Home Made Laundry Soap

I NEVER buy laundry detergent anymore. Thanks to the AWESOME Duggar family, and a friend who introduced me to recipe, I can now make 10 gallons of laundry soap at a time, for around $2.
Here is the link to the Duggar family recipe:
www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
I am posting pictures of myself making this tonight just as a visual aid.



The basic materials are borax, washing soda, and Fels-Naptha bar soap. I bought my Fels-Naptha at the Kroger on Geyer Springs. You can also order it online. I haven't found it at Wal-Mart, yet.



You grate the soap using a food grater, or you could probably use a food processor. I like getting my arm workout though.



Heat your 4 cups of water in a heavy bottom pot and then add your grated soap. Stir until all melted.




Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of water. Add your melted soap, 1/2 cup of borax, and 1 cup of washing soda. Stir until all powder is dissolved.



Then you fill the bucket to the top with hot water, stir, cover, and allow to sit overnight to gel.
When you are ready to use, take a clean empty container and mix half of the mix and half water and then shake it up. Use 5/8 of a cup per load. My big bucket lasted almost 6 months, and I do a lot of laundry!
I will be happy to provide a sample to anyone who lives close to try!

Amanda's Zoo

So my husband has a slight issue with the fact that I have pets. He thinks animals are meant for the wild. He often refers to my "zoo". So please allow me to introduce the wild beasts of our home:
Harley is my lab/basset mix. He is a very sweet dog and loves his Mommy! He follows me all over the house. But once he gets outside, he just wants to RUN! He is a big baby and HATES thunderstorms. He will wake me up by putting his paws on the bed and 'patting' me. I usually get up and come sleep on the couch with him. DH will not let him up on the bed, which I support, I guess :) Simon is my cat. He came to live with me shortly after I bought this house in 2005. I rescued him from the mobile adoption center for the North Little Rock Animal Control. I hadn't planned on getting a cat that day, but it happened. It was really love at first sight. Simon is a really cool cat. He acts like a dog, just with a cat attitude. When he first came home, my neighbors all thought that I had lost my marbles. I would put him in a harness and leash and walk him up and down the road. It paid off, because he never goes farther than I ever took him walking. If I am outside and walk to a neighbor's house, he will follow along behind me and wait on the porch for me. He is really more loyal than the dog. He doesn't take any bull from the dog either. He kinda has a rep as a bully with other animals, but is super gentle with kids! HotRod used to play football with him and Simon would just look up at me as if to say, "Mom, do I really have to tolerate this??"!

So seeing as how I have a zoo in the house, DH decided he needed a pet of his very own. So I bought this vase for $1.99, added some clippings from Sparky (my really awesome, long, Golden Pothos plant), some marbles that I already had, and bought his fish at Wal-Mart tonight.

Meet Spike (DH said his fish was a bad butt and needed a fierce name. Yeah, ok!)

Now if I can just get a harness and leash for the fish....:)