Thrifty Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

All around the internet you can find recipes for homemade laundry detergent. I have tried both the  liquid and the powder laundry detergent  and for now I think that I prefer the powder version mainly because it is quick and easy to make and I don't have a big mess to clean up when I get thru! Ok, maybe I'm sloppier  messier  more neatness challenged than some of you (smile) but the powdered version is currently my preference.

I can easily find all of the ingredients that I need to my make my homemade laundry detergent recipe in the laundry aisle at my local Walmart and also I usually don't have a problem finding them at the grocery store.

All you will need to make your own thrifty laundry detergent are three very inexpensive ingredients: Borax Laundry Booster, Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and a bar of soap.  I have used various types of soap ranging from castille soap bars, soaps I have found at the Dollar Store and laundry soap bars in the laundry aisle of the grocery stores so you too can just experiment to see what you like.

 

So I was out of my laundry detergent. While in the laundry section of Walmart buying my supplies I decided this nerdy girly girl (don't hate me) needed some PINK soap and picked up Japon ZOTE Laundry Soap.

I have also  used a brand called Fels Naptha Laundry Soap Bar. Cost wise they were about the same price, currently at $.97 per bar.  But the Zote bar is a LARGE bar of soap. I also found Zote Laundry Flakes, which is a nice option  if you don't want to spend the time grating your own soap or if arthritis of the hands limits your ability to grate the soap easily! The box shows that two bars of soap is equal to the box of Zote Laundry Flakes wasn't too much more expensive than two bars of the soap. 

The Zote site lists their ingredients as follows:

"MAIN INGREDIENTS The main ingredients are beef tallow and coconut oil,which are neutralized with caustic soda for the saponification process. It contains salt (sodium chloride), glycerin, perfume, optical brightener and dye, in the case of pink ZOTE and blue ZOTE." OPTICAL BRIGHTNERS ZOTE soap contains an optical brightener which bleaches clothes without fading their color. Optical brighteners are the compounds providing clothes with brightness. Their function is to absorb light with certain wave lengths in the washed garments and thus reflecting a visible blue; its work is most noticeable in white clothes."  Here is the recipe I used: Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder 2 Cups Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda 2 Cups Borax Laundry Booster 2 Cups Grated Zote Laundry Soap or Zote Laundry Flakes  ( I added about 3 cups since my soap didn't grate as finely - explained below)* Use 1 to 3 tablespoons of laundry detergent per load depending on size of laundry load and how soiled your laundry may be. This laundry detergent will not suds up in your washer. But don't think that no suds means ineffective cleaning.  Grate the laundry soap.  I used a hand grater.  *I find that it is so much easier to get a nice finely grated soap bar when I take the soap out of the wrapper and allow the laundry soap to just sit several days prior to grating the soap. The soap will harden a bit and will result in a finer grated soap. Since I was out of laundry powder and since this was a new bar I didn't have several days to let the soap sit for a few days, so you will see that it is not as finely grated as it could have been if I had allowed it to sit out a few days before grating. The above picture shows my grated laundry soap used for this recipe: And the picture above reflects a much finer grated soap due to me having unwrapped a bar of soap and giving it a few days to sit out and harden a bit before grating. I think the difference is significant enough to remember to do that!  A finer grated soap will dissolve easier in your wash! Mix the washing soda, laundry booster and washing soda together. I keep mine stored in a glass storage container with a lid. Again..... you don't need much of this laundry detergent to get clean clothes!! So remember to use very little! Only 1 - 3 TABLESPOONS per load depending on load size and amount of soiling. The Zote soap has a nice delicate, clean scent that is not overpowering to me.  The Zote website states the following: "Another of the distinctive features of ZOTE is its fragrance: essential citronella oil, a plant that originally came from Europe, which posseses a pleasant smell similar to lime; thanks to this ingredient, the clothes washed with ZOTE smell fresh and fragrant for several days." So there you go!  Clean laundry, delicately scented, cost effective,  very little product required to get clean, fresh laundry, quick and easy as it doesn't take but about ten minutes or so to make.  It's all GOOD in my book my friends!  Add a pretty label and directions for use and you also have a nice, useful, and thrifty gift idea too! Let me know if you decide to give it a try! Do you use homemade laundry detergent?  What is your favorite homemade laundry detergent recipe? I cannot speak as to the safety of use for washer or septic systems. As with anything do your very own research, read cautions and literature that may have been given to you upon purchase of your products used and or your equipment or consult professionals with any concerns you may have.   You may also  go to the following websites for information regarding ingredients listed in this recipe: Zote Laundry Soap, Borax Laundry Booster, Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda Linked in with the following: Frugal and Sustainable Thursday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Frugal Crafty Home Wow Us Wednesday  Whatever You Want Wednesday Farmgirl Friday

