Money Saving Homemade Laundry Soap

Now this recipe is, although homemade and money saving, is not all natural or organic. It is a lot better than the liquid stuff and safe on septic tanks than most commercially made detergents.

 It does make a lot and I made enough to fill a 1 gallon container and 2 half gallon containers for gifts. I also had some left that I stored in the leftover Oxyclean container.

 I originally found this recipe on How Does She. It is awesome. I did have to alter the recipe a bit since I couldn't find the Zote Soap and I prefer blue to pink so I used blue Purex Crystals. I ended up finding the containers at Walmart along with all the ingredients to make the soap. My husband figured it to be about $27.50 for the entire batch and if we used 2 tablespoons per load we would have enough for approximately 297 loads (he loves his math).  Enough for the entire year if I kept all of it, but I can't help but give some to friends and family.

Here is the recipe for the Homemade Laundry Soap.

Homemade Laundry Soap
Ingredients

• 1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax
• 1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean
• 2 Bars of Fels - Naptha soap
• 1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda - I buy my baking soda at Costco in the 13 pound bags, so I measured out 4 pounds
• I used one large container of Purex Crystals, blue color. I only used one because I don't really like heavily scented laundry. You could use more if you prefer. There are several scents to choose and Downey also makes a fabric enhancer. So choose your favorite for a custom scent.

Instructions

1. Grate the soap with cheese grater or food processor. (I found that the smaller the grates the better the soap dissolved in the washer.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket  or large plastic bag by shaking gently.
3. Use 2 -4 Tablespoons per laundry load.

Homemade Spice Mix and Ground Chilies

Since Daddy and the Little Man were sick with a fever today, I decided to shake the boredom and craft with food, as Sissy would say.

I started out with something quite simple. I ground some dried cayenne chilies, from last years garden, into flakes and packaged them in a cellophane bag (part of a gift package I am sending to my folks).

Then I proceeded to make some spicy salt. I found the recipe on Pinterest. It uses kosher salt and sriracha sauce mixed together then baked at a low oven. I found that two hours at 200 was just too long. My salt dried in half that time at 200. Ovens vary so watch your salt.

The recipe for the salt can be found at Babble.

It is actually a bit spicy and would be really yummy on popcorn.

Overall a pretty easy project that helped pass the time while taking care of the boys. I packaged the salt in a 4 oz Mason jar and added a label. This too will be added to the folks package, I know they will enjoy this spicy treat.

Stay tuned for a very cute Valentine card. They are so darling and easy to make.

Have a great night!
Heather

Gift Baskets

UPDATE: Since Hubs thought I sounded bitter and hating the world when I wrote the post I decided to get rid of the negative stuff 

I really love making gifts baskets.

I love giving gifts to friends and family. The look on there face when they receive a gift is priceless to me and makes my heart happy.

Does anyone out there like gift baskets? What is your favorite, making them or receiving them?

I like receiving them just as much. A basket full of little bits and bobbles...what fun!

this one is filled with soap, scrub, bath soak, and body spray that I made. 

I made these for our neighbors at Christmas time. A tray with hot chocolate and cookies. Perfect for a cold winter night.

Have a wonderful evening,

Heather