Homemade Laundry Soap

Guess what I made this morning! The recipe I used yielded about 3 gallons. I'm no math whiz, thus the queasy feeling I get when someone springs a word problem on me, but even I can figure out that this will save us money - one way to recoup the $500 we spent on the installation of a water softener over Christmas.



I've researched this idea off and on for years, and finally all the ingredients were easily obtained, so I gave it a shot. The recipe I ended up using seems to be pretty standard in the blogosphere. I found this at TipNut. Interestingly, when I consulted The Tightwad Gazette, there was no recipe for a laundry soap mentioned. Whether this was an oversight in the final text or what, I wonder.



You can look at the recipe at the link above, but here are the ingredients I had to purchase:



1 box Borax from WM ~ $3.50
1 box A&H Super Washing Soda from Alice.com* $2.76
1 bar of Octagon Soap** from Bartley's Meat Market ~$.79



I had on hand:
water
big jug
funnel
empty milk jugs
empty detergent jug



Notes:


* I looked high and low for this product, and two years ago could only find it online at a case price of something like $13 plus shipping. I discovered Alice.com, a site that offers free shipping with only a minimum 6 item purchase. They market themselves to folks who want to avoid trips to the grocery store for essentials and bulky items. They occasionally have great clearance sales on things like razors, Lipton tea, etc. Their prices are average, in my opinion, and generally I can get better prices at Kroger by shopping sales and using coupons. But I was elated to see Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda there at a very reasonable price.



** Andy FREAKED when he saw 2 bars of Octagon soap on the kitchen counter yesterday. I mean, FREAKED. He backed across the kitchen with his hands up in front of him as if fielding off a bad dream and said, "Ohhhh, no, you're not bringing THAT stuff in the house!" Further investigation revealed that he has an intimate knowledge of Octagon soap a la:
Hmph.

Anyways, it appears that per the label on the empty laundry detergent jug I used will yield about 44 loads per container, and I made 3 containers with the recipe, or about 3 (scant) gallons.


So, if my math logic is correct, it means that the recipe yields approximately 130 loads. The cost of the ingredients - the initial purchase - was $7.04. Do you divide 130 by 7.04 or is it the other way around?? Well, one way comes out to $18 a load and the other comes out to just under $.05 a load. I'll go with that one. Considering that say, I can get A&H (my usual brand) on sale for about $3 a jug for 32 loads, at $.09 a load (or $10.60/load, depending on your math), it comes to a savings of about 50%. (I say "about" because I have NO idea how to figure actual percentages!)

Of course, the proof will come out in the wash. I'll have to do another post on whether it works, whether it smells OK, whether it gives us a horrible rash and whether Andy has flashbacks and needs to be hospitalized for shock therapy. That will be a fun post to write!!

2010!

So, um, I decided that I'm going to avoid the rush and not set any New Year's Resolutions until February 1. Does that make me a procrastinator?

I don't have any pictures to post from Christmas or the RRR Reunion since they are still on my Dad's computer in Norfolk. I hope to have them by next week....I'm mailing my parents a zip drive to copy the pictures on, which they will need to mail back to me, along with my ring* that will have been resized by then. The sooner the the better!
*that means that you, mom, are in charge of this project ;)

Snow flurries here in the mountains every day since I've been back from Norfolk, and there was a dusting over the cars and driveway this morning. Its been in the high 20's and in the teens at night. Our yard is still very snowy, so we can't get the tractor back to the woodpile to load the woodpile in the carport. So today, the girls and I bundled up, kicked the pickup into 4WD and drove to the shed. I forgot about the three big hills of clay and rock off to the side in front of the shed and lurched precariously towards the creek. I smugly thought to myself, "Andy doesn't have to know about this...." But then, once I got out I realized what an idiot I am sometimes, as said hills are covered in SNOW and now bear very obvious evidence of a Chevrolet Silverado cruising overhead. He didn't have to be a detective to figure that one out.

I actually like getting wood. For one thing, its a bit of exercise and a chance to do some physical therapy on my arm. Course, after I come in, I take a couple Tylenols so I don't ache all afternoon. But I always think about when I had to get wood when we had our stove back home. I wear gloves, now, and wonder why ma and pa didn't tell me to wear gloves back then. You get better traction and you can cart more before your hands get tired or scraped. I also like to pretend that I am Laura Ingalls getting wood and that we need to stock up for a blizzard (The Long Winter, published 1934). That always inspires me to toss a couple more logs on the stack. Now that I know how to run the logsplitter (and, ahem, how the choke works), I always make a bucketful of "shims" or kindling, out of poplar. Poplar dries quickly and burns like paper. Its easy to light with the acetylene torch or whatever that thing is that we use to start the fire in the mornings.

The girls stayed out until their hands were bright red and Hannah said her knees were cold. They did have gloves, but Abbo keeps taking hers off and we have to hunt for them before we go inside so they're not lost till the Spring Thaw. Hannah chose to wear sweatpants today and kept kneeling in the snow, alas, her freezy kneezys. Now, they're both enjoying Ramen noodles in front of the woodstove before quiet time.

