Wednesday's Cleaning: Make Your Own...Laundry Detergent (part 1)

Oh, economy, how I love how you've forced me to be resourceful. Luckily I have started a new series on how to Make Your Own...(cleaning and body products). My goal in making my own stuff is to save money, recycle (jars, bottles, milk jugs, etc), and to be green. If you have not been following my list so far, see the Make Your Own Intro. I have connected links to the products I have already made and my reviews of them. Check them out, share ideas of things I can make, and share your own reviews of the products.

Today's MYO is Laundry Detergent (the dry kind). I initially set out to make the liquid version, especially since I have been saving milk jugs specifically for this purpose. But since it requires the liquid to sit for 24 hours, and I was in desperate need of laundry detergent, I decided to give the dry detergent a shot. So I did a TON of research on recipes, and almost all of them said the same thing: Soap (such as Ivory), Washing Powder, and Borax. Since I didn't want to store hop looking for Washing Soda (that should be in the laundry section of your grocery store or Wal-Mart, but my luck, they would be out), I decided to hit up my local Ace Hardware. I LOVE that place. It was where I found canning jars for a reasonable price when all the other stores were out, where I get my keys duplicated, and where it is a kid-friendly place. When I walked in, this is the first thing I saw:

See the little open space on the top shelf? That is a print out of instructions on how to make it liquid-style (said same thing as all my research), and gave a brief explanation on all the ingredients. See how I love Ace Hardware? I was so excited to see this display that I nearly squealed with joy right there in the store.

So on to the "recipe"

Laundry Detergent (dry)


What You'll Need:

• 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap 
• 1/2 cup Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup Borax 

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, grate the soap. Add the Washing Soda and Borax. Mix well. 
2. Using a funnel, pour into a container that you can seal air-tight. I used an old salsa jar that I had cleaned, soaked in very hot water, and dried completely. 

To Use: Pour 1 Tbsp (for a Normal load) into the water then add the clothes. Wash as normal. 

For me, 1 Tbsp is about half a capful, so I wrote that on the jar with a permanent marker. 

REVIEW

I have used this mix for about a week, which equals about 10 loads of laundry for us (2 boys, 1 girl, and a husband...yeah, 10 loads in 1 week is pretty good). While washing, it has this great scent, but you cannot detect any scent once the clothes of dried, unless you dry on the clothes line, then the scent is only faint. 

My clothes have come out just as clean as they normally do, which was my worry. I am actually enjoying this, and it wasn't that expensive to make. I still have plenty of Borax and Washing Soda left to make more or make other cleaning products. 

Give this a shot and tell me how you like it! 

Devotion: Just Keep Your Mouth Shut

"In the same way, you wives should yield to your husbands. Then, if some husbands do not obey God's teaching, they will be persuaded to believe without anyone's saying a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. Your husbands will see the pure lives you live with your respect for God." 1 Peter 3: 1-2 (NCV)

 I can't ever seem to keep my opinions to myself. In my mind, I truly believe that what I have to say is worth everyone's full attention. Even as a child, I felt that what I had to say was of the most importance. As I matured (and am still maturing), I'm finding that the more I speak, the less people listen. "Oh, there goes Jana once again, giving her opinions." I found myself drawn to people who also liked to talk. But that talk was not always the kind that I insist my children practice: words that lift others up (Ephesians 4:29). In more ways than one, my words (and the actions that came with those words) ended up hurting people. I came to see myself as having "foot-in-mouth" disease. I just could not keep my mouth shut!

Recently I was tempted with some circumstances where I wanted to give my opinion:  a friend wanted to gossip about another friend, someone with opposing political views was being particularly annoying with posts on Facebook; someone claiming to be a Christian trashed public schools and the teachers, and the list could go on. I really, really wanted to put my own two cents in. But the Lord has plans for me to just not say anything. He pressed on my heart to keep my mouth shut. And this is a new thing for me. New ground. New territory. My whole life I didn't think twice about sharing my own opinions, but I was changing. I was maturing. The Lord was growing in me.

As I have mentioned before, when I feel God is trying to teach me a lesson, he handles me like I would one of my own students: introduce an idea, give a real life example, practice applying, and review. With this new lesson of learning how to control my tongue, God opened my eyes to the women in my life who do a great job avoiding the mama-drama, and I would hear loud and clear scripture that emphasizes the importance of controlling your words. I found myself recognizing and being drawn to women who would 1) not participate in the gossip that others desperately wanted to indulge in; 2) resist complaining about a fellow Christian; 3) walk away from someone who was trying to create more drama; and 4) always have a positive thing to say about something someone else was complaining about. Those women embrace the Proverbs 31 wife in speaking in wisdom and faithful instruction (Proverbs 31:26).

As for scripture coming in loud and clear, I love the main verse today, 1 Peter 3:1-2. This describes how a woman has the power to lead someone to Christ not with her words, but with her actions. When I heard this verse last week in church, the phrase "without anyone saying a word" seemed to echo over and over in my head. God loves it when we show his love with our actions. Too many people who call themselves Christian spew hatred. Their words actually show the condition of their hearts. Romans 14:19 says "So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault" (The Message).

I challenge you today. If you are a Christian, don't participate in bad-mouthing others. We are to not be like the rest of the world. We are to be set apart, different. Sometimes Satan's best helpers are the ones who claim to be Christian, but their words and actions show them to be just like (or even worse, in many cases) those who claim they don't want to have anything to do with our Savior. Just keep your mouth shut and let your love for the Lord show through your actions. So many people come to a better understanding of Him when His people are loving and use words to lift others up. As I work on keeping my own mouth shut, I pray  you, too, will be encouraged to represent the Lord in ways that are uplifting.

Photo Credit 

Here's a link to another post I did about talking too much. See? God's still working on me. :} Don't Babble On. 

Tuesday's Food: Waffled Falafels

My husband likes falafels; I like using my waffle maker. Since it was Meatless Monday, I decided to give making falafels in my waffle maker a try! One of my favorite creative recipe websites is The Waffleizer: a website that has quite a few different recipes using your waffle maker but not necessarily making waffles. She (he?) didn't have a recipe for falafels, but said she just used a mix from a box. So off to the store I went to find said falafel mix to make a surprise meal for my hubs.

After searching 3 different grocery stores for the waffle mix, I finally decided to just make the falafels from scratch. If you normally make your falafels from scratch, then instead of frying the little balls, just form them into patties, and cook them in your waffle maker instead. If you don't make your falafels from scratch, or have never made falafels, then check out the recipe below....and then check out my review.

Homemade Falafels

What You'll Need:

• 1 can chick peas
• 1/3 cup parsley (I don't like parsley so much, so I did about half parsley and half oregano to make 1/3 cup) 
• OPTIONAL: 1 medium onion, chopped (I did not do this because the hubs doesn't like onions) 
• 2 Tbsp cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 CUP cumin. (Yes, that says CUP)
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper
• 3 Tbsp water
• Olive oil 

Instructions: 

1. Drain and rinse the chick peas. Dump in a large bowl or blender. Add parsley, onion, cilantro, garlic, baking powder, salt, cumin, and red pepper. Blend until it makes a thick paste. 
2. Add the water and blend well. It will not be smooth, but close to it. 
3. Using two spoons, form into little balls (see pic #1 below). NOTE: after cooking the first round, I ended up combining two balls to make 1 large patty. I would suggest the same if you are going to use the waffle maker. 
4. Add a little olive oil to your waffle maker, place the balls or patties in the maker, and cook until crispy (2-3 minutes). Drain on a paper towel. 
5. Cover the inside of pita bread with humus and add the waffled falafel (and tomatoes and cucumbers if desired). 

REVIEW: 

This went over well with half of us, and not so well with the other half. It was just a bit too spicy for Jed and me. 

