Domestic Duties

I've neglected the blog pretty severely lately, I even missed What I'm Loving Wednesday. I've been busy going to school, spending time with my parents and taking care of Jackson. I've also been making laundry detergent and planting a garden :-)

I mentioned that I was going to attempt my own laundry detergent. I found a recipe I liked and went for it.

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

1 bar Fels Naptha soap

1/2 cup Baking Soda

3 gallons of  warm water

First, I put about 4 cups of water into a pan and got it boiling

Next, I grated the soap with a cheese grater

I added the soap to the pan little by little until it was dissolved.

Then, I put the 3 gallons of warm water in a 5 gallon bucket.

Add the soap mixture, washing soda, baking soda and Borax

Stir until mixture blends together

Let cool for 24 hours

Mine turned out pretty much the same consistency of regular detergent.

I washed a load of clothes in it and they didn't have a scent necessarily, just a clean smell.

 It was really easy and kind of fun to make. I ended up with 3 leftover detergent bottles full and a 5 gallon bucket.

 I think I made enough for about 6 months or more. I have most of the box of baking soda, washing soda and borax left. All I have to do is buy another $1 bar of soap for another batch. All in all it cost about $7 for all the ingredients that I can make several more batches from. I'm also planning on putting together a few more cleaning products from the baking soda and borax.

Now for the gardening.

My Dad plants a huge garden every year, but because I am a Lowery, I feel the need to plant something of my own. Apparently it's in our genes. 

A few onions left from last year and my broccoli

My one tomato plant so far

A few squash and and zucchini plants

On another note, I only have 3 weeks of school left and 4 until graduation. I can't wait to have all the business and stress behind me!

Have a great weekend!