MAKING HOMEMADE SOAP.

For years, we’ve been honing our self sufficiency skills. Part of our program is living well while living under the poverty line. Being in charge of one’s own health is a very large part of the program. Making and doing things for yourself is another large part.

Making your own cleaning supplies is one way to help stop the flow of red ink. According to government data, the average American spends $659.00 per year on cleaning supplies that can be easily made for about 30% of that cost. Hunting for the ingