Friday, November 6, 2009

My First Treasury!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=92055

No kidding! It finally happened after four months of trying...Etsy's elusive open treasury! I actually had my finger on the correct mouse button to click on the title. I couldn't believe it.

I wandered around my favorites, but many were sold, so I decided which of the items I encountered would fit my title, "autumn chill"...Not an easy choice to say the least-there are so many that are worthy of this exposure.

I'm already starting to research my next treasury, which will showcase Newbie items, so stay tuned!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=92055

Monday, November 2, 2009

Making Laundry Soap Again!

Several months ago I decided that I'd see how well homemade laundry soap works. This was due to two things: 1) Money is limited and buying detergent from the dollar store didn't quite work well, and 2) I have  skin allegies to many fragrances and products.
I researched many homemade laundry soap recipes on the internet and now I pretty much use the recipe from http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm. It seems to work really well for my needs, doesn't leave clothing and towels dingy, and best of all, doesn't upset my skin!
Yesterday I made another batch to take me through the winter-just two in my home. I still use oxiclean in all the loads with the soap to help it along.
This soap is basically easy to do, most of the work is grating the fels-naptha bar. If you want to cut down on  the cost of expensive laundry soap, or want to see if your skin feels better while using it, make a batch for yourself. The recipe is in the link above.
Shopping list: bar of fels-naptha, box of arm and hammer WASHING SODA, not baking soda, and a box of borax. All can be found in the laundry isle except I had to go to a pharmacy chain to find the fels-naptha bar. One bar makes 3 batches, but you have many more in the boxes of washing soda and borax. Leaving this endeavor pennies a load! Try it and let me know how it went.