homemade liquid handsoap

I'm really excited to try this at some point

Cheese grater (from the dollar store)
2 Tablespoons of Liquid Glycerin (found in the band aid section at any drugstore or grocery store)
1 - 8 oz bar of soap
1 gallon of water

Step 1:

Grate the entire bar of soap

 

Step 2:
Fill a pot with 1 gallon of water and add the soap shavings.

Step 3:
Add 2 Tablespoons of liquid glycerin and turn the heat to medium/high and stir until the soap dissolves.

Leave it alone to cool for at least 10-12 hours. It begins to cloud up after 3-4 hours.

After it has cooled completely around 12 hours later it will harden and look like liquid soap.

If the soap is harder than it should be you can take some beaters and blend it while adding just a little bit of water until the consistency is more like liquid soap.

All this I got from here  where she has excellent pictures as well. Some people in the comments are saying that you have to add preservatives so that it will not get moldy, I have no idea how to deal with that but I was thinking that you could freeze it in smaller portions and take them out as you need them.

one of the coments said "Have you tried microwaving a solid bar of Ivory for a couple of minutes? Great fun for the kids - OK I find it fascinating as it erupts into what looks like shaving cream but sets into a big plate of something just a little more dense than cotton candy. The next day put it into a bag and smash it. It turns to fine powder, which I would think would be perfect for your recipe. (And way more fun!)" I think it sounds fantastic!

Car wash!

In the front yard there is a tree that provides great shade for parking your car in. Anyone who have ever been in Austin in the summer time knows that you can fry eggs on the hood of your car after it has sat in the sun for 2 seconds. OK so this might not be a very scientifically correct statement but it does get HOT around here.

The down side to the shade tree is that is is sick. The top and actually most of the branches are dead.

Around here we have these big noisy birds called Grackle This is hat they sound like and act like Loud and lots and lots of them. Here is a clip of a single Grackle that looks just like the ones we have here. 

These stupid birds love those dead branches in the tree. So they sit on them in large quantities and poop all over the car. 

So we have to wash it allot to keep up with them. well, today is September 2nd and this was from the first week of July and that was the last time we really washed the car so guess what the car looks like now!

The kids did have a lot of fun with it though.

They got to get wet.

climb on the roof of the car

and actually do something with daddy!

                 

Normally when ever they see him, he is asleep or getting ready to be.

Jed is always so crazy busy that this summer was a real treat!

Even though he was still in class and working, he was home a lot more than he normally is because summer school is not as intense and because his morning job was only every other day during the summer semester.

After a while, everyone just played with the hose for a while.

Water does magic in the summer.

Back to work for the finishing touches.

The car looked so nice and shiny.

how do you think the car looked the next day?

Stupid birds!

Happy Birthday Linda!

My fantastic sister is having a birthday!

Last time I talked to her on the phone she made a wish. I do not know if it was a serious wish or if she even realised that I took it as such.

Either way it is about to be fulfilled.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cleaning is coming your way smurfine!

I've also found some online articles and clips that I found helpful.

like this one suggesting a carpenters apron. Now I want one. I might have to make one myself one of these days. Aprons is one of the few items I have successfully made myself.

Here is another one on organization. I think this is better for a larger house than we currently have.

This one has a supply list and a system for how to move through the house.

I like this one because it actually shows you a bunch of different stuff in short videos.

A ton of videos here

Speed cleaning rules here

I'm 582% sure that I myself will be able to benefit from any and all of this.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I basicly copy and pasted this post from here
http://pflugervillepfinds.blogspot.com/2010/03/homemade-laundry-soap.html (one fine day I will figure out how to embed the link in something else.)

I think this sounds awsome and I can't wait to try it. This post was written by the one and only Angela Walters.

Homemade Laundry Soap

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED:

Small Batch

1/3 bar Fels Naptha (or bar soap of your choice)
1/2 cup washing soda (see note at bottom)
1/2 cup borax powder

Water

(Optional)2-3 oz essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice

small bucket, about 2 gallon size

Large Batch

1 bar of Fels Naptha (or bar soap of your choice)
1½ cups washing soda (see note at bottom)
1½ cups borax powder
Water
(optional) 2-3 oz essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice
Bucket, 5-6 gallon size


DIRECTIONS (large batch in parentheses)*

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan(stock pan for large batch)*
Add 6 cups (18 cups) water and heat it until the soap melts*
Add the washing soda and borax and stir until it is dissolved.*
Remove from heat.*
Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups (4 gallons plus 2 cups) water to your bucket.*
Now add your soap mixture and stir.*
Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will (should) gel.*
Use ½ cup per load.


Note: Plugerville Wal-Mart does not have "washing" soda on the laundry aisle, just regular baking soda. HEB has the washing soda. I've made the large batch twice now and it's lasting me about 4 months, at an average of 8 loads per week. The cost breakdown is about 2 cents per load. A great savings.

The picture on top is one of the homemade hand soap bars I used to make. I've been wanting to get back to that as well.