DIY No-Grate Powdered Laundry Soap

Like so many other people who are making their own cleaning supplies, I thought I would try it out myself. So, I found the preferred recipe for Laundry Detergent and went to work. The one thing that I ran across repeatedly was that no one liked grating the soap. So here is an alternative idea.

Recipe:

1 Box Borax (4lb 12oz) 

1 Box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (3lb 7oz)

1 Container OxiClean (3lbs)

2 Boxes Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (2lbs each)

3 Bars Fels Naptha Soap

Mix all ingredients together except the Fels-Naptha. You can either add the bars to the mixture by grating or microwave the bars using the directions below. If you are sensitive to strong smells, you had better just use the grating method.

Place Fels-Naptha Bar in microwave safe bowl like Corningware. Microwave on high for around 3 minutes (microwaves vary, so this is an estimated time). It will swell into a monstrous glob. When finished, carefully remove from microwave and set aside for a couple of hours to cool. After it is thoroughly cooled it easily crumbles and flakes apart in your hands. If it didn't cook quite long enough there will still be some hard chunks in the middle, you can just pop them back into the microwave for a few seconds until they plump up, then cool again and crumble.

You may end up with some unusual shapes like my Alien friend below:

 

* I cannot stress the cooling part enough because I did burn my fingers by being impatient. It cools very quickly on the outside but will maintain hot pockets of goo inside for a long time.

* The scent will not be unpleasant but will be very strong and quite overwhelming, your microwave may retain the smell for quite awhile.

This is definitely the best and easiest method for me but please do not try it if you or a family member cannot tolerate strong odors. Your whole house will smell like Fels-Naptha!!

Smells Good

I finally filled my largest pot full of pear bits. Notice that I didn't say that I got all of my pears peeled and cut up. I still have pears left to process but since my pot was full and my arms were aching I quit peeling.

I am currently sitting here waiting on the pears to cook down. That will happen at about 3:00 in the morning. Then I can start canning them. Having to do this overnight was my own fault. I kept putting it off until I ran out of time. I should have been in the house working on the pears this evening instead of cutting weeds out from under the electric fence. It is just that I can't resist being outside.

I lost my pear preserve recipe from last year and it was a great recipe. So I had to find a new one for these pears. It is suppose to be an old pear preserve recipe but I am thinking that it will be more like pear butter.

Since the recipe was pretty boring, I decided to spice it up. I added lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice. It smells heavenly and I keep having to go over and spoon some out for tasting.

Make Your Own Deodorant

Along with my recently acquired weird green thinking comes the worry that my antiperspirant may increase my risk of Alzheimers or Breast Cancer. If you read on the label of your antiperspirant you will see that the active ingredient is aluminum (insert really long word here). Which blocks your pores from doing their normal job of allowing you to perspire.

Now, I do not know why the good Lord gave us armpits but he did, so they must serve some vital function. I would think that stopping them from doing their job might not be a great idea anyway, but stopping them with Aluminum just does not sound good at all.

The common consensus is that Aluminum can be a cause of Alzheimers. Since they think that eating out of Aluminum cookware may be one of the causes of this disease, what about rubbing it under your armpits everyday? With my family history of Alzheimers, seeing it up close and personal, I do not want to get this disease.

So how do I eliminate antiperspirant from my life now that I have eliminated shampoo (see previous post)?

I could just use deodorant instead of antiperspirant. Deodorants just mask or kill the bacteria that cause odors while allowing you to sweat. But then I read where something in deodorants can cause breast cancer.

I am not being paranoid here, but this line of thinking makes me wonder if I could just make my own and save some money as well as my life. So it is off to Google I go. I found some recipes, tried one and found that it didn't last until evening. So I tried another recipe and it seems to be working for me.

Here is the recipe:
Equal parts of Baking Soda and Cornstarch.

A few drops of an essential oil of your choice.
(Tea Tree Oil is best but do not use Tea Tree Oil or Lavender Oil if you are a man or a man will be using it.)

If you don't have essential oils lying around the house, you can also add a little bath powder for scent or you don't need any scent at all.

Mix in as much Coconut Oil as it takes for the powders to dissolve but for the mixture to be firm and spreadable. Coconut Oil for those who do not use it, is a dietary supplement that can be found at Wal-Mart and is a sweet smelling lard like substance.

