Liquid Laundry detergent

I have told you all that I make my cleaners to save money. Well, this one came about not to save money, but because I have an allergy to most store detergents including powders. I have found that this recipe alleviated that annoying, bumpy, itchy rash I perticularly got on my chest and thighs. It works well in my hard water combinded with my HE washer. It takes a bit of slaving over a hot stove, but the recipe is very simple. The recipe also is in bulk (yields 5 gal) and will last some time.

Materials
1 Ten Gallon Bucket with a lid
1 Large Pot
1 Cheese Grater (I used a food processor)
1 Large Mixing Utensil
2 - 3 Empty Laundry Detergent Containers (optional)

Ingrediants

1 cup of Borax
1 cup of  Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!)
1 Bar of Fels Naptha soap (or 5.5 oz of Zote soap)
Water (enough to fill half the bucket)
1 tbsp of Essential Oil for scent (optional it smells good without it too)

Instructions
Heat 1 quart of water in the pot on the medium high till it is steaming. While doing that, grate the Fels-Naptha soap. Add the grated soap to the hot water. Stir until completely melted - about 10 minutes. There should be no clumps in the water. Be careful with the foamy bubbles.

Fill up  the 10 gallon bucket halfway with hot tap water. Pour in the melted soap mixture & give it a quick stir. Stir in the borax & washing soda till it is disolved. If you're using essential oil, now is the time to add it. You add in ½oz to 1oz, depending on how scented you want. Stir the contents again.

Snap on the lid, & let it sit for 24 hours to gel up. It will have the consistency of egg noodle soup - watery with glops of gel. If you would like a smoother consistency like the store-bought brands, you can use an immersion blender at this point to smooth it out.

AFTER 24 HOURS HAVE PASSED you can divide it up between the empty containers.

Slow Release Air Freshener made with Toys!!!

So as I stated in my last post, moving and renovating has given me a few new ideas. When we first moved to this house it stunk of cat pee. Yeah EEEEWWWW!!! We cleaned the grout with bleach and a lot of elbow grease, but the stench was still there and now added with bleach smells. Any suggestions to add to this freshener are welcome. Until I find an effective recipe for getting the smell out of grout I have needed to use air fresheners. I love using the fragrance spheres like the ones that Yankee Candle has, but they are so expensive and full of chemicals. After some trial and error I have found a extremely easy recipe that is cheap and the materials are reusable. Better yet one of them is found in the toy isle at many stores like Walmart. That's right. I said the toy isle. Specifically usually found in the girls toy isle. The toy I am talking about is Orbeez. This one is very fun to watch when you put the liquid in the jar, and in the end is very pretty looking. That being said I do feel the need to say the next thing as I know many of you use chemical free cleaners because of young ones.

WARNING: Orbeez is a CHOKING HAZARD. Although the liquid used in this recipe is safe for young ones, swallowing Orbeez can cause Choking, Serious Injury, and even lead to DEATH. DO NOT KEEP IN REACH OF CHILDREN.

Now lets get started.

Materials

• Mason Jar with a lid (I used an 16 oz jar)
• Bowl 
• Spoon
• Hammer
• Phillips Screw Driver
• 2 packets of Orbeez (I only used red for this one)

Ingrediants

• 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp Essential oils 

First you will need to make holes in the lid of the mason jar. Leave the lid on the jar. Put the end of the screw driver onto the lid, and use the hammer to hit the handle so it will punch a hole in the top. do this repeatedly till you get a desired number of holes in the top. you will want about a 1/4 inch between each of them to maintain structural integrity of the lid. Unscrew the lid and set it aside with the jar.

Use the bowl and spoon to mix the water and essential oils.

Pour both packets of Orbeez into the mason jar. Now pour the liquid mixture from your bowl into the jar with the Orbeez. Now here is the fun part. Wait a few minutes and they will be fully grown to almost 300 times their original size.

When they are dried up you can make a new liquid mixture and just pour it right in. Here is a picture of my finished product.