This week I have been trying some new cleaners, always liked a scouring product thats soft and creamy, and have found a very cheap replacement, that I like better. Grab your box of baking soda, I used 1 cup but you can use 1/2 or whatever suits your needs to give it a trial run. Next grab your dish washing liquid, and add to the soda, stirring til you have a soft, almost pourable paste. I love the smell of lemon so added some essential lemon oil, but thats optional, you can stop with the soda and dish soap or add whatever scent makes your warm fuzzy place. I put mine in an empty olive oil bottle, but a squeeze container like a plastic ketchup one would work fine, or just a covered plastic bowl of some sort, dip your paper towel, or cleaning cloth, into it for as much as you need. Don't use too much, it takes a very small amount to work.
I have also been trying home made laundry soaps, and checked on the ingredients at Walmart this week, they carry everything needed to make a great, super cleaning detergent. In the laundry aisle, find Fels Naptha bars of soap, washing soda and borax. Borax has a lot of other uses we will explore later. You also need a big box of baking soda. Mine cost just over $2.00. The borax and washing soda run about $3.00 and the Fels Naptha is 97 cents a bar. So get a big container, a covererd bucket etc, and mix 3 bars of grated Fels Naptha, with a box of washing soda, a box of borax, a box of baking soda. My baking soda is 4 pounds, the others are similar in size. That's all there is to it, mix well, keep in covered container, add 1 tablespoon for normal loads or 2 tablespoons for heavy soil. This makes about 384 wash loads, at 4 cents per load. I looked at the amount of loads and figured I would not live that long so here is a smaller version, 1 bar Fels Naptha grated, 1 and 1/2 cups of borax, 2 cups of washing soda, and 1 cup of baking soda.
I also made a spray cleaner for my counter tops, stove, frig etc. Very simple and works well. Put 1 teaspoon borax, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap into 2 cups of hot water, in a spray bottle. I added my fave, lemon essential oil, just a few drops. This cleans, shines and leaves a nice scent.
Last thought for today, my son has a blog called Simplelifeprattle, and he shared this with me this week. We have been canning tomatoes, and making sauce and usually the skins get tossed. But stop, this is great! Save those skins, let them sit in a colander until they have dried out some, then spread them on trays of a dehydrator, or cookie sheets and dry thourougly. Put them in your food processor and pulse til you have a fine powder. This will keep in your pantry in a tightly closed jar for a long time. If you add a little water, you have tomato paste, more water, sauce. or just add the powder to soup etc for the tomato flavor. Can't believe no one thought of this sooner, great idea!
Hope you have a happy, healthy week, how can it be back to school time already. See ya soon.
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