You can pack this mixture into an empty stick deodorant container but leave the lid off, so that it will continue to harden. You will have to apply gently and carefully because it will not be as firm as regular deodorants. I haven't tried this yet, I have just been applying it out of a bowl with my fingers tips. You do have to be careful to apply only a thin layer because it will cake up and fall off it you apply it too heavily.

I have not tested this deodorant in a hot summer hayfield yet, but will let you know how it holds up under these extreme farm conditions as soon as hay season begins.

Peanut Butter Fudge

One of our gifts for Christmas from my Husband's Aunt was a homemade recipe book that is just adorable. As I pulled out the recipes to look at them I was pleasantly surprised to find the recipe for Uncle Jimmy's peanut butter fudge.

I had my DH pick up the items that I needed to make the fudge from the store on his way home from work yesterday. We went to Prayer Service last night and the plan was to make the fudge when we got home.

After the wonderful warm weather that we have had for the last few days, I knew that all good things have to come to an end. There was a nasty storm in the making when we got home. I had measured out all of my ingredients and had the 5 cups of sugar with evaporated milk and butter cooking on the stove when the cold front started sweeping through our area. The wind was horrible, along with the hard driving rain.

My mixture was just about to come to a boil when without warning the electricity went out. My stove is electric and I hoped against hope that it was just a temporary problem but it wasn't. My DH held the flashlight while I quickly removed the pan from the hot burner and started covering up all of the ingredients that were already opened and measured out for the fudge, I covered the pan with a plate

I started lighting candles and since the storm outside didn't show any signs of letting up, we both put on our Energizer Headlights, propped ourselves up with pillows on the bed and read our Jeffrey Shaara books. He is now reading "The Last Full Measure" and I am reading "Gods and Generals". Those headlights are just perfect for reading whether you have electricity or not. The lights came back on sometime during the early morning hours. I remember him asking me, Who turned on the light?

I finished the fudge this morning before Sunday School and got to taste it when we came home and I just keep going back to taste it again and again. My DH said it was a little grainy but he keeps going back to taste it again and again too.

My Quiet Day

This day started out normally with me waking up while still in bed. From there things went a little haywire, which is somewhat normal also. I am not upset or disturbed because for the most part I have enjoyed most of the day.

My morning was marred by my goats being out, I chased them around for a little while before finally catching them and putting the two yearling does in a dog kennel where they couldn't get out. Then turned around to the sound of a stallion screaming and kicks being administered. One of the broodmares and a two year old filly had knocked a gate off of it's hinges to get in with Badger our Grullo Stallion.

He was just trying to be friendly, after all they had come into his pen. They were kicking the daylights out of him. I managed to get him out of his pen and into the mare and foal pasture, then managed to get the mare, 3 weanlings and pony out of their pasture and into the dry holding lot. I left the offending mare and filly in Badger's pen. Then tied up the gate as well as I could. I felt like we were playing musical chairs.

I was scheduled to watch my three Granddaughters in the afternoon and as is always the case when they are here, my phone rings off the hook. The girls are very young and needy, they are especially needy when you are on an important call. There were a few times that I felt like jerking the phone line out of the wall and pitching the phone out the door, when the calls weren't important. It is odd to me that the older girls can be calling for my assistance over and over, the baby can be crying loud enough to wake the dead and the person on the other end of an unimportant call cannot tell that I am busy and don't have time to talk.

Two calls were important, one was letting me know that they had decided to buy a nice little AQHA Palomino gelding named Midas from us. They came to look at him yesterday.

The other important call was from a man who bought a horse from us several weeks ago. He has been riding his legs off, his daughter and Grandkids have been riding him as well. But after loading him in his trailer many, many times and even taking him away on a camping trip, the horse has decided not to get into the trailer anymore, not even for food. I gave him my suggestion, it involved pressure and a stick.

I chose today to try out a new recipe, since I didn't already have enough to do. My new recipe turned out well, but not worth the time invested. Somehow I managed to get my goat milked and my buck put up before dark, after the kids left. The DH and I even stole a couple of minutes to sit down outside and talk after he got all of the horses put back where they belong and got the gate repaired.

Goat Milk Facial Cleanser

I got this recipe and it was suppose to be a goat milk skin cleanser but I found it to be great for other things too.

It is simple to make and is very affective. It can be used as a facial cleanser, a facial tightening mask or as a milk bath.

This was taken from Home Beauty book. It says " For clean healthy skin, goat's milk is an instant beautifier both inside and out. It is rich in protein, natural fat, and acids, all of which help clean and detoxify your complexion, thus leaving it soft and smooth."