Keepsake Gift Box Tutorial for Valentine's Day or Little Ballerina's Birthday

 

With Valentine's day just around the corner I thought I would share with you how to make this cute little keepsake heart shaped gift box that would be perfect to hold tiny little Valentine's gift for a sweet little girl.

DIY Keepsake Gift Box Tutorial

Supplies:

Paper mache heart shaped box available from craft stores
Acrylic paints: White, Pink, Aqua Blue
Paint brushes and paint dauber
Extra fine sandpaper
Glitter
Hot glue gun and glue stick
Trim
Matte sealer
Cupcake topper - ballerina or whatever you choose

Remove any stickers from the box.  Paint the box white with several coats of white acrylic paint allowing each coat to dry thoroughly between coats. With a very fine sandpaper sand between coats and remove the dust from sanding.

With a flat paint brush paint the pink stripes spaced evenly around the box lid.  Use the size of paintbrush that you would like for your stripes to be.  Allow to dry and then paint a second coat.  While the paint is still wet from the second coat sprinkle glitter on the painted stripes for a bit of sparkle.

With a paint dauber dip the dauber into the paint and paint the polka dots around the box bottom alternating between pink and aqua blue.  Paint a second coat and while the paint is still wet from the second coat sprinkle glitter on the painted polka dots.

With a hot glue gun go around the perimeter of the top of the box with glue.  Place pretty trim on top of the glue and allow to dry.

Adhere ballerina cupcake topper to the center of the heart lid with glue from the hot glue gun.

Seal with a matte sealer if you want.

Add a small gift tucked neatly inside and surprise your little sweatheart not only with a gift but also with a sweet little keepsake box!

Warning: Use caution! Those hot glue guns do get very hot!! Paint and seal your box in a well ventilated area and avoid fumes.

I'm joining in with the following link ins:
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways
Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Free Pretty Things for Whatever You WantWednesday

Pea Soup

I guess that peas are one of those things that you either just love or just absolutely don't. 
As for myself, I love peas!  My husband...well he absolutely don't.  In fact I guess you could call him a pea hater. Yes...a pea hater. Says he can't stand to look at them.  Says he can't stand to smell of them. And says he just can't stand to sit at the same table in the company of a pea.

Personally, I like fresh or fresh frozen peas. I don't care too much the store bought canned ones. But since my husband hates them well.... there hasn't been any pea cooking going on in my kitchen lately.

My sister loves peas too. In fact she can eat peas just about any way you want to fix them. She loves cold pea salad, can peas, frozen peas and today one of our topics of conversation was pea soup. Seems one of her neighbors was making some and she is now wanting a bowl of hot pea soup.
So for those of you who do like peas I thought I would share this recipe!

               

SPLIT PEA SOUP

       Serves approximately 4 - 5 people

Ingredients:

One ham hock or ham bone with meat on it or a pork shoulder bone with meat on it

One pound of dried split green peas (rinsed)

One medium onion diced

Three stalks of celery sliced thin

Three carrots sliced thin

One bay leaf

1 tsp. of salt

1 /4 tsp. white pepper preferred, but you could use black pepper

1 clove of minced garlic (optional)

2 lemon slices

1 small can of chicken broth

2 quarts of water

1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

1 small container of sour cream (to add as topping to the soup)

1 /4 cup chopped parsley (to add as a topping to the soup)

1. In a Dutch oven combine all of the ingredients except the parsley and sour cream.

2. Bring to boiling. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours until ham and peas are tender and the soup has thickened. Keep a check and stir now and then because the soup will thicken as it cooks and you don't want it to burn.

3. Remove the lemon slices and the bay leaf.

4. Remove the ham hocks, ham bone or picnic shoulder bone Remove any meat from bone. Discard bone and add the meat back into the soup.

Optional: If you want a smooth creamy soup you can puree the soup in a blender.

Serve in a soup bowl and garnish with a spoonful of sour cream and / or parsley if you choose.

 

Sorry that I don't have a beautiful and enticing photo of a fresh cooked, piping hot bowl of pea soup, but like I said....no pea cooking has gone on here in a long time since Mr. Nifty Thrifty can't bear sharing the table with a pea. He doesn't  know what he is missing does he?

Enjoy!! 

 

Do you have a pea recipe to share with other pea lovers?

Linked in with:
Coastal Charm's Thrifty Tuesday Frugal Days Sustainable Ways

Homemade Natural Room Freshner, Thrifty and Easy!

Want a thrifty and natural room freshner that you can make in very little time? This takes literally only a few minutes and costs near nothing!

So here are your ingredients:

Baking soda
Essential Oil(s) of your choice

I have a glass cheese shaker that I use to store my room freshner. There are already holes in the shaker part of the lid, so the fragrance can be released from the jar.  You could also use a mason jar and punch holes in the lid or a jelly jar or other jar that has a lid that you can punch holes so that the fragrance can be released into the room.

All you have to do is pour  a few inches deep of  baking soda into your jar
and then shake some essential oils into the jar. Place the lid on the jar and hold your hands over the holes in the lid and shake up a bit.  You can use your favorite essential oil or experiment with several essential oils blended together to make your own special fragrance.  Just experiment!

Especially nice for smaller rooms!

Do you have a favorite room freshner recipe or idea? I'd love to know!

Warning: Keep out of reach of children and always follow manufacturer's warnings!  See disclaimer at bottom of the page please.


Linking in with: 
Dandelion House Farm Girl Friday The Home Acre Hop, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

Homemade Crystallized Ginger Candy

I have been wanting to make some crystallized ginger candy for a while now. Especially when I looked at how expensive it is to buy it ready made! It's great to snack on but it is also great to add to other recipes too! Add it as a topping on your icecream, chop it and add it to your home baked cookies and so much more.

I am sure that there are many recipes out there on the internet but I just kind of winged it and here is how I made mine!

Although I do have some ginger growing here at home it is not quite mature enough to harvest. So I had to purchase it.

I purchased about one and one third pounds of ginger. I peeled it easily by just scraping the peeling off of the ginger root with a spoon. I then sliced it in thin slices.  You might prefer to grate the ginger root into strips or cut it up into chunks or however you like to eat it. Place the prepared ginger in a pan and cover it with water, bringing to a boil for a few minures and then reduce the heat to medium heat until it begins to get tender. Keep a check and stir every now and then. Once it is tender remove the ginger from the pan. Remove the water and set it aside but save it. (I reserved one cup of water for my ginger candy and put the remaining water into another saucepan so that I could also make some ginger syrup.) Then I added the ginger back to the pan and added back in one cup of reserved ginger water and one cup of sugar (next time I will try using Xylitol as it has less calories and tastes great.) Continue to cook on low to medium heat to allow the ginger to envelop all of that sugary goodness. I would say about 20 minutes. Keep a watch and stir frequently. Now remove from the heat (reserve whatever water / sugar is left and you can use this ginger syrup to flavor tea or make ginger ale.) Allow the ginger to cool for a few minutes. You can lay it out on a cooling rack just as it is or if you want you can dip it in sugar or Xylitol once it is cool enough to handle and then lay it on the cooling rack to continue to cool. Yes....I coated mine with sugar!

Makes a "sweet" little gift in a jar!

Remember the ginger water that I set aside to save? If you would like to make some more of the ginger syrup just measure it out to see how much water you have and add sugar to it in a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water. Allow it to come to a boil stirring continually until the sugar dissolves. Some of you may want to add more or even less sugar. It's up to you! Allow to cool and poor into a lidded jar and refrigerate.

Ginger is not only a tasty treat but made into a ginger tea it seems to help me and my family if we have an upset tummy. I have used it also to help my family with a cough and sore throat.

What's YOUR favorite use or recipe for ginger?

Also, please check out how to make Violet Syrup here!

Linked in with: Petite Hermine, The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday, Farm Girl Friday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways The Home Acre Hop, Thrifty Thursday,  Coastal Charm's Thrifty Tuesday Bouquet of Talent