The Domestic Corner: Homemade Laundry Soap

And here's the debut domestic! This isn't something I'll do on a regular basis, but when I come across something awesome and domestic, it'll land in here!

We have eleven people milling around our house on a continual basis that we refer to, lovingly, as our family. In any case, they accumulate a lot of dirty clothing, which we refer to, aptly, as laundry. I've had the honor to be the family laundress for many years and have, in those years, consumed countless bottles of thick, syrupy detergent.

Until I started my caregiving job, the idea of making my own laundry soap hadn't yet occurred to me. But the woman I work for makes hers and it was simple and very inexpensive. I thought, why not give it a try?

Before I go on I will say that we have a front load, high-efficiency washer that specifically says you should only use high efficiency detergent. This soap works in our washer and in my employer's top load washer as well.

First of all, you need these ingredients:

20 Mule Team Borax powder
Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
Any kind of bar soap (I prefer to use Ivory with aloe because Ivory is pure and it smells amazing!)

And you'll need these utensils:

Box grater
Large saucepan
Gallon measure
Spoon
You will also need (not pictured) a five gallon bucket (preferably with a lid*)

Now here's what you do:

Boil 4 cups of water in the saucepan.

Grate 1 bar of soap

When the water is boiling, add the soap one tablespoon at a time, stirring until dissolved between each addition. 

When all the soap has melted into the water (you'll probably end up with a few stray pieces - no worries! Those can be strained out later) let it sit as you put 3 gallons of cold water into your five gallon bucket.

Pour the soap mixture into the bucket and stir. 

Then add 1 cup of the washing soda

1/2 cup of the borax

and stir.

I usually like to get my arm in there and squish the lumps out. The borax tends to be incredibly lumpy anyway, so rubbing it around in your fingers is a good idea. It's also pretty fun!

When everything is satisfactorily stirred up, cover the bucket and let it sit for 24 hours. 

Then stir it again. Now would be a good time to pull out any lumps of hard soap that have risen to the top. 

Let it sit for 24 more hours (it should look cloudy and slightly lumpy).

Use about 1 cupful for each load of laundry. 

I just let ours sit in the bucket and give it a stir before use. However, if your bucket is in the basement and your washer is upstairs (don't know how often this happens) you can pour it into a bottle and replenish the supply when it gets low. 

*If you don't have a cover for your bucket, don't worry! You can cover the top with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or even a board!

Till next time!

The Saga of D.C. {Part 1}

I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth at this crucial time - I really do. Life's been hectic ever since I got back from DC on the 19th from work, to my brand, spankin' new laptop malfunctioning on me (the little traitor...), to piles of junk everywhere that need to be tossed, stowed or put away to itty, bitty things like sleeping and eating and Ultimate Frisbee. Also, I've been working on this post for four days and there are tons of photos to go through. I'm seeing some of them for the first time myself.

Anyway, here is  The Chronicle of Day One (I'll do some pictures too):

We started out at 3:30 am. Let me tell you that the last thing I wanted to do at 3:30 am was get out of my comfy bed and sit in a cramped car for hours on end, but such things have a way of becoming fun after you've propped your eyes open for a while.

We were stopping in Chicago on the way and drinking this horrible, horrible bottled chai tea (that company should be sued for mislabeling. It tasted like gasoline and burned on the way down.) and eating blueberry muffins and grapes. There's something really folksy and fun about eating in the car.

Here are a few pictures from Chicago a little after dawn: (I'm in the pink, my sister is purple, and my friend, who will show up at some time, is in teal. The guy is my brother)

Then we drove to Cleveland, Ohio, where we stopped at McDonalds:

And then, as die-hard fans, we couldn't leave without visiting the A Christmas Story museum! Yes, this is the actual house they used for the film and inside, after a brief intro by the tour guide, we were allowed to roam free and touch anything we wanted! Here's a glimpse into some of the fun...

I tried out the Official Red Ryder BB gun and did not shoot my eye out (though it wasn't loaded, so shooting anything out wouldn't have been an issue). Didn't notice whether or not it had a compass in the stock, though.



<-- my brother decoding the Little Orphan Annie
message.

Trying out the rotary phone. 

It does make that whir-click sound!

<-- Deciding whether or not to try the Lifebuoy soap. I've heard it can cause serious sight issues. 

Somehow we ended up with three guns for Christmas. Ah well, still got the blue bowling ball. That's what's really important to remember. I am feeling a bit defenseless though. Not sure what good a ball would do me in the case of extreme physical danger. 

Then we moved on to the er... road again, and headed to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. Now I am not much of a garden person - nay, not at all - but where the group went, I was obliged to follow (for various reasons. The most convincing being that I was stuck with them. =D)

Here are some snaps from there:

Japanese Tranquility Zen Pool. 

And girl.

Cuckoos in the nest

Then we decided, somehow un-unanimously, to spend the rest of the day in downtown Cleveland. Umm, yeah...It was a lot of walking for not much purpose and we didn't get to the waterfront due to an outbreak of mutiny.

Looking out to sea. (Cheated and got this in front of a lake...)

In front of the Rock and Roll Museum. We didn't go, not being fans ourselves.

After this, the aforementioned mutiny occurred and we saw no more of downtown Cleveland. I did however manage to snag this souvenir shot before the day officially ended.

So now with a general sense of well-being and the satisfaction of a job, well, done (I hope somebody gets that), I will now take my leave and we shall cover Day Two at a later date. Probably next June. I must refer to my journal for details anyway, but I believe we went to Gettysburg and Pittsburgh, PA. And somewhere in there the air conditioner gave out. 

Teasers abound!

Till next time!


All pictures belong to JocelynRose and may not be used or copied without permission.

P.S. To all who have entered the 2012 If You Give A Girl A Pen short story contest: September 1st draweth near! Polish up your entries and send them on in!
Thank you and good night.
*canned applause*

Post No. 100

I can write 100 things too!

Well, I thought I'd never get here! Post number 100 has landed!

And, as promised, I sat down to do something special. Jamie and I were in an interview and came out on top (at least, that's what we're saying...). This is going to be one interesting read once it's finished, but we had to cut the questions short for now because Jamie's attention span gave out and the questioner ran out of questions.

So now it's your turn!

If you have a question you'd like to ask Jamie and Jocelyn, leave it in a comment and check back on the Jocelyn & Jamie page for their answers!

Have fun and be creative!

 Till next time!

&