Everything's Coming Up Green

Archive for the ‘Make it Yourself Monday’ Category

Last month I made my first batch of homemade powdered laundry detergent. I only made a half batch to check it out and see if I liked it. A friend of mine had started using it a year ago and swore by it. I finally got around to buying all the ingredients and mixed it together. I just have to say that I.love.it! The most time consuming thing about the whole process was grating the bars of soup but if you use ivory soaps it is super fast since it is a soft soap. My mother-in-law used her food processor for the harder soaps (she had the great idea to use the little bars of soaps she had collected from different hotel stays. Yes to free soap!) Other than that it was just measure, pour and stir. I think it cost me around $11 for all the items (I bought a big bag of baking soda at Sam’s for under $7. I have been using it for cleaning as well, but I think I could get two full batches out of it.) A half batch should last us about two months. Keep in mind though that A. I am washing diapers for two kids which is 4-5 loads right there and B. not only am I using it for the four of us, but my parents us it as well plus my brothers when they happen to bring their laundry out every once and a while. My grandma also used it the other day to see if she liked it, so I may be adding my grandparents to that list as well. So for a regular family of four who are not doing extra diaper loads I could see a half batch lasting at least 6 months. Eleven dollars for six months worth of laundry detergent is not too shabby!

Here is the recipe that I use (plus where I found everything)

*12 cups Borax (20 Mule Team-You can find this at Wal-Mart)
*8 cups Baking Soda (I got a big bag at Sam’s but you can pick up boxes as well)
*8 cups Washing Soda (You can get this at Baker’s and I think I saw it at Hy-Vee as well)
*8 cups Bar soap (grated) (If you are using Ivory soap you can regularly find it at Walgreens on sale around $1 for a pack of 3

Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub. Instead of using one huge container I put it in two smaller ones so that it was a little more manageable. I only made a half batch last time but I will make a full batch for sure next time!

Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load. If you have an old formula scoop lying around I use two scoops with it.

This recipe is great if you have someone in your family that is allergic to perfumes or dyes. I love it because my clothes smell clean and not pretty.

    I’m still getting used to the reality of not having co-workers and a boss to make and give gifts to. I admittedly love making and giving gifts. This year and last I have been living vicariously through my husband. Last year was fun because where he was working had a lot of employees, a Christmas party and a name exchange. This year is a bit more of a challenge for me. You see he now works for a company with only three people involved-Joel, his boss, and his boss’s business partner. Oh and they are all men. Men can be difficult to shop for when you are related to them, let alone someone you work with. The question became “how do you come up with a gift that is sincere, useful, and won’t break the budget?” Since I love putting together gift baskets/boxes this seemed like the obvious choice for the year (I’m already thinking about what I want to do next year). I am the type of person that simply cannot stand to pay unthinkable prices for baskets of goods that aren’t that good and that there isn’t that much of. And now that I have gotten a better grasp on sales and coupons I can give a great gift with a price tag that is a great on my budget.

What is in the box:

A half pound of Starbucks Holiday blend coffee and Christmas mugs: free-thanks to my awesome brother who gave me his coffee mark out for the week as well as the mugs he got a couple of years ago after Christmas that have sat in his Christmas box waiting to be loved. (I think the mugs were originally $8 each and the coffee is $6 per half pound)

 The Christmas box: $3.50 (30% off)

Bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate $3 each

Bag of chocolate dipped Dried Apricots: Homemade- I think I paid $1 for the chocolate chips and the Apricots were what we had on hand.

3 bags of Christmas cookies/ 3 cookies in each bag: Homemade-The only thing I went out and bought was a pound of sugar which was $1.98 everything else I bought a while back in bulk so I already had it on hand. (you can go here for the recipe)

2 mini loafs-1 pumpkin, 1 cranberry: Homemade

A very pretty Glittered pinecone ornament: $2 (was $3.99 ½ off)

Ribbon: $2.50 (was $4.99 1/2 off)

All said and done I think I spent around $11.50 per box (I divided the cost of the chocolate, sugar and ribbon between the two boxes). Plus I have extra ribbon, extra bread, and lots of extra cookies to share! A tin of 12 cookies at Mrsfields.com is $29 and that’s just for cookies that are rather small. My boxes are over flowing. I had to actually leave some stuff out just because it wouldn’t fit. I really love the way these turned out. I think they look beautiful. Thank goodness for wired ribbon, a God send for those of us that are challenged in the way of making bows!

Are you making anything special for Christmas?

I’ve had a couple of people ask about the recipe for the homemade Runzas I made with my mother-in-laws over thanksgiving. These are the greatest and sooo delicious. Make them up and freeze them individually and just pull them out as you like.

