Clearing Out the Old, Making Room for the New!

 

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Try this, ok? Extending the life of Dawn Dish Soap

Yep! That's only one sink-ful!

Try this, ok? It is one way I stretch a buck.



A while back, I was thinking about what I spend money on. Things that recur in time and that I have to spend money on to take care of them, well...these really piss me off.

You know, it's laundry, dishes, trash, cooking, cleaning...


I have learned to make laundry soap and cleaning supplies. But today I'm going to share with you how I stretch what I do spend on washing dishes. It is not exactly non-toxic, but I have tried to wash my dishes with castile soap mixtures, and I agree that you should probably try that yourself first, if you really want to go the non-toxic route. But I miss the bubbles, and the no-nonsense, git-r-done clean of using Dawn dish soap. I've washed a few dishes in my lifetime, and have tried all kinds of dish soap, and always come back to Dawn.



So try this:
This is what you need:

• 20 to 24 oz of Dawn *I like it for grease cutting.

• 1 cup borax

• 1 cup washing soda *baking soda works too

• 1 empty gallon jug

Directions:

1. Funnel borax and soda into gallon jug, fill jug with warm water about half way, then cover and shake it until all the crystals dissolve.
2. Add all of the Dawn that you bought. Swirl it gently around to mix. Try to not make any bubbles. 
3. Fill gallon jug up slowly the rest of the way with water. Again, try to avoid making bubbles so you can fill your jug.
4. Pour some of your new mixture into the Dawn container to leave at your sink.
   Just refill your Dawn container as needed, and keep the rest in the gallon jug put up.

Voila! A gallon of dish soap. 

I have also used this as a stain prewash for laundry, especially on grease stains, and it works!

Thanks for reading! Best Wishes!
~~Mama Trep

SOAP!

Some of you who know me...well, you know I can stretch a dime. Sometimes I wonder why everyone doesn't do this, but honestly, I couldn't care less. I am too busy doing it for me that worrying what everyone else is doing is just a waste of energy. But here you go! This is what I've been doing this past month. SOAP!

Herman keeps asking "so...what are you going to make today?"

Well, yesterday, I didn't make soap, but made another batch of yogurt. Only this time, I didn't really follow directions and measure things, just heated a bunch of milk, maybe a little over half a gallon. I didn't cool it off in a sink of cold water, just let it set and cool on the stove. I was busy with my grandson, Hendrix. And busy trying to clear off the deck with Herman.

Me and Hendrix...isn't he beautiful?

I had to buy another cup of yogurt because I forgot to save some out to make this batch. Oh, and I also wondered about how thin the yogurt was last time, and wondered if it didn't have enough warmth to grow. So this time, about four or five times throughout the day, when I remembered it, I turned the crock pot that the yogurt was in on warm for about a minute, while still keeping it covered with the towel. YAY! Nice thick yogurt!

And ant spray. I made ant spray yesterday. Those little buggers, what I grew up calling "sugar ants," are all over the counter by the sink. I tried sprinkling coffee grounds where I thought they were coming inside, but they just rerouted themselves around the coffee grounds, and I ended up with ants AND coffee grounds all over the counter. Yuck. I have heard that ants follow each other by scent they leave behind, and if you can disrupt that scent trail, that will help getting rid of them. Using a recycled 4 oz. spray bottle, I filled it half with rubbing alcohol, half with tap water, and added 25 drops each of lavender and lemongrass essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs. I can tell you this much: the ants don't like it much. The spray kills the ants, and they avoid where I have sprayed AND my kitchen smells great!

So SOAP! is the name of this post, and that's because I have made so much soap this past month. I wanted to make this blog a regular thing, but have been busy! Forgot to take pictures! In the past month, I have made the following:

• Liquid Castile Soap
• Castile Bar Soap
• Body Wash
• Sunscreen
• Hair Detangler
• Facial Scrub
• Relaxing Oil for Sleep
• Laundry Soap
• Dish soap
• Tub Scrub
• Citrus Vinegar
• Scented Epsom Salt for Baths
• Liquid Hand Soap
• Acne Wash
• Deodorant

Certainly, not all of this is motivated by frugality. In fact, I would estimate about half the motivation is to save money. The other half of the motivation is to remove toxins from my home.

Some of you may know that me and my family of origin have struggled with a host of autoimmune illnesses, including sarcoidosis, lupus, MS, arthritis, thyroid destruction, lichen planus...with very few answers to the question "Why?" We also have in our family: renal cancer, alzheimer's, prostate cancer, COPD, anxiety and depression, substance abuse...so I am in search of answers, mostly from a personal standpoint of what makes me feel better. Forget the why? for now, because I think the answer to that may never be found. What can make me feel better today?

I no longer have a use for chlorine bleach or ammonia. It chokes me. I use vinegar, castile soap, baking soda, epsom salts, borax, washing soda, and essential oils to clean. (I also still use a little bit of Dawn soap.)

I no longer buy soap for personal hygiene, nor deodorant for that matter. I use all of the above with the exception of the Dawn soap for that. Add into the personal care arsenal: coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, aloe vera, beeswax, zinc, corn starch, and sweet almond oil.

When I look back on the past month, I really have to realize how much I have accomplished (HA! even though my house is dirty! LOL) by replacing all of those products with healthier versions that work just as well or even better, AND cost less!

This route is not for everyone, I know it. I have time to do these things. I have done a couple of projects with my friend, Victoria, like the laundry soap. We do it together, and split the batch of soap (each batch makes 10 gallons).

And Herman is right by my side through all my projects, helping at every stage, and reminding me of essential things that need to get done besides the current project. There's not a moment goes by when he is not my biggest cheerleader. Especially with the castile soap projects, I think he hung around to see if it actually would all come together ;0)

I've decided to write more on each of the above list of projects, as a beginning to my regular blog entries. So stay tuned!

So...what are you going to make today?