Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap!

So I decided to take a chance, and attempt to make our own liquid laundry soap.  I've seen multiple blogs about this, and read countless recipes.  Since we're becoming more and more ingrained into living a sustainable lifestyle, this seemed like the next natural step.

Here is what you need:

Everything shown was purchased at Rural King: borax, superwashing soda, baking soda, and bar soap.  I used Fels-Naptha, because it seemed to be the one that was the most used, and it was readily available.  Note this has both washing soda and baking soda.  I searched long and hard for a recipe that used both, because I am a long time fan of baking soda and its regular uses.




Here is the recipe I used:
1 cup borax
1 1/2 cup baking soda
1 1/2 cup washing soda
1 bar soap
1 quart of water to melt the soap in.  2 gallons for later.
1 5 gallon bucket.

First, grate the soap.  A box grater seems to be the best way to do this, just be careful when you get to the end of the bar!

In a large pot, heat 1 quart of water, and add the grated soap. Medium to medium high worked the best.

You have to constantly stir this until the grated soap is melted, and do not let it boil.  I noticed the soap tended to stick when I stopped stirring to measure out the other stuff.  I didn't take a picture (oops), but in a large bowl, add the borax, washing soda, and baking soda together. When the soap is completely dissolved, take it off the heat and add in the dry ingredients.  Stir this in really well- I ended up using a whisk to make sure everything was incorporated as it should be.

After everything is mixed together, pour the soap mixture into a 5 gallon bucket, and add 2 gallons of water and mix well.  Because I was worried about whether or not all my stuff was mixed well, I stirred it in the bucket for a long time.

I had some help....

This is what I ended up with.

Cover this for 24 hours, then check your consistency.  Here is where I'm in the dark, since this is my first batch.  Tomorrow evening about this time, I'll open it up and hope for a gel-like consistency.  My plan is to transfer a portion to a mason jar with a plastic lid, and keep it by the washer.  I guess you'll have to shake it before using, so a mason jar seems to be the logical choice for a container.

I'll make sure to post again tomorrow on whether or not my soap was a success!

We were thinking about raising some hogs on our property, only two so we can have one in our freezer at the end and one to sell. The goal we set at the 2011 Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house was to have a 90% + meal that was either raised or grown on our hobby farm or at my parents house. Aurora Bryn Farm has 2.33 acres and my parents have 40+. We should be able to make this work!

Our egg production is still going strong with an average of 9 to 11 eggs per day. We are starting to get enough of a customer base that getting rid of them is no longer a problem. Sometimes our biggest concern is having enough for ourselves so we will be going in with some friends and ordering another ten or so laying hens for our flock.

We are also going to do have meat birds again this year and this time we will be doing double what we had last time. My father is going half with us so this time we will be able to have them commercially processed at our local butcher rather than me doing them all here.

I have a coffee table full of seed catalogs. It's nice to think about the garden in the middle of Winter but you are likely to catch a serious case of Spring Fever........watch out!

Me on the old Ford in 2010

Here is a tractor I can get to when ever I want.

Here is a picture of a tractor that I don't have.

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Carrots!!

I grew these Danvers Half-Long Carrots in the 2011 season and saved  the biggest and best by breaking the tops off and burying them in very loose soil in the same manner that they would have grown in the first place. They were all at least 3 inches below ground level and these have been in the garden for a few months. I put them into the ground where my potato patch was because that soil was already well worked from the massive potato crop.

This was my first attempt at this trenching method for keeping root crops and I was quite happy with the results. Make sure you mark the location well so you don't end up finding them with the tiller next growing season. Needless to say I will be using this technique in the future on carrots and other hardy root crops. The only problem you may have to deal with is an animal who likes carrots as much as you do taking some for their own winter snack.

Harriet