Marker Monday - Microwave Mystery

And just WHAT is so interesting in the microwave boys? 

It's not popcorn. It's not hot dogs. 

No, they aren't having a Peeps war.

I don't think I've ever seen Yip smile this much over food. 

It must be more exciting than merely something to eat. 

Cool!!! .... What is it?? 

An Ivory Soap Explosion of course! 

(one bar of soap from microwave. Only do a 1/4 at a time!) 

All you need is a bar of Ivory soap, I don't think any other brand will work, and a microwave. Cut the soap in fourths and one piece at a time put in the microwave, watch it grow and take it out when it's done. Ours took about 30 seconds but it may take longer depending on your microwave. It won't be too hot to touch and the boys enjoyed playing with it right away because it felt like foam. After it cooled though and you squeezed it then it turned to powder. 

So, what do you do with it now? 

I used a whole bar of soap to make homemade laundry detergent. 

(4 cups of bar soap grated or microwaved in this case, 2 cups of Borax and 2 cups of washing soda. Mix and use 1- 1/2 T per load of laundry.)

We also made Clean Mud! 

You need one bar of Ivory soap foamed in the microwave, a few sheets of toilet paper and 1/2 cup of water. 

After the soap has cooled mix the toilet paper and water with the soap and it will dissolve into the consistency of mud. You may need to add a bit more toilet paper to thicken it up. 

What a ball this was! And it felt like mud. I was getting kind of worried because there were bits of this mixture all over the carpet but after it tried it vaccumed up super easy. It looks like a mess, but it's only soap after all and we just tossed all the toys in at bathtime. Double duty! Use the soap on the toys to clean your kids. I thought it might chunk up on the tablecloth too but I threw it in the washer, but didn't add detergent, and it came out clean as a whistle! 

Clean Mud...a pretty fun, and clean, activity for a cold winter day. 

Tangible proof that my mother loves me...

Yep, that's right. These four boxes of Washing Soda proves that my mother loves me!!

Ha, ha! You see I make my own laundry detergent which includes washing soda. Do you know I can't find washing soda anywhere in the state of Kansas!! Well, at least not in this part of Kansas. About a month ago my brother Mountain Man went home to Indiana and my wonderful mother sent washing soda back with him. How sweet!!

I got this recipe from Country Girl in Maine.

2 cups grated bar soap

(I use Zote because it's in my little grocery and it makes 4 cups when I grate it but any bar soap would work.)

1 cup washing soda,

1 cup borax

Use 1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons per load.

Thanks Mom! These boxes should last a while!

Marker Monday - Bike Baskets on the Cheap

After buying laundry detergent from Sam's Club for a couple years, I had a few empty buckets lying around. As we were packing up the house to move, I was throwing away or giving away stuff we really didn't need. I'm so happy we didn't get rid of these buckets though, they have made great (and cheap) bike baskets for Yip and Yap.

We headed to the hardware store where the boys picked out some spray paint. Gold and Neon Green? Interesting color combination. They drew up some skulls and crossbones and I made up some simple stencils from cereal boxes. Then with sharpie markers they added the details.

After drilling a few holes in the back of the bucket we used some cable ties to attach them to the front bar of the bikes. They are great and they hold so much stuff. Yap even brought home a tumbleweed the other day in his bike basket!  (Yep, we have tumbleweed here in Kansas!)

I don't know about you but I get a thrill everytime I can recycle an old item into something useful! Besides, the boys are already known as the boys with those creative bike baskets here in our new town! How great is that??

Who can teach me how to do dishes?

It has been three years since I had a dishwasher.

I need help.

The first time I ran it we still didn't have our stuff and I didn't have dishwashing soap but I had dry laundry detergent. Didn't I read somewhere you could use laundry soap in a pinch??

Obviously not!!

How to Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

My family jokingly refers to me as Betty Crocker or Suzie Homemaker. (At least I think they are joking.) It's true! I love to bake and garden and sew and knit and, well, do stuff around my home. My friends and family know this and will often pass on a recipe they think I'd be interested in.

However, making my own laundry detergent was never something I thought I'd make. People sent me directions for it and it just seemed too messy and time consuming. Why should I when I can buy a bucket like this for $14 at Sam's Club?

Finally I was just bombarded with laundry detergent recipes and I surrendered. YOU WIN! I'll try it!

Now I am kicking myself....why hadn't I done this before? You know that bucket above? The one I bought for $14? Well, I just filled it with homemade laundry detergent for less than $3!!

It took me 15 minutes (not counting watching water boil).....15 minutes!!!! Five minutes to grate a bar of soap and an additional ten minutes to melt it in boiling water, add Borax, washing soda and baking soda. Then add more water. That's it!!

The first batch I made, I admit, I didn't expect it to clean the clothes well enough. After all, I'm washing cloth diapers here folks! But I was wrong. This detergent is wonderful and it doesn't smell! No heavy perfumes, just the smell of clean! I've found many store detergents cause diaper rash in Yahoo but I haven't had any baby bum problems with this one.  

I used the laundry detergent recipe from Suzanne at Chickens in The Road(I did cut back the Washing Soda to about 75% of what the directions called for). My Betty Crockerness pales in comparison to Suzanne! She can and does do it all! I want to grow up to be like her someday.

What are you waiting for?? Go to the hardware store, buy a bucket with a lid and get going! You won't be sorry. There are tons of recipes on the web. I suggest you experiment and find one that works for you! Good luck!