MAKE AT HOME RUNZAS

Sweet roll dough

• 4 1/2-5 cups of Flour
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 pkgs Dry Yeast
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Shortening
• 2 Eggs-room temp

Measure 1 1/2 cups Flour into bowl. Stir in Sugar, Salt and Yeast. Heat Milk, Water and Shortening until 120-130 degrees. Pour into Flour mixture. Add Eggs and beat 30 seconds on low, 3 minutes on high. Stir in the rest of the Flour mixture. Knead 3 minutes until smooth. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.

Filling

• 2lbs Ground Beef
• 4 Onions chopped
• 2tsp Salt
• 8 cups Cabbage chopped
• 8t Butter
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 3 cups Motzarella Cheese

Brown Beef and Onion. Wilt Cabbage in Butter (about 2 minutes in the microwave). Add Beef mix with Salt and Pepper to Cabbage.

Assembling

Break off golf sized dough balls. Roll out into thin circles (the thinner the better. When you fold them up it will create less dough at the bottom). Sprinkle cheese in the center. Put 1/4 cup mix on top of cheese (if your bowl is big enoug you can add the cheese to the filling mix). Fold dough to center and pinch to seal. Place folded side down on greased sheet. Let rise for 40-60 min or when indentation remains when pressed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

When they have cooled wrap them in plastic wrap and either store in a container or a freezer bag in the freezer.

To reheat: Microwave for about 40 seconds.

   Unfortunately I am writing about this from recent personal experience. I wonderful cat brought home some very unwelcome house guest. Fortunately there were not very many fleas discovered in us but action needed to be taken immediately. I have a very strong aversion to chemicals so that was completely out of the questions. I set off searching the internet for a non-chemical remedy. I learned that fleas have exoskeletons which means they dry out when something like say salt is sprinkled in them. The soap supposedly thins the blood and the salt gets in and dries them out.

The recipe:  Equal parts salt and powdered laundry detergent.

Directions: Sprinkle on carpet; let sit 1 hour and then vacuum up. Be sure to apply under the furniture. Go back one week later and repeat to kill the eggs that are now hatching. Depending on the intensity and your paranoia you may want to do this with the fabric covered furniture as well. I just washed the pillows and will give them a regular vacuuming. I did have to vacuum a couple of times to pick up the mixture off the carpet. This would be less important if you do not have small children, however I have an infant crawling all over the place so it was needed.

**Side note, this also works on crickets. Joel discovered one in the dining room when he was applying the mixture and sent some the crickets way. He started twitching real bad and eventually kicked the bucket. We thought that was pretty cool!

This was very easy. It is time consuming but for around fifteen dollars you have a clean flea free house and at least in my case some areas of my house the got some well needed attention!

   This week we are going to talk about rags. Seems simple right? But how often do we as Americans reach for paper towels instead of a washable/reusable rag? The next question is how often do we by said washable rags? If you were like me you grew up with a stack of rags in the closet at your grandparents house and perhaps your parents house as well. But somehow this thrifty practice got lost in translation between generations. I thankfully did not miss this one. I keep every old shirt that cannot be given away or sold and it goes in to the rag box. I then cut them into various sizes and they are ready at a moments notice to wipe up, dust, mop up or assist my husband in various maintenance tasks. The great thing is that it is free and that shirt gets one last asignment before it is no longer useful at all and is quietly disposed of.  Of cource there are always those tasks that no one wants to use a rag for such as pet poo. I say use the rag and trash it. You have a ton more in the box. The one I will always use paper for is bacon, anything else would just be weird.

    Think of how many rolls of paper towels you will not have to buy. You will be saving hundreds of trees and you will always have a rag on hand just when you need it.

   Here is a recipe for taco seasoning. My mother-in-law has used it for years but I have yet to try it. Next time I run out of taco seasoning I am definitely going to use it. The recipe originated from the book “Make-a-Mix Cookery” By Eliason, Harward and Westover. There is also the “More Make-a-Mix Cookery” book as well. Both are full of great recipes and make ahead ideas. They are truly a make it yourself’s best friend in the kitchen.

Taco Seasoning Mix

2 tsp instant minced onion

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper

1/2 tsp instant minced garlic

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

   Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until evenly distributed. Spoon mixture onto a 6 inch square of aluminum foil and fold to make airtight (I like the tiny little Tupperware midgets). Label. Store in a cool dry place. Use within 6 months. Makes 1 packet (about 2tbs) taco seasoning mix. To make additional packages, increase ingredient amount proportionally.

  Ok, so I know that it is Tuesday but I am determined to get htis started so its a day late. Oh well.

   Since I have been feeling better and been attacking my house with a vengance I thought the first installment should be a cleaning solution that I use in my home. The very trustworthy vinager solution. Yes this can be a little smelly but the smell quickly disipates and I think it is far better than the store bought chemical smells you would get otherwise and it is totally cheap.

Vinegar Cleaning Solution Recipe

•  One part white vinegar to one part water in a clean spray bottle.

   Thats it. If you really don’t like the smell you can add a little lemon juice to sweeten things up. Also another great use for vinegar is to and a 1/4 cup to your whites as a natural whitener.

What do you use vinager for?