Homemade laundry soap!

So for several months I had been debating on making my own laundry detergent, and this weekend I finally did it. Through Pinterest I found a "recipe" from this lovely lady that shows you how to do it. Of course I did my own little thing and changed it a bit.

Here is a look at my laundry shelf:

Yes I named my laundry holder "Laundry Bear". Next to him is my assortment of stain removers. Here are my lists of "laundry recipes".

Laundry Detergent:

1 box of Borax (4 lb 12 oz)

1 4 lb box of Baking Soda

1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (3 lb 7 oz)

2 bars Fels-Naptha 

1 container of Oxy Clean (3.5 lb box)

You can find all of this in the laundry isle at Wal-Mart and Target. You will want to grate (yes grate as in cheese grater) the 2 bars of fels-naptha. Then in a large container of your choosing you need to mix all of the ingredients.

I took a clean garbage can, put a garbage bag in in then dumped everything in. After that I tied it and put rubber bands around the top and shook. It is a lot of work. 

You then can put it into any container you want. The container I am using is the Target brand animal crackers. The kids love the animal crackers and it is large enough to hold most all of the detergent. Behind my bear is the oxy clean tub that is holding the left over.

You only need a little bit of detergent for your laundry. I use the scoop from the oxy clean. For small loads, or loads that have only thin materials I use up to the 1, for heavy or larger loads I use up to the 2. This also works in HE washers as well.

The blue bottle next to my detergent is stain remover.

Get anything out stain remover:

1 part Ammonia

1 part Wisk

2 parts Water

It gets everything out, you may need to let it sit a bit before throwing into the wash. (I got this recipe from a great friend!)

Everything Cleaner:

1/4 C. Baking soda and some squirts of hydrogen peroxide.

Mix this together in a small bowl and it gets everything out. It also works great in the kitchen, bathroom, carpet.... you get the point.

*Note: These work for our family but not everyone can use some products listed above Use at your own risk.

Crock Pot Applesauce

While my little bug is SUPPOSED to be napping, I will upload my delicious applesauce recipe. During apple season I love everything apples. And applesauce is on the top of the list. This past year I made about 4 batches of this delicious stuff and have not met one person that didn't love it!

Need:

8 Apples (peeled and cored)

1/2 C. Water

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Make it:

Take your peeled and cored apples and dice them into small chunks, place them into crock pot. Add water, brown sugar and cinnamon. Slow cook for a few hours (the bigger the batch the longer it will cook) stirring occasionally until soft. You can do this in a pot on the stove as well. The cooking time is only 90 minutes on the stove. 

You can enjoy warm or cold, whatever your preference. Before storing it make sure the sauce has completely cooled down. You can put it in the freezer but DO NOT can it. Make sure that when you place the mixture in the fridge that it is in a tightly sealed container or plastic bag.

Note:

I HIGHLY recommend having an apple corer/peeler on hand for this. It cuts the make time in half. I picked one up at Bed Bath and Beyond for $20, and forgot to use my coupon. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as everyone in my family does. 

Hold up!

So I am starting to get this blogging thing down. Slowly but surely I will get there. Yesterday I had a back molar pulled so naturally I am a little slow and trying to rest. (Resting with two kids and a home daycare is NOT easy) I have a huge list of "To-Do's" that I am bursting at the seams with excitement.
I think first off I am going to finish my sister-in-laws recipe book as a present. What is this you may ask, well it is awesome!
Four years ago my Grandma made me a small recipe book from a picture holder. Inside it had anything from family recipes to recipes she has picked up over the years, they were even sorted into sections regarding what type of dish. The best part was she left room for me to grow my recipes. And trust me, I am filling this book.
This last year my Grandmother in law made me a binder full of recipes as well. So right now I have those two books plus three other recipe books that are sitting onto of my fridge, that yes I do use.
Rambling done.
My goal is to make my sister in law a book as well, but add recipes from all of the books and even have it sorted. Instead of just typing up the pages I am also going to give it a scrap-booking effect with page protectors so the pages stay clean. I am getting all the recipes typed up now, which is a huge job. Soon I will get everything to decorate a book and then she will be here on the 20th.
Plenty of time right?

Why hello there.

I forgot about my blogger.

This morning I was thinking to myself, "hey you should start blogging things and posting them on pinterest". Then BAM I find my old blog. This shall work for now.

And to update since my last blog here is what has happened.

My daughter is almost 2 (birthday in April) and yes we were induced.

My husband's job relocated to Phoenix AZ in August of 2010. And I LOVE it down here.

I started watching some kids and we call ourselves "Little Bugs Home Daycare".

My crafting obsession is at an all time high; I now make bows, clips, tutu's and so much more.

Well I am going to go look into all my crafting ideas, recipes.. etc and start actually blogging more.

Ta Ta!