Worthwhile Wednesday- Make your own foaming soap

I love foaming soap!  Mainly because foaming soap doesn't leave dried soap all over the sink top for me to clean later.

Can you tell I have kids?

But foaming soaps are primarily water based, so your putting a lot of money down for not much soap.  Not to mention most commercial soap have chemicals in them you don't want (not even really soap, but detergents) or worse antibiotics which are next to worthless and even dangerous.

So why not DIY it?  It's beyond easy and great for your health & wallet!

To begin, you'll need a few things: liquid soap, water, and a foaming soap dispenser.  I use old dispensers from our commercial soaps days.  You may also want some glycerin, this provides some extra moisturizer.  For soap, I like castille and my favorite brand is Dr. Bronner's.  I could go on and on about how great the product and company is, but you can read about that here. Just don't skip the parts about how great they treat their workers, awesome company!

1. Empty foam dispenser:

-Make sure and wash out your empty foam dispenser to get it ready for use. 


2. Fill with water:

-Fill about 4/5 the way full with water (filtered or distilled is best).

3. Add soap

-Add  ~1/5 of soap, you don't want to overfill, but add enough soap to fill the dispenser completely without spilling when you put in your pump.  Also add soap second or it will foam up when you add your water or you'll have a lot of foam and very little water in your container.

4. Add glycerin and/or essential oils (optional).

-If so desired you can add glycerin for extra moisture (to your desired level of moisture, but not much) and essential oils if desired (just a drop or two).  The essential oils really add fragrance unless you use an naturally antiseptic oil (lavender or tea tree oil fall in this category).  I like to use Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap and not add extra oils.

Some extra notes: I also use this as a baby soap for my girls, only I use the Dr. Bronner's baby mild soap instead of lavender.  It works great and castille soap being so versatile (and the girls still so young) I use it for all over, even their hair.  Works great for little ones!

There you have it: so easy, healthy, and frugal!

This post is part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #30.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Compost Trashcan

This year we added some new members to our family- feathered ones that is...

Now that we've started with some backyard chickens (more to come later), we've got a lot of litter around.  So that begs the question, what do you do with chicken droppings??

Enter composting!

I was introduced to composting when I was little.  My dad composted our leaves, food scraps, etc.  As I grew I didn't really participate in it.  But when I knew we were going to get chickens, I knew I had to dispose of their droppings somehow.

So I began to search online and then later in a local class. All information pointed to composting. In fact, chicken droppings make some of the best compost there is.

Only thing, my hubby doesn't have a ton of time to build me a composting bin. Now being trained by my daddy, I could probably build one myself given enough time. But with two little ones underfoot, who has extra time??

So what's a family to do? Trash it!

Literally, grab a trash can and a drill. I picked one up from Lowe's and spaced out about 25 holes around the body and lid. (the one below is not mine, but looks exactly like mine)

Photo Credit: Trashfreeyear

Easy Peasy!

Then I elevated it, for proper air circulation, on two bricks. Now you're set to compost. Great for limited space too.

Now composting can be an art if you want it to be. I like things simple though.

So after reading the science and talking to some experienced composters, I came up with my own little system. Nothing new, mind you, but these are my rules.

I start with a bit of dirt and then I alternate brown and green layers. I follow these up with a bit of dirt.

Brown items: leaves, straw, sawdust, newspaper, yard waste, cardboard, dry glass clippings
-These are high in carbon/low in nitrogen. Make sure to not use treated lumber in your compost!

Green items: fresh grass clippings, fruit and vegetable waste, egg shells, hair, livestock manure, coffee grounds, tea bags
-These are high in nitrogen/low in carbon.

Every week (at the least) or couple days (preferred) we mix it. At first we rolled the trash can. After it got so full, we turned it with a shovel.

Make sure to turn, and it will be hot. That's the side effect of decomposing. If it's too wet add more brown items and be careful with food items as you can attract flies. But if you are properly layering, this is no issue.

Verdict: so far great!

-And easy way to compost that was cheap and had minimal labor.

-Not to mention how little room it takes. Small yard, no problem!

-I don't have to carry off chicken droppings.

-We've reduced our waste significantly! Which means fewer trash bags. Fewer trash bags means more money in our pockets.

-Again the more you compost the less trash. Less trash = less in landfills = better for our kids' futures!

-Finally, in about a month we'll have beautiful black compost for our garden. You have to love that!!

So what's not to like? Grab a can!

This has been a part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #29.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Laundry Soap

For almost a year, we've been using homemade laundry soap. 

It all started with looking for a laundry soap for cloth diapers that we didn't have to order special.  Detergents can build up in cloth diapers and then you are left with funny smelling diapers...and nobody wants bad smelling diapers.

After a lot of looking around and searching for a recipe that we could make with items from our area we finally settled on this one:

Homemade Laundry Detergent for Cloth Diapers:

2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
2 cups of Oxygen cleaning powder, we use Sun brand from Walmart (a lot easier to find and cheaper than Oxyclean)

Mix well. Use 1 Tablespoon for small loads & 2 Tablespoons for large loads.
Store in air tight container.

