Apple Cider Vinegar
I make my own apple cider vinegar by saving apple peels & cores in a ziplock bag in the freezer until I have enough for a mason jar...fill a quart size mason jar with them and fill with water. Put a small piece of plastic or something cut to fit inside the jar on top of the apples and place a jam size jar on it (this holds the apples down) cover with a towel and leave it for 48 hours. There should be bubbles on top when you go back to check on it then. Take the jam jar & plastic circle out and strain off the liquid into a quart size jar and throw the peels and core away.Cover the quart jar with cheese cloth and screw the outside lid on (not the flat lid) Leave it in your cupboard for a month. Then it is ready.
is is where I will continue to post information that will help you to be more self-reliant with less dependancy on store bought items.
great idea for a thread! especially for us with little imagination or "from scratch" cooking experience. If its not "pre-cooked" or "microwave friendly"... im pretty much SOL right now haha
See you all after.
I already posted the Laundry Soap so here are what goes with it:
Bleach Alternative
Put in a gallon jug:
1 1/2 cup 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/2 cup white vinegar or lemon juice
Fill jug with water and shake : if NOT using lemon juice you can add 10 drops lemon essential oil for fragrance if you want
.color safe bleach alternative
.add 1 cup of this to wash load for brighter softer clothes
.no need to dilute
.spray on stains before washing clothes
Fabric Softener
Mason Jar - Does 40 loads for about $1.50
In a mason jar (quart size) put 2 cups of water and 2 cups of white vinegar
1 cap of vegetable glycerene (shoppers drug mart has it) - helps it cling to the clothes
10 drops of lemon, or lavender essential oil (NOT dark oils as they will stain clothing eventually)
Put lid on & shake contents to mix.
.Dip a sponge in the jar and wring it out in the jar, throw sponge in dryer
.Fill Downy type ball to the line as usual if you use one of these
Powdered Laundry Soap
Use 1 TBSP per load/2 TBSP per large load or heavily soiled clothes
Grate a bar of soap like cheese into a large bowl(I use Ivory or Sunlight)
Add 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Home Harware has it)
Add 1 cup Borax
Add 1 cup oxi clean
Stir with a fork & blend in
Optional: Add 20 drops of fragrance oil and stir
Blend in a blender to make a fine powder (one cup at a time)
Store in a container with a lid
Liquid Laundry Soap about $5 for a 5 Gallon Pail...320 loads @ 1/4 cup per load ( 1/2 cup if really dirty) Lasts me about 2 years or more for 2 adults... if High Efficiency Washer use 1 TBSP per load = about 1140 loads
.Grate (like cheese) 2 bars of Ivory Soap (Fels Naptha soap bars if able to find it from the USA) and put it in a pot with 4 cups of water
.Cook it over MED Heat until melted (do not boil) ...takes about 20 minutes...stir occasionally but go do something else while waiting for it to melt
.Fill a 5 Gallon Bucket 1/2 full of HOT water from the bathtub (it is the easiest way)
.When soap is all melted add it to the bucket with 1/2 cup Borax & 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (get mine and the 5 gallon pail at Home Harware store downtown Brooks)
. Fill the bucket with hot tap water and stir with a yard stick or handle of a hockey stick...lol...put lid on and leave overnight.
. Sometime the next day/afternoon is fine...get the big thing you will stir with and give it a good stir(it gels overnight).
.Either you can pour into other WIDE MOUTH containers to use as you need (you can shake them easily if soap seperates between uses) or just leave the bucket/hockey stick by the washing machine for easy use...I keep an old measuring cup that came with an old purchased box of tide on the lid for measuring.
* This soap is NOT SUDSY...Laurel Sulfate and other ingredients in all the products makes bubbles...people think bubbles means CLEAN, it does not...the ingredients used in all the recipes I'll post make your clothes, body, teeth, hair etc clean...lose the bubbles means clean thought.
I love this soap...it doesn't leave a residue on my clothing...I hang my clothes on the line to dry except in winter ( & I should then too) and noticed other powders do.
In case you missed this on different post..this is an fantastic explanation on how to decide your food preps. There are 8 short you tube videos to watch but really worth it unless your content with just beans and rice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BUaFMEyLXOM
Spray Starch
Boil 3 3/4 cups water
In a bowl:
1/4 cup cold water
1 TBSP cornstarch
Mix well and slowly add to the boiling water while constantly stirring
Boil 1 minute
Let cool and pour in a spray bottle
Cleaner
1 gallon jug
Bar soap
2 TBSP washing soda
.Grate soap (like cheese) put in a pot with some water 4 cups or so) and melt it on medium heat stirring occasionally
.When melted add washing soda while you stir it in completely
.Fill a gallon jug half full of water & using a funnel add the soap mixture from the pot
.Shake it up and leave it sit overnight
.Fill and old dish soap container half full of water and fill it using the soap mix
.Date your container so you can see how long it lasts you and how much it costs
Bathroom/All purpose Cleaner
In alarge measuring cup put:
1 cup distilled water
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup liquid soap (and bar soap you have melted down in water will do)
1/2 cup salt
10 drops of tea tree oil
Add 1/4 cup of vinegar a bit at a time, stirring in between adding (it will foam)
Put in a pourable container.
Shake when it seperates before you use it
Dishsoap (also great for cabinets and cleaning anything made of wood)
Gate a bar of Sunlight soap (like cheese)
Put in a pot half full of water and let it melt on Medium high, stir occasionaly
When melted add 2 TBSP super washing soda and stir till mixed in
Using a funnel pour into a large plastic jug filled half full of water (distilled water jug/milk jug works fine)
Shake it back and forth until mixed and let sit overnight
The next evening, fill an old dish soap bottle half full with this soap and fill the rest with water. Shake and it's ready (reshake each time before use if needed)
*This is NOT SUDSY! Chemicals that cause bubbles are not healthy for us and do not mean CLEAN. This cleans!
Soft Scrub Cleanser
In a soup bowl put 1 cup Baking soda
d liquid dish soap stiring with a fork until it is like icing consistancy
add 10 drops of essensial oil for fragrance if you like
Dip on a sponge and use to clean bathrooms, kitchens, counter tops etc.
Body Wash (* For HAND SOAP add 10 cups of water instead of 8)
Grate a bar of Ivory soap (or other soap you like)
Put in a pot with 8 cups of water
add 1 TBSP vegetable glycerine (you can get it at shoppers drugmart)
1 tsp Vit E ( 2-3 capsules)
1/2 tsp Lavendar essential oil (if you like)
Cook over medium high heat until melted
Cool and put in old body wash container or other container you have
Glue
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vinegar
Shampoo
Bottle with squirt top
1 TBSP Baking Soda to 1 cup Water
shake and use
Conditioner
Bottle with squirt top
1 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 cup Water
shake and use