Liquid Laundry Detergent

I think I have finally found a recipe for laundry detergent that I really like! I liked the powder detergent but I am really loving the liquid version. I gave some to my family members to try and they really like it too. I have seen a lot of these recipes and they are all pretty similar. I used a combination of The Duggar's Family,www.duggarfamily.com and one from my March 2012, Country Sampler Magazine. The basic recipe is the same, it's how you get to the finished product that I really wanted to simplify. So hopefully this works for you and you love it too!

Here's what you need:

a 5 gallon bucket (you can pick them up at lots of places either free or cheap)
1 bar of Fels Naptha
1 c Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 c Borax
Very Hot Water

I made this batch in my 5 gallon bucket from start to finish. I grated the bar of soap and then heated up about 2 quarts of boiling water and carefully poured into my bucket with the grated soap and stirred until it dissolved. Then fill the bucket about half full of water (doesn't have to be boiling, just warm). Stir in 1 cup Washing Soda and 1 c Borax. Stir well until all the powder is dissolved. Then add enough water to fill up the bucket. You will need to stir with a long handled spoon or..if you have a drill with a mixer attachment, that works too. Stir, cover and let sit overnight. It will gel overnight, then you can either leave it in the bucket or pour it into smaller containers. I used 1/2 gallon and quart jars to store it and then pour into another container and add water and shake well. You can also add essential oils when it has cooled if you want. The Duggar recipe says this makes 10 gallons, when you fill an old laundry dispenser half full with soap then fill the rest with water, shake before each use. I don't dilute mine that much, but you might have to try a couple different mixtures and see what works for you. They recommend using 5/8 c per load for top loader(180 loads) and 1/4 c. for front loader. (640 loads) I just fill mine to the line for a normal load, in my front loader. This is safe for HE machines I have actually had to clean it less since I started making my own laundry detergent, and I always use vinegar in the rinse cycle. See Cleaning your Front Loader. As always, please leave your questions and/or comments, we love reading them!

~Simply Angie

Grandma's Bread Pudding and Caramel Sauce

I was trying to think of something for dessert last night and homemade bread pudding was my choice. Our Dad was not a dessert lover but bread pudding was one of his favorites. Our grandma made the best bread pudding, hope you like it! Ingredients : 5 cups slightly dried out bread, any kind. I used Italian bread. 1/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon Caramel Sauce Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Directions : Cut the bread in cubes. I cut some of the crust off (on about half of the bread). Place bread into a greased casserole dish or an 11x9 inch pan. Add raisins. Microwave milk and butter about 4 minutes on 60% power or heat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly add the mixture to the egg and milk an...

Homemade Goulash

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar...

Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Soap

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was going to start my mission to find a homemade liquid dishwasher soap. I really do prefer liquid soap over powdered soaps. Since I love the Simply Liquid Laundry Detergent (also on our Most Popular Posts) so much I knew there had to be a liquid dishwasher soap that we could make and that works. I found a recipe on http://choosingsimplicity.blogspot.com .and tried it. I read the reviews and as it happens with everything, some people had issues and some people loved it. It seems that part of the problem with homemade dishwasher soap is water type...do you have soft water, hard water, well-water....you know what I mean? And then there is the whole what to put in the rinse aid container? Lemon juice, vinegar, inexpensive rinse aid, expensive rinse aid...? SO what I'm trying to say is that there doesn't seem to be a perfect dishwasher soap. But I wanted to save money and I wanted a liquid soap, so I tried it anyway. I figured it would be ...

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