For those of you that

are making the detergent. My husband has found an easy way to mix.

Its so quick. Just buy a squirrell mixer & attach it to your drill.

Painters use the squirrell mixer for mixing paint inside of their large buckets. But in

our case it mixes the detergent just fine while making it & whenver we open

the buckets up to stir before putting in our containers. Be sure not to use a high speed on the drill as some of your detergent will get flung out.

by Hopblogger

Do you handwash your dishes....

almost every night I have some dishes that I need to handwash.

Not everything goes inside my automatic dishwasher. To get out of

handwashing my dishes - I need 2 dishwashers! But that isnt happening -

so I have to handwash still. Here is the website for handwashing

detergent.

http://greenliving.suite101.com/article.cfm/hand_wash_dishes_with_ecofriendly_efficiency

Use this recipe or just opt to use some of your laundry detergent like I do.

You dont need much - just a little bit.

To me there isnt much difference in the recipes except for that bar of soap.

But still use the distilled vinegar.

by Hopblogger

Hello There....

sure do hope that everyone had a nice weekend & got a few projects done.

I am working on a few things but have not completed them yet.

Hashimoto has had me tired lately. Anyway I wanted to give to you

a few websites & let you know what I have been doing - in the way

of thriftiness. The last time we made automatic dishwashing liquid I forgot

to take pics of it. Anyway, it is very easy to make & economical also.

Here is the website for the recipe we used. http://natural-products.suite101.com/article.cfm/washing_dishes_for_pennies

Take note, that the recipe calls for the same

ingredients as your laundry detergent minus the soap, so you have

everything already. Also notice that you have to teaspoon

the soaps into the dishwasher compartments

each time that you use it, but we did not do that. All we did was mix the Borax

& the super washing soda together 2 cups each into our large container & fill the

rest up with water. Just be sure to shake, shake, shake

each time before using. Also I want to say do not use your laundry

detergent in the automatic dishwasher because it might be too soapy & you wont

be able to rinse it all off of the dishes. Be sure to use the distilled white vinegar in the rinse

cycle as this helps. Dont forget it. I have been using this mixture & it is a little soapy for me.

Next time we make a fresh batch I will play around with the recipe & see about

using less detergents - or when my liquids get to half of my container - I might try

diluting it even more. Play around with the recipe until you get it the way

that you like it. Have fun!

by Hopblogger

ABOUT 9 MONTHS AGO

I started going PARABEN FREE. Yes - I decided that it was about

time to purge my body of those offending bad chemicals.

I have had enough of them. Even though I realize that I cannot get rid

of all of them entirely - at least I can rid myself of half of them or more

from my house & beauty products.

First I purged my cosmetics - goodbye Estee Lauder, you have served me

well all of these years. In my quest to find make-up from constantly searching

the internet - I found the make-up at Whole foods. Not far from my house

& it was a plus that it is gluten free! Believe me even though

it says that it is gluten free - it doesnt mean that I believe it. Many items that

says it is gluten free in fact are not. For instance it could contain corn flour,

natural flavors & or modified food starch. This is not gluten free so be-ware

my blog friends. Corn is a cereal grass.

Anyway in order to have makeup I cannot get away from

the paraben - so I have to choose gluten free over paraben free.

Guess who won that one! So I have sucked

it up and went with gluten free this time. But when I find both

then I will let you know about it.

Below is a website that tells you the cancer - causing ingredients.

http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com/cancer-causing-ingredients.html

Pick my friend. So my makeup is not paraben free. Soon it will be in

my head - to stay away from make-up until a manufacturer

decides to make paraben & gluten free or if by some freak chance

it figure it out on my own. Na - I am not a genius or a chemist.

So sad because it might be a long time before I discover something.

Alas, I have found deodorants,

shampoos & other stuff that is paraben free & gluten free. So this makes me happy

at least for the time being but not for long.

Soon I am going to try my hand at making my own shampoo & some other

beauty products

I am also tired of paying those high prices & they keep soaring up higher - arent

you tired of all of it? Is it too much to ask for paraben-free

& gluten-free. Cant they make that!

Anyway at that same time I started making my own laundry detergent.

My husband helps me & I think that he enjoys that it saves us

LOTS OF MONEY! I like your help, honey!

For over 30 years I had been a Tide user - used nothing else but that.

Loved it. Now I have had enough of the high price & the shrinking bottle

not to mention the BAD PARABENS, & besides that, my ideas have changed

as I have gotten older.

By the way this recipe does clean your clothes. With all the recipes that I have

found only the soaps change the most. A few soaps to mention that you

can use is Ivory, Octagon, Fels-Naptha, & Zote. These soaps are cost-effective.

Here is the website for the recipe that I chose to use, however I tried

Zote the first time I made it. This batch was made with Fels-Naptha. Go ahead

& change the soap to your preference - but this is the basics so take it

from there. This is not my recipe.

http://natural-products.suite101.com/article.cfm/washing_clothes_for_pennies

Do not be afraid to make any of this - it is easier than you think to make

your own laundry detergent. Online are recipes for making your own handsoap,

automatic dishwasher detergent & hand washing detergent. These products

are safer & cheaper so - GO GREEN.

Both of my daughters & my sister jumped on the same bandwagon with me -

so wont you do the same. Remember to click, click on picts to make them larger.

Look at the website on how to make the detergent & look at my pics if it

helps you.

You only need to use about 3 & 1/2 oz of the soap - but my husband cuts all of it

up & then bags it in a zip-lock the soap that we dont use - to use

for next batch making. This time

we made 2 - 5 gallon containers so to make up for not having alot of Fels-

Naptha - we also added in some Zote. We weigh it - so if you are not a

good judge of how much is 3 or 4 oz - then weigh it.

I stir the soap on the stove until it melts while my hubby gets the

5 gallon tub ready, & he mixes the ingredients in that.

(if making 2 batches - do one at a time). When the soap

has melted then he pours the soap out of the pot into the container &

I stir it till blended - & folks that is all there is to it! Hubby puts on the

lid tightly - then we let it sit overnight - ready for my sunday washday.

Just be sure the next day when you open it - to stir it up because it gels.

Then dip it into your empty container & put it on the shelf above your

washer. I forgot to add that I also changed my downy to white distilled

vinegar. I put essence oil in that to make it smell nice. Only use a fourth

of a cup or less - as it doesnt take much. The vinegar smell goes away. This rinse

lasts a long time. Have fun!

by Hopblogger

RECYCLING

I believe that everyone has to do their part in saving

the planet. There is this really cool website

that shows you how to recycle things from ordinary stuff and how

to make those items useful around the house. To take a look at their

website click on the above word recycling