I think baking soda is one of the greatest things ever. It is so versatile. Recently, I needed to clean my oven. Like spilled something in the bottom inducing smoke whenever I turned the oven on needed to clean it. In my current state (extremely pregnant) I know that I can't use many cleaning products because of their fumes. So, I started trying to find a safe way to clean the oven. Everything I read said just not to clean it while pregnant. Well, this would work if I didn't need to cook, but I 1) love to cook and 2) need to cook to eat. After much searching, I saw a passing reference to using baking soda for cleaning grime off of stove eye protectors and out of ovens. So, here's the deal, sprinkle baking soda along the inside of a cold oven. Spray with water until it's fairly moist. Let sit for a few hours then wipe it all out. It works great! You can also use this to clean dirt and rust stains off the eye protectors from the stove top. Best of all, there are no fumes! Some things say to use vinegar which does create a cool bubbling effect, but I prefer water. Water works just as well and it doesn't cost anything.
Cost breakdown:
Baking soda $0.58 for a pound (you won't use a pound cleaning the oven unless the oven is really, really, really dirty
Water free
Doesn't this make you want to clean your oven. :-)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Homemade Toothpaste
Again a story. I have one of the strangest allergies. I am allergic to sodium lauryl sulfate, which is a key ingredient in most toothpastes and mouthwashes among other things. Because of this, I had to buy the expensive all natural toothpaste. I really hate spending more than I have to, so I started trying to figure out what really needs to be in toothpaste. I spoke with a dentist who told me that as long as there is fluoride in my water, it wouldn't hurt to not have fluoride in my toothpaste and that baking soda is as effective as anything else at cleaning teeth.
The base is 2/3 cup baking soda and water to form a paste at whatever consistency you prefer. You can then add 1-2 teaspoons of flavoring to make it taste less like baking soda. I use a little bit of peppermint extract, which really doesn't provide much in way of flavor but does benefit the breath.
You can use peppermint essential oil, BUT some research has suggested that peppermint extract may cause bleeding during pregnancy. That was not a chance I was willing to take, so I don't use the essential oil. It would provide more flavor than the extract if that's not a concern for you. You can also use vanilla extract or whatever other flavor is preferable.
I store mine in a glass jar, but you can store it in whatever sealable container you prefer to keep it from drying out. It lasts quite a long time. Hint: moisten the toothbrush and then put some paste on the toothbrush. It will dissolve off the toothbrush if you pour water over the paste.
Cost breakdown:
Baking soda $0.58 for 1 lb (makes 3 recipes)
Peppermint extract (optional) $3.48 (makes 3 or 6 recipes depending on if you use 1 or 2 teaspoons)
Cost per recipe is $0.77 or $1.35. One recipe lasts me much longer than a tube of toothpaste by at least 2 or 3 times.
The base is 2/3 cup baking soda and water to form a paste at whatever consistency you prefer. You can then add 1-2 teaspoons of flavoring to make it taste less like baking soda. I use a little bit of peppermint extract, which really doesn't provide much in way of flavor but does benefit the breath.
You can use peppermint essential oil, BUT some research has suggested that peppermint extract may cause bleeding during pregnancy. That was not a chance I was willing to take, so I don't use the essential oil. It would provide more flavor than the extract if that's not a concern for you. You can also use vanilla extract or whatever other flavor is preferable.
I store mine in a glass jar, but you can store it in whatever sealable container you prefer to keep it from drying out. It lasts quite a long time. Hint: moisten the toothbrush and then put some paste on the toothbrush. It will dissolve off the toothbrush if you pour water over the paste.
Cost breakdown:
Baking soda $0.58 for 1 lb (makes 3 recipes)
Peppermint extract (optional) $3.48 (makes 3 or 6 recipes depending on if you use 1 or 2 teaspoons)
Cost per recipe is $0.77 or $1.35. One recipe lasts me much longer than a tube of toothpaste by at least 2 or 3 times.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
A little bit of background about why I started making my own detergent. My husband is in the military, which means I wash uniforms. Military uniforms can only be washed in certain detergents, which tend to be the more expensive ones. Cheaper detergents use optical brighteners to make clothes look bright and clean without using as much of the more expensive soaps. The problem is that optical brighteners make clothes glow under black lights and night vision. Since it's a bad plan for military uniforms to glow in night vision, we are careful about what detergents we use. I hate spending more when I don't have to, so I started looking into making my detergent. I've been using it for a little less than a year and my clothes are clean and smell good, so it seems to me that it works. This recipe is based off of other recipes that I found through research along with experimenting to get a combination that works for me.