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup of goat's milk
2 tablespoons of baking soda
1 egg white

Yields 6 oz.

Directions:
Mix all ingredients until well blended. Pour into a clean container.

To use:
Stir before each use. Pour small amount of cleansing milk onto a clean wet washcloth and gently massage into your face and neck. Rinse well with warn water and pat dry. Refrigerate any left over cleanser.

This is the way that I use it: It has to be kept refrigerated, so that means that it is cold when you use it unless you want to let the small portion that you will be using set out until it comes to room temperature. Don't attempt to warm it in the microwave because the egg white will cook very quickly.

I shake the container thoroughly before pouring out a small amount and let it set for awhile before use. When I am ready to use it, I stir it again and then dip a cotton ball in it to apply it to my face and throat, then I rinse it off with warm water.

I have oily skin and so my favorite way to use it is the mask method. I wash my face with another cleanser, then apply it with a cotton ball and leave it on until it is dry and my skin is tight, then I rinse it off with warm water.

My face is always very soft after using this mixture. So I also use it as a milk bath, after stirring the mixture, I just pour the full container in my bath water.

Goat Milk Soap Recipe

I haven't tried this goat milk soap recipe because I don't have all of the ingredients yet, I need to find the lye.

3/4 cup Lard
3/4 cup all vegetable shortening
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup frozen goat milk
1/4 cup lye

Makes one 1 lb. about 6 bars.

Melt all of the oils together then cool to room temp. Break your frozen goat milk into small pieces with a hammer and place in 4 cup glass measuring bowl or cup. Using goggles and long, heavy rubber gloves, slowly sprinkle the lye onto the frozen milk pieces while stirring constantly with a stainless steel spoon. Using frozen is very important in order for the lye not to burn the milk.

Stir until all the milk is melted and all the lye is dissolved. Then slowly pour the milk/lye mixture into the oils. Continue stirring with a stick blender until the oil and milk are completely blended and starts to thicken like thin pudding. With a blender this should take about 3-5 min. At this point (called trace) you can add 1/2 oz. of skin approved fragrance by hand, not blender.

Then pour into prepared molds that have been coated with vaseline. Cover with plastic wrap and place on a level undisturbed surface, then cover all with towels or blankets. Soap can be unmolded in 24 hours, cut or shave if needed. Place bars on rack with plenty of air circulation to cure, soap can be used in two weeks but will be soft and not last as long as soap that has been cured for 3-4 weeks. Longer cured soap will also lather better.

Goat Milk Lotion

Yes, I know that I didn't blog yesterday but I had already started this one when the storms came through and I had to shut off my computer. Then we lost our electricity, so I never finished it or got it posted. The following is yesterday's blog.

I have a lot of goat's milk in my freezer that I need to get rid of before my goats come fresh again. So I have decided to make lotion, cleanser and soap. I started my new adventure today.

I purchased most of the ingredients that I needed from that great Chinese distributor, Walmart, except for the Beeswax and Goat's Milk. I bought a Stick Blender that was made in China, they only had one choice available, so it got pitched in the old cart pretty quickly without much thought. They had Coconut Oil that is a dietary supplement that was actually manufactured in Florida. They had Spring Valley Vitamin E Oil for the skin that was manufactured in California. They also had some Aloe Vera Gel that wasn't exactly what my recipe called for because it wasn't 100% Aloe Vera, it was an Aloe Vera Gel for sunburn, but I didn't think it would hurt anything because it is for the skin and it was manufactured in Florida.

Here is the recipe:

1/8 tsp. borax
1/4 cup cold goat's milk
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. beeswax
1/2 cup Aloe Vera gel
1 tsp. Vitamin E oil

Heat borax and milk in microwave to boiling. Melt coconut oil and beeswax together in microwave but remove when oil gets hot and beeswax is not completely melted, the hot oil will melt the beeswax with a little time and stirring. Slowly add this to the borax/milk mixture using a stick blender. Add Vitamin E oil and cool to room temperature. Next add Aloe Vera to the cooled lotion and blend one final time.

I had to buy the beeswax on eBay.

We found this recipe to be way too greasy, but it may be because I used the wrong type of Aloe Vera Gel. This would make a great massage oil though.

I plan to order some pure Aloe Vera and try this recipe again because it is so easy. The hardest part was shaving the beeswax