As for the experience, we have made falafels before, but from a boxed mix. They turned out great, then. This time, about half of my falafels fell apart in the waffle maker. It honestly could just be the recipe and the type of waffle maker I have (Belgium waffle maker). I ended up making mine with crumbled falafels instead of a the full cooked item. It was still good (just spicy). I will make this again, but with a mix next time just to see if it turns out different. 

If you give this a shot, let me know how it worked for you! 

Pre-cooked falafel balls. Normal size for frying, but I ended up combining two to make one large patty

Final product. We also had about a Tbsp of hummus on the side to dip whatever in. YUM! 

Friday's Review: Local Business: Time Well Spent

As I drive up to the quaint little yellow house that is tucked neatly under beautiful oak trees just off a busy cut through road, the excitement rises as I am going to share a special lunch with my special little girl. It's just the two of us today, and I wanted to take her some place just for girls.

Time Well Spent is a little tea room that is in the heart of my little town of Summerville, SC. In the past 15 years or so, I have been to three bridal brunches and countless lunches here, and I love it. When you walk in, you are surrounded by countless beautiful treasures that make great gifts for mom, mother-in-law, little girls, brides, or a special friend. There are tea sets of every size and type, lavendar scented pillows, little figurines of fairies, aprons with pearls sewn on them, earrings, and so on. Off to the side is a large room where guests can sit if the regular dining area is full or it's where you can have private parties. This room is where all the bridal brunches have been for the ones I've been to. If you continue to walk through a small hallway, it opens up to a quaint eating area complete with a fireplace, tea sets, and mix-matched chairs and tables. If the weather is cooperating, there is also seating outside in a beautiful garden surrounded by the azaleas Summerville is known for. When you walk to the back of the house, there are two little rooms full of little surprises. One room has a small table and then vanities along the walls full of costume jewelry that reminds me of my grandmother. The other room is overflowing with dresses of all shapes, sizes, and styles. These two rooms are specially for little girls to come, play dress up, and have a little tea party with their friends.

As for lunch, Time Well Spent, they are known for their Chicken Salad. It is seriously good. Besides the Chicken Salad, they have a rotating list of quiches and salads, most coming with a side of fruit, and all have a side of a popover and homemade strawberry butter. For my daughter, they have a plate of peanut butter and chocolate sandwich, goldfish, fruit, and pink lemonade served in a tiny tea cup and tea pot. They brew their own tea right there with a variety of special teas that can be taken hot or cold.

On the day Abigail and I decided to eat lunch there, it was raining outside, but insides was the quiet sounds of conversations punctuated with the occasional sound of tea cups being placed on plates. Abigail and I enjoyed our lunch and conversation very much and look forward to coming back soon.

If you are in the Summerville area any time soon, make sure to stop by Time Well Spent, it will truly be, well, time well spent.

Wednesday's Cleaning: Make Your Own Hand Scrub

Here I am in my new series "Make Your Own..." (cleaning and body products), and I am having a blast. I feel like I have my own little test lab right here in my house. So as I work my way down my list of products I want to attempt, I keep thinking of more things to try down the road. Again, if you see my list, and you don't see something that you want tested first, let me know, and I'll try it out (within reason).

How it works: I research a few "recipes", get the general consensus, read the comments for faults or warnings, try it out, and then give an HONEST review.

This week's Make Your Own is a DIY Hand Scrub.
I made hand scrubs for Christmas gifts this year, and that was one of the biggest hits. It's quick, easy, and inexpensive.

Homemade Hand Scrub  Not my recipe. I got it from here. 


