Tag Archives: natural

How to make YEARS worth of laundry detergent for about FIVE BUCKS!

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We’ve been using this detergent recipe for a few years, and it works great!

Here’s the “recipe” in this video (written details are also listed below)…

What you need –
-5 gallon bucket with lid
-long paint stick (can get from the paint dept. when you get a bucket & lid)
-bar soap (5.5 oz) that is not perfumed (look for hand-made soaps in local shops or farmers markets; you should be able to find soaps that contain only: “Saponified Oils of Palm and Coconut; Glycerine”)
-1/2 cup of Borax
-1 cup Washing Soda (not Baking Soda but by Arm & Hammer – buy it in the laundry aisle)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut bar of soap into small pieces or grate. I strongly recommend GRATING because it will melt so much faster!

Cook soap pieces in 4 cups hot water on cook-top – medium heat; stirring frequently until fully dissolved.

Fill bucket half full with hot tap water

Add the dissolved soap/water from cook-top.

Pour in the Washing Soda & Borax and stir until dissolved

Fill bucket with additional hot tap water – to 5 gallon mark and stir.

Place lid on bucket and let sit overnight to gel.

The next day, stir and pour solution into smaller containers. (Just use old liquid laundry detergent bottles, half gallon or gallon milk/juice/water jugs).

This solution is a concentrate, so be sure to add it to your machine water BEFORE adding clothes. Also, this soap will not form suds – don’t worry, it’s not the suds that do the cleaning; it’s the components of the soap 🙂

I give my jug a quick swish before each use, but vigorous shaking is not necessary.

To add to your wash, pour 1/4 cup per load for top load machines (320 loads) or 1/8 cup for front load or high efficiency machines (640 loads). Some folks have even used only 1 TBSP with front load machines and it worked fine (1280 loads)!!!

**I’ve been told that by adding 1/4 – 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle, this makes the clothes super soft and keeps your washing machine hoses clean as well as helps eliminate any odors on clothing….AND……fabric softener sheets in the dryer can be replaced by simply adding vinegar to the rinse cycle. If you don’t have a liquid fabric softener spot on your machine you could use one of those Downy balls and fill instead with vinegar.

 

Even CHEAPER Ketchup Deal!!

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Hey Omaha! I just happened upon an even cheaper deal on Annie’s ketchup. First of all, I don’t have a Super Target near my home, so I had no idea that they even carry this brand! Yay! Looks like regular price is just $3.29 per bottle (compared to $3.99 at Whole Foods), but right now through June 4th, Target is selling it for $2.89 each!!! Wow!!

Note: This is the only brand of ketchup that I buy because it’s the only brand I’ve found in Omaha that doesn’t have either of the following in the ingredients list:
1. High fructose corn syrup
2. Vague words like “natural flavor” or “spices” (Annie’s brand actually lists each and every spice in their ingredients list, so I can feel more confident that there’s no hidden MSG in there!)

Deal of the day: Save $1.00 per bottle on Annie’s Organic Ketchup

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I’ve never met a person who didn’t fall in love with this ketchup after tasting it for the first time! It’s a great brand with no high fructose corn syrup or vague words like “spices” or “natural flavor” in the ingredients list. (Click photo to enlarge and view ingredients list.) The price for this item is usually $3.99/bottle at Whole Foods, but right now in Omaha it’s on sale for 2/$6.00. That’s $1.00 savings per bottle, so STOCK UP 🙂

Beware of “anti-caking agents” in salt (and sea salt)!

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As you may or may not be aware, most table salts contain quite a few ingredients. Some of these are “anti-caking agents” which function to keep the salt granules from clumping together so your salt will fall freely through the holes of your salt shaker. There are anti-caking agents in table salt, sea salt, and both iodized and non-iodized versions of both. If you wish to avoid such ingredients, just inspect the containers in the salt aisle until you find one whose ingredients list contains solely: “salt.”  And don’t assume, as I did, that just because a salt is coarse and comes in a fancy grinder that it is free of additives. Not true – check the label every time!

Several years ago at my aunt’s house, I was introduced to the ingredient, “yellow prussiate of soda.” I was enjoying some baked cabbage with my aunt that we made ourselves with just cabbage, olive oil and sea salt. By the time I finished eating, I had the worst hot flash!! My face was beet red, and I was literally running for the fan in the next room!! (And I never have hot flashes!) I couldn’t believe that this could’ve been caused by anything I’d just eaten, but I also couldn’t deny the timing of the reaction! Cabbage, olive oil and sea salt seemed like pretty “pure” ingredients to me, but I double-checked the ingredients just in case – and there it was on the back of the Morton sea salt: “yellow prussiate of soda (anti-caking agent).”

Can I prove that my hot flash was from this additive? I suppose not, since I’m not willing to eat that salt again. However, I can tell you that I had never seen that ingredient on a food label before (and I pretty much read labels for a living!); the salt I use everyday at home does not contain it; I eat baked cabbage using this same recipe at home all the time with no effects…and I never, ever have hot flashes otherwise. So you be the judge!

For 40 more pages of my best additive-free grocery shopping tips plus 160 of my favorite natural recipes, check out my book (and e-book) “Eating Additive-Free“!!

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