I've attempted countless recipes in the past couple of years- some out of necessity (no time to go to the store) and some out of frugality (no desire to pay for it). Some have worked wonders, others not so much.... take for example:
There was the time I poured an entire gallon of vinegar on the floor in the kitchen to get rid of ants. They left- but only after my house smelled like vinegar for a week.
There was the first time I took a shot of apple cider vinegar to get rid of heartburn and convulsed so bad Joe couldn't stop laughing for another week
(moral of the story- watch out for vinegar tips)
I tried to make dish soap that worked for a bit- than half the ingredients solidified into this weird white glob- I still have like 4 bottles under my sink half liquid half solid that I don't know what to do with
There was the time Joe and I tried to make soap from lye and oil (lye is crazy toxic until you react it) and we practically burned our hands off. Than we didn't really have the right materials to put the soap in to cure... it was just a mess.
But for every recipe I've tried and failed- we have another one that we use daily. I figured I'd post a couple on here 1. so I don't have to look through my e-mails to find where I saved it and 2. because someone else may be able to use them- so if you can use them, than do :)
Laundry Detergent
this is a powder detergent- dissolve in warm water than wash as usual
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (it is not baking soda, look in the detergent aisle)
2 cups (1 stick) castille soap (grated)
Combine and store. Use 1 tbsp per load. 2 for super dirty ones. Works great for cloth diapers!
Fabric Softener
1 gallon white distilled vinegar
30 drops of essential oil of choice (lavender, tea tree oil, eucalyptus all work great)
ok- i know i said be wary of vinegar recipes- this one works and your clothes really won't smell like vinegar- I promise! Just add a splash or two to the softener part of your cycle
Colloidal Oatmeal
The little man has horrible eczema and one of the only things to help on a regular basis is oatmeal baths. Once or twice a day even. Those packets from the store are great, but at $6-$8 a box, I quickly figured out another way... turns out colloidal refers to the properties of the oats in water. They are suspended instead of floating or sinking. But its still oats- just ground up fine until they float in water and make it milky. So.... recipe....
2 cups old fashioned oats (ok, however much you want to grind, it doesn't have to be 2 cups)
Pulse in food processor, blender, or coffee grinder until a fine powder. Add a pinch to some warm water to test. Store.
Favorite Gluten Free Flour Mix
this is my favorite because it's easy and works with just about everything. It's also way cheaper than the packaged kind...i've seen lots of variations but here is the one i've been using lately:
4 cups superfine brown rice flour (find the superfine stuff- it's worth it)
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch/flour
2 tbsp potato flour
Next up (whenever I get around to finding the recipes) shampoo, face cream, and granola bars
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