What You'll Need:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar (use the white sugar. I tried a batch using Turbinado sugar. Not as pretty) 
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• zest of 1 lemon (you can use another citrus, but I LOVE lemon, so that's what I did) 
• 1 cup olive oil (NOTE: you can use EVOO, but the final product will turn out dark green. I used the lighter version of OO, and it turned out a pretty yellow)
• 1/4 tsp pure lemon extract (this is optional, but I recommend it for that extra kick) 
• Large bowl
• Wooden spoon (it doesn't have to be wooden, but for some reason wooden just seems more old school, and I like old school) 
• Mason jars 

Instructions: 

1. In the large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Stir with the wooden spoon until well-blended. 
2. Spoon into mason jars. This mix makes about 2 cups worth, so if you get the little, itty bitty mason jars, you can make a few to go for each sink around your house. 
3. How to Use: Wet hands. Add no more than a quarter size dollop of the hand scrub to your hands and rub under warm water. 

Review

I love this stuff. Pretty much everyone who got this as a gift from me also loved it. I have one for my kitchen sink, which works GREAT for getting rid of garlic and onion smells from my hands. I keep one at my bathroom sink, which I also grab sometimes for a quick facial rub in the shower. (Be smart about this, though. Don't get it near or in your eyes). I don't use it too often for my face, though, because of the oil. I already have oily skin, but I use this scrub about once a month just for kicks and that baby soft skin on my face. My husband even likes this stuff. He came inside from working on man stuff and said the scrub worked great for getting the the gunk off his hands. Reading through reviews, I would also note that you can use really any kind of citrus. If you wanted to use EVOO, you could go with lime instead of lemon and get a really cool scrub that way too. 

So that's it. If you try it, let me know how you like it or if you have any other suggestions on what to add or take out. 

This is one of those really, really little mason jars. I keep this particular jar next to my kitchen sink, so it gets used often. See the little lemon zest in there? So pretty! 

Thursday's Crafting: Homemade Window Clings

As Valentine's Day came closer, I started researching creative ideas for Valentines for my kids to give their friends. I found two great things for the boys (see pics below), but I couldn't find something for Abigail that I really liked. I ran across how to make your own window clings. I thought these would be perfect for Abigail, and they were! I'm going to explain how we made these, and then give a brief review. Warning: this is not "quick" craft, but it is fun.

Homemade Window Clings: 

What You'll Need: 

• Puffy Paint (in a variety of colors)
• Parchment paper

What?! That's it?! Yes! It is!! Woohoo!

Instructions: 

1. Outline whatever object you want as your window cling onto the parchment paper with the puffy paint.* 
2. Fill in the object with the puffy paint.**
3. Follow the bottle's instruction for drying time (usually 4-6 hours) 
4. Carefully peel the window cling from the parchment paper. The sticky side is the outside

Ta Da! Done! It's that easy for real! 

Review: 

* Because the sticky side is the outside, if you have words or pictures that need to be facing a certain direction, draw it backwards. Abigail and I learned that the hard way. It was interesting explaining to the boys why "B" "D" and "Q" (for example) were backwards. 

**When you fill it in, two things: 1) Don't make it too thin. It works, but not too well, and 2) try to make the paint flat as you fill it in. 

This worked great, was a ton of fun to do with Abigail, and wasn't really a big deal in the budget either. The kids loved getting Abigail's Valentine of a butterfly window cling too! 

Jed's Valentine 

J's Valentine 

Preparing Abigail's Valentines 

The final product

We made the alphabet...notice our mistake in not making them backwards? 

Wednesday's Cleaning: Make Your Own: Dishwashing Detergent

Last Wednesday I introduced a new series called "Make Your Own." With Pinterest overflowing with ideas, I thought I would take a few ideas and try them out. So for the next few weeks I will be trying out recipes for all types of cleaning and body products, letting you know if it worked, and giving a heads up on what went wrong for me. I gave a list of what I plan on attempting (here), so if you would like for me to try something out that's not on that list, please let me know.