This is low suds version that is perfect for HE models.

**Please note that this is not my original recipe, but one I found on multiple sites on the internet and after trying fully recommend**

After washing our diapers with homemade detergent, we started to wonder why on earth weren't we making a regular detergent for our clothes?!?

So more searching and we found a powdered version we like a lot:

Homemade Laundrey Detergent

1 bar finely grated Fels-Naptha Soap (found at Walmart)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Sun Powder

I had more than one rasp for fine grating, so I just donated one to soap and it works great.  Also if you are a bit clumsy, wear tough gloves why you grate so you don't nick your fingers.  If you like your clothes to have a distinct smell just add a drop or two of essential oil when you start your load.

This is low suds version that is perfect for HE models. 



**Please note that this is not my original recipe, but one I found on multiple sites on the internet and after trying fully recommend**

Finally, we were looking for a great stain remover, and stumbling onto another blog, we found this one:

Stain Pretreater

½ c. vinegar
½ c. ammonia
½ c. homemade liquid detergent or regular detergent if you prefer
½ c. water

This works great!  Plus it is so easy to make and cheaper.  I just rinsed out an old cleaner bottle and refilled it with my pretreater.  Spray on stains and throw in the wash.  I was a little worried that it might spot my clothes, but so far it is fabulous.

Lastly, is homemade liquid detergent.  Now we haven't made or used this yet, but now that I'm making my own pretreater, we'll definitely being making it.  (I used a sample packet of detergent I had to make the first batch)  Here's a common recipe I was able to find and plan to use:

 

Liquid Laundry Soap

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Powder
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled.

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-For Top Load Machine - use 5/8 Cup per load
-For Front Load Machines – use ¼ Cup per load


All of these recipes will save you lots of money and cut down on the amount of build up in your clothes! 

Two wonderful wins and very worthwhile.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Dishcloths

This Christmas, I got some great books on Tunisian crocheting, also called afghan crocheting. Big thanks to Fran!!!

It gives you the look of knit, but with crocheting. Perfect for me, an avid crocheter.

To try it out I used some cotton yarn I got on sale awhile back. (have you noticed I'm all about using what I already have on hand?)

I loved it!!

First I just did the simple stitch.

Then I combined it with the purl stitch for this great honeycomb pattern.

Finally I tried the knit stitch, awesome!!

Sorry for the shadow, I couldn't get it right. :(

I made all dishcloths and washcloths to get used to the technique. Very simple and a great practice, plus more dishcloths which we needed.

To boot, these are stylish dishcloths that took very little time to make and cost a fraction of what even walmart charges. Since I got my yarn on sale, all in all my dishcloths maybe cost at most .50 cents a piece, for a much better look.

Next up is a bag for my bible study materials. I've been using a reusable grocery bag, and it's time to move up.  I'm thinking I can make my bag for less than $3, using similar cotton yarn that I got at a fraction of the price.


Below is the pattern for the honeycomb cloth. If you need clarification on any of it, let me know.

Next up on my crocheting adventures: plarn. What's plarn? It's "yarn" made out of plastic grocery bags. The bad thing about plastic grocery bags is they aren't strong enough. Now, we use reusable bags to shop, but every once in awhile we get stuck with plastic bags and before we started using reusable bags we have a bunch leftover!

My goal is to use up my plastic bags, making stronger crocheted grocery bags. Plus if they get worn out or dirty, off to the recycling bin. A great way to reuse and then recycle later!  (Even better, it gives us more reusable bags to take to the store without purchasing any!)


Look for some plarn adventures in the near future and happy dishcloth making!!

Honeycomb pattern dishcloth-

Chain 25, using h sized Tunisian hook and cotton yarn of your choice. Organic natural peaches and cream brand is always a favorite of mine!

Complete a foundation row forward- insert hook in second chain from hook. Yo, pull up lp. *insert hook in next chain. Yo, pull up lp. Awarding another stitch to hook. Repeat from * across. You will have 25 lps on your hook.

Foundation row return- yo, pull through 1 lp. *yo, pull through 2 lps. Repeat from * until 1 lp remains on hook.

Row 1- sk first vertical bar. *tps in next vertical bar, tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * across, ending with tss.

Row 1 return- same as foundation return.

Row 2- sk first vertical bar. *tss in next st, tps in next stitch. (hint you have staggered stitches when compared to previous row) when two stitches remain, tss into next to last st and final st.

Row 2 return- same as foundation row return.

Repeat until desired length.

Final row- slip stitch across in normal stitches, Fasten off at the end. This gives the cloth the same look at the start and end.

This post linked with Frugal Days, Substainable Ways Wednesday.

On the road to granola town- Making Yogurt

**Apparently, Blogger posted this and then when I edited it, didn't post it again.  Sorry for the repost and multiple posts today**

So I promised after my first granola post, that I would post on yogurt next...but my love of all things pumpkin over rid yogurt.