Ingredients:
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
(All of these things can be found on the laundry aisle in the grocery store)
Fels Naptha is a bar soap that is used to treat stains. The soap needs to be grated which can be done with a hand grater or a food processor.
Washing Soda and Borax are powders that are sometimes added to loads of laundry to produce cleaner clothes.
Grate the Fels Naptha and add it to 4 cups of hot water. Cook over medium to low heat until the soap is completely melted. Stir regularly to make sure it is melting evenly.
Fill a 5 gallon bucket halfway with hot water. Then add the melted soap, 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. Stir until it is completely dissolved. Fill the bucket the rest of the way with water then stir, cover and let sit 8-12 hours.
Once you've let it set, it should be a loose gel. It will not be as thick as store bought detergent. Stir and then fill the containers you want your detergent in. You can use empty laundry detergent containers if you have them. I also use empty and rinsed gallon jugs. Fill the container halfway with detergent and the rest of the way with hot water.
The recipe produces 10 gallons of detergent. Personally, I like the smell of the laundry soap, but if you would prefer a different scent you can add 5 or 6 drops of essential oil per 1 gallon container. The detergent will separate as it sits, so you will need to shake it before each use.
Use 5/8 cup of detergent for a top loader and 1/4 cup of detergent for a front loader. (Hint: I use an old glass jar with a line drawn on it to designate 1/4 cup and 5/8 cup. You could also draw a line on the detergent bottle lid if the lid is large enough).
If you have really tough stains that don't seem to be coming out, you can add some oxi powdered cleaner to help boost, but I have not had a stain that I couldn't get out with just the regular detergent. If you have very hard or very soft water, the recipe may need to be altered for the water. We have hard water and this recipe works for us.
Cost break down (cost at my local grocery store):
1 bar Fels-Naptha $0.97
1 box Washing Soda $3.15
1 box Borax $3.36
1 bar of soap per recipe
7 recipes of washing soda per box .45
19 recipes of borax per box .18
If my math is correct, the cost per recipe is about $1.60, meaning $1.60 for 10 gallons of detergent. Or $0.16 for a gallon of detergent.
I hope this is useful for you and that my experimentation benefits you!
Ingredients:
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
(All of these things can be found on the laundry aisle in the grocery store)
Fels Naptha is a bar soap that is used to treat stains. The soap needs to be grated which can be done with a hand grater or a food processor.
Washing Soda and Borax are powders that are sometimes added to loads of laundry to produce cleaner clothes.
Grate the Fels Naptha and add it to 4 cups of hot water. Cook over medium to low heat until the soap is completely melted. Stir regularly to make sure it is melting evenly.
Fill a 5 gallon bucket halfway with hot water. Then add the melted soap, 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. Stir until it is completely dissolved. Fill the bucket the rest of the way with water then stir, cover and let sit 8-12 hours.
Once you've let it set, it should be a loose gel. It will not be as thick as store bought detergent. Stir and then fill the containers you want your detergent in. You can use empty laundry detergent containers if you have them. I also use empty and rinsed gallon jugs. Fill the container halfway with detergent and the rest of the way with hot water.
The recipe produces 10 gallons of detergent. Personally, I like the smell of the laundry soap, but if you would prefer a different scent you can add 5 or 6 drops of essential oil per 1 gallon container. The detergent will separate as it sits, so you will need to shake it before each use.
Use 5/8 cup of detergent for a top loader and 1/4 cup of detergent for a front loader. (Hint: I use an old glass jar with a line drawn on it to designate 1/4 cup and 5/8 cup. You could also draw a line on the detergent bottle lid if the lid is large enough).
If you have really tough stains that don't seem to be coming out, you can add some oxi powdered cleaner to help boost, but I have not had a stain that I couldn't get out with just the regular detergent. If you have very hard or very soft water, the recipe may need to be altered for the water. We have hard water and this recipe works for us.
Cost break down (cost at my local grocery store):
1 bar Fels-Naptha $0.97
1 box Washing Soda $3.15
1 box Borax $3.36
1 bar of soap per recipe
7 recipes of washing soda per box .45
19 recipes of borax per box .18
If my math is correct, the cost per recipe is about $1.60, meaning $1.60 for 10 gallons of detergent. Or $0.16 for a gallon of detergent.
I hope this is useful for you and that my experimentation benefits you!
What's this about?
So, I've decided to start blogging in order to share recipes that I find successful. I love making things from scratch especially if I can save money by doing so. I hope that you find this useful and that my experimentation and research benefits you!
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