Out of necessity, I skipped topics 1-4, and went straight to #5 on my list: Dishwashing Detergent. I ran out of what I had and I figured, why not start there? So I did. I searched Pinterest and the great World Wide Web in ideas for making your own dishwashing detergent. What I have below is a basic recipe. Most of what I found had the same elements, so it was pretty easy to decide. So off to Wal-Mart I went to get just the few items I needed (and luckily I will need these items again in the near future for other projects, so I'm getting my bang for my buck!). Follow the steps below:

Make Your Own Dishwashing Detergent:

Things You Need:

• 2 cups Borax 
• 2 cups Baking Soda
• 4 small packets of Sugar-free lemonade (kool aid type of mix)
• White Vinegar

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. OR (in retrospect, I wish I had done this OR), dump all the dry ingredients into a large ziplock bag. Zip it up and mix the ingredients by shaking the bag or by mushing it. Warning: because the ingredients are dry, they tend fly up. I don't recommend you breathing this mixture in, so slowly dump into the bowl or bag and step back just a little. It's a cleaning product, so use your smarts and don't breathe it in. 
2. Pour mixture into an air tight container. LABEL the container and set out of reach of children. 
3. TO USE: 
1. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of the detergent into correct place in your dishwasher. 
2. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of vinegar into the rinse aid compartment. 
3. Wash as normal 

Yeah, those jars say "Ragu". So? I recycle!

Review

So this worked pretty well for me. My dishes came out as clean as they normally do, and I was happy with the general results. I attached a measuring spoon to my jar with a rubber band so I would always have one there. The only problem I have had is sometimes not all the detergent would come out of the detergent compartment. BUT this happens every once in a while for me anyway. I'm going to experiment with using a little less since 2 T fills up that compartment. Otherwise, it works fine. These two jars make roughly 100 loads!! Yay! Saving money! 

**Follow Up Review** So after using this for a week, I have to add a quick review on its effectiveness. I have adjusted how much I put in my wash. I use only a 1 Tbsp instead of the recommended 2 Tbsp. BUT I have do a little pre-washing before I put my dishes in. It doesn't work great on the dishes, like the commercials where the kids put in an entire load of filthy dishes in the load and they all come out sparkly clean. But as long as I give a good little rub down of the dirty dishes before I stick them in, the detergent works just fine. 

FINALLY: I try to read through comments of other blogs that experiment with making things, and on one particular blog, a question was raised about using Borax because it can be dangerous. The author of the website wrote this: 

This is a comment found on this website: http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/dishwasherpowder regarding the toxicity of Borax.

Toxic is as toxic does." Here's exactly what Wikipedia has to say:

Boric acid, sodium borate, and sodium perborate are estimated to have a fatal dose from 0.1 to 0.5g/kg.[5] These substances are toxic to all cells, and have a slow excretion rate through the kidneys. Kidney toxicity is the greatest, with liver fatty degeneration, cerebral edema, and gastroenteritis. Boric acid solutions used as an eye wash or on abraded skin are known to be especially toxic to infants, especially after repeated use due to its slow elimination rate.

Example: a 40-lb child is 18.1 kg, which means a fatal dose of borax would be between 1.81 and 9.5 g. That means that child would have to consume about a half-teaspoon to two teaspoons of straight, non-dilute borax, assuming a kid would eat something that nasty-tasting (keeping in mind that as nasty as it is, kids are weird). Of course, you don't keep household cleaners--any household cleaners, including baking soda--where your kid could reach them, right? RIGHT? And it would take a lot less, say, bleach, to severely injure or kill a child that size with a lot greater harm to the environment in general.

If you go to PesticideInfo.org, you'll see that borax is considered neither acutely toxic nor a likely carcinogen. That website is run by the Pesticide Action Network North America, which keeps an exhaustive database of environmental toxins.

Bottom line: Borax is a problem if you repeatedly expose someone, especially small someones, *directly* to it, usually as a strong solution applied to the skin or eyes. Otherwise, washing dishes and clothes with it is not a big deal; it rinses away and doesn't compromise the environment.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

So with that being said, just be careful. Use your best judgement. Otherwise, happy cleaning, everyone!