But now as promised, here is my adventure in making yogurt!


Like a good computer savvy person, I found a tutorial here for my yogurt adventure.

First I made sure I had a nice clean crockpot and then added my milk (1 half gallon).

We regularly drink non-homogenized whole milk, so that wasn't hard for us.  We switched when I decided I was tired of paying a lot of money for a product that was over processed at the grocery store.  That's when I found a local farm and we started our journeying into local fresh foods, with the least amount of processing.

Now not everyone has access to good milk, and for those of you that want to do this without non-homogenized milk you can do it!  Non-homogenized just works a little better.  The big thing is you don't want to use ultra-pasteurized milk it won't work up right.  Also if you want a lower fat content you can use lower fat milks, but from what I have read, it doesn't work up as well.

Next, I added my thermometer and turned it on low.

The next part is to wait...and wait.  You need the yogurt to get up to 180 degrees, slowly. If you scald the milk it won't work right.  But you can make that into ricotta cheese, so no waste if it happens.

Now my crock pot is pretty old, so when it got close, I added a towel over the top to insulate it.  That helped it get up to temperature a little easier.  Otherwise it takes a lot longer than necessary for me.

Under normal circumstances it will probably take around 2.5 hours.

Once it got up to 180, I made sure it sat at 180 for thirty minutes (gives you a slightly thicker product).  I did this by turning off the crock pot, but leaving my towel on.

After the thirty minutes, I took my towel off and took my insert out of the canister.  I skim the "skin" off the top too.  This is some of the fat from the milk that solidifies.  I don't like the texture it creates, so I skim it off.

I let that sit and cool down to 115 degrees.  You want to shoot for 110-120 degree before you add your yogurt starter.  That is the optimal temperature for the cultures.

Once you get to that range, take 1/2 cup of yogurt starter (just regular plain yogurt with active live cultures- I like Stoneyfield) and mix with the warm milk.  Then add that slurry to the crock pot .

Once you mix it, recover and wrap again in your towel. Place in the oven with the light on, but don't turn the oven on. You just want to maintain the temperature for 4-8 hours.  That's so your cultures can do their stuff.

I do this at night, so the next morning I awoke to this:

Yum! (the yellow color is a little extreme on the iPhone, but that is some of the fat that separated)

After refrigeration for a couple of hours, it's ready! 

Stir it with preserves, syrup, applesauce, or granola.  Great for breakfast, cheaper (I get double the amount for the price of the expensive stuff and I use great milk!), and HEALTHY!!

One side note though, while thick, real yogurt doesn't look like most of the stuff you get from the grocery store.  To make that thicker, they add gelatin.  If you prefer this you can add gelatin.  I would recommend a natural gelatin from animal, rather than synthetic...a little more healthy.  

Also this yogurt can be used to make your own cream cheese!!  So even better.

Just don't forget to save some of you product to use as your next starter, so you don't have to buy more.

On the road to granola town- Making Syrup

I used to LOVE Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte. 

But I didn't like the price tag. 

So like a good computer addict and wanna-be granola, I decided to get on the internet and find a way to make my own. (side note- non-coffee drinkers can use this too, scroll down for ideas)

I found a couple of great resources, but this one was my favorite.

However, I needed a bigger pumpkin flavor in mine. Not because their recipe isn't great, but because I'm a super fall lover and love pumpkin overload.

So I upped my pumpkin and spices.  I also made more.  Here's my ratios:

For the pumpkin spice syrup:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 6 Tbsp canned pumpkin

It takes longer to strain, but I think it's worth it.  One time I did do it with 3 cups water/sugar, and it turned out well.  I just added a dash or two of pumpkin pie spice to give it more kick.

Here's my steps:

 Combine water and sugar- it will appear cloudy.

 Cook sugar and water in a small pot over medium heat until the mixture is completely clear.

Whisk in the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil.  (you'll make candy this way)

 

Allow mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Strain syrup through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer into a large jar or bottle of your choice.  I wet my cheesecloth so it sticks well to my bowl. I also rotate it to allow for better draining.  It takes a lot of time, so I cover mine with a towel and leave it.  I just check back to add more.

 Store in a jar in the fridge. Note- The first day it takes like pumpkin, but the longer it sits the more robust the flavor becomes!!  It lasts a long time!

I personally drink iced coffee, so I add this to milk and strong coffee over ice.  It's fantastic!  You can also change the additions (subtract pumpkin and spices) to vanilla extract for vanilla syrup if you prefer that too.

We have used this syrup over homemade yogurt and pumpkin pancakes.  Even more yummy, so not just for coffee drinkers!

I also have tried this on a smaller scale with sugar substitute and it worked pretty well. Obviously, not the same consistency, but the taste was good considering.

That said, I must warn you.  After making your own, you'll notice the superior flavor and won't be able to drink Starbucks anymore.  Sad, but true. 

BUT your wallet will thank you!