We've got ham and sweet potatoes on the menu for supper tonight and I think I'll inagurate the new KitchenAid mixer Andy gave me for Christmas by mixing a loaf of bread!

Small Town Living

I love a small town.

Every Monday the girls look forward to a special event - and, as Hannah tells me, "Monday is Trash Guy Day!"

Hannah and Abbo make it a point to always go out and say hello, and Hannah fills the guys in on what's going on around here - her birthday, how naughty Abbo has been, my hurt arm, whatever. I can tell from the looks on the guys' faces that they can't always understand what she's saying - I mean, they're right by that loud truck and her voice is quiet (um, sometimes, it is). But they are always polite, friendly and glad to see her. She's fixed them cookies and drawn them pictures on occasion....

Imagine our delight when, last Monday, they made a DELIVERY instead of only their usual pickup. They handed out two wrapped presents to the girls! It was such a surprise and they got such a kick out of it!! They could hardly stand it and had to come inside and unwrap them right away. Such shredding of paper you've never seen!

I don't know who was more tickled, me or them. I had planned to make them some cookies, but this deserved an extra treat in their Christmas bags.

If you're reading this - ANOTHER BIG THANK YOU - to Charlie, Tommy and Timothy - the Most Excellent "Trash Guys" in Alleghany County - You're The Best!

Christmas preparations

Even though I am not wholly ready, I feel a strange -albeit unsettling - peace about the whole thing! Kind of like when a hurricane is forecast but the skies are nothin' but blue, blue skies....
Yes, we had 22+" of snow on Saturday, and the reason I have no pictures to show is that I lost my camera battery recharger and had to order a new one. Its still not here yet. There are a few on our 35mm, but who knows when we'll get those developed.
I got the girls' presents wrapped two nights ago and stuck them under the tree. They are getting excited now, seeing the gifts. Hannah asked this morning why there were no presents in their "Stanta Bags" (stockings), and I told her Santa doesn't come for two more nights. What?! Two more nights! That sent a jolt through me that no swig of Starbucks ever could!
I still have to sew the girls' nightgowns. I'm deterred by the fact that there are several orange blotches scattered throughout the fabric that I've washed and ironed. I'm not sure if it was there when I bought it or if its a casualty of our washing machine and our hard water. Before we trek to th' WalMart tonight I'm going to cut out the patterns and see if I have enough to avoid the stains. If not, I'll get another yard or two.
Christmas baking? Well, its a staple of several presents and I guess I better get at it today and tomorrow. Its a false sense of security that I'm going to Tidewater the day after Christmas and I think that I'll have Christmas afternoon to bake. Mmmm, like I said. I better get at it today. I was able to gift our trash guys and mail lady with cookies and treats, and I'll set out a cake for the newspaper guy this afternoon. But after that, my supplies are low, so its back to the kitchen with my little "helpers". I just have to trust that the oven heat will kill any germs from repeated sneaky "tastings".
I want to post pictures of my homemade Christmas gifts, but the recipients may find it too hard to look away. I'll save that post for after Christmas!

Roaring Run Hike

We went for a lovely hike last weekend!

No, really, they enjoyed it!

It was at Roaring Run Furnace, just south of Alleghany in Botetourt. The hike to the falls was about 3/4 of a mile at an easy grade. Abbo walked most of the way up; Andy carried her some of the way because she was slow and her legs got tired. But Hannah made it the whole way.

The best part of the hike was that it is almost wholly right beside the creek (Roaring Run), so its cool, moist and pleasant, with lots to see and do.

(like threatening your parents with a stick while perched on a rock over the creek)

(or playing Indian in the cave)

There are two sets of falls - well, one cascade and one falls, I guess. There's also a special trout management area, and while we saw several fishermen, we didn't see anything in their creels. But we did see a couple fish in the deep holes.

(upper falls)

On the way back, we took the Woodland Trail, which is exactly what it says: a trail through a mostly deciduous forest with some piney sections, especially at higher elevations. There was one fairly steep grade with an overlook.

The rest was downhill from the falls back to the furnace and the parking lot area.

We'll definitely go back and do this hike again....but with more than corn chips for a snack at the top!

And afterwards to celebrate? The girls put Pull-Ups on their heads and said they were fire helmets....then dressed up all their stuffed animals with the same. Argh.

A meme for Andy!

Lookie what was in Tuesday's local paper!

It says,

"GRANT-Clifton Forge has been awareded a matching safety grant of $1,000 which was used to purchase two defibrilators for emergency use at town hall and the library. Andy Morris, left, community development direcotr, applied for the grant and said the units can save a person's life when used before the rescue squad can arrive. the units can also be used as a CPR device. A prerecorded message talks the operator through teh use of the units in emergencies. At right is Clifton Forge Town Manager Tracey Shiflett. (Buck Rumph Photo)

You go, Andy!

Halloween 2009!

The little princesses....

at the Clifton Forge Florist.....

checking out the loot that LeeAnna has....

waiting for the parade to start....

and joining with about 30 of their friendlies for a march through downtown Clifton Forge! (You can't see Abbo in this picture - she has her back to the camera behind the boy in the front rrow with the yellow helmet on. She was more fascinated by the costumes than the camera :)