of homemade laundry detergent and finally got around to making some and testing it out this weekend. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by all accounts. I started out with a small batch: one bar castile soap (this is Dr. Bonner's above), 1 box baking soda, and 2 cups Borax. I took liberties of adding a few drops of lavender oil. Then I used one tiny ladle-full (about 2 T.) to wash a full load of white towels, and they came out beautifully. If you're interested, there are dozens of other recipes out on the Internet--just do a search for: homemade laundry detergent; and be prepared to be amazed.
Hmmmm....seems every recipe that I have seen uses washing soda - not baking soda and the washing soda can be hard to find. I think the castile soap would be easier on the clothes than the Fels Naptha that most recipes call for. I might have to try making my own detergent!
Posted by: Teresa | November 23, 2009 at 10:17 AM
This is intriguing...I might have to try it, too...
!!!
Posted by: Miss VanDroo | November 23, 2009 at 01:24 PM
Very interesting! I love your banner...just perfect for the season!
Posted by: Lavender Dreams | November 23, 2009 at 03:49 PM
Sounds like a great recipe...I feel motivated to try it out...just a question on the bar of Dr. Bronners....how did you make it a powder....? Thanks!
Posted by: jenna | November 23, 2009 at 07:15 PM
AH! I just wrote that and then looked back at the post...! You grated it...PErfect!
Posted by: jenna | November 23, 2009 at 07:17 PM
Do you know if you can use this in front-load washers? My understanding is that you have to use "high efficiency" labeled laundry soap. Maybe you just use less per load?
Posted by: Kathi | November 24, 2009 at 06:01 AM
Been making the liquid/gel version for over a year and love it. We use Ivory, as the Fels Naptha doesn't pair well with our sensitive skin. So easy, so cheap, and so much nicer on my clothes.
Posted by: Jill | November 24, 2009 at 07:27 AM
I think washing soda is a more concentrated version of ordinary baking soda. The recipe I had called for baking soda and I've found it works really well.
Posted by: vicki haninger | November 24, 2009 at 08:03 AM
BTW: you can use a hand grater or a food processor with the grating attachment. Feed the bar of soap in slowly for a more powdered consistency.
Posted by: vicki haninger | November 24, 2009 at 08:06 AM
I have a front loader and an aerobic septic system, so have to watch what types of chemicals I use. We also have well-water that is heavy in minerals and deposits so the borax takes care of that. This homemade deteregent is perfect for our circumstances, it works better than anything else I've tried.
Posted by: vicki haninger | November 24, 2009 at 08:12 AM
I'll probably try the liquid version at some point. I keep running across various recipes for it--thanks for the tip!
Posted by: vicki haninger | November 24, 2009 at 08:20 AM
I am absolutely going to try this recipe for homemade laundry detergent. Something I've been wanting to try for awhile now!
Posted by: jenn | December 02, 2009 at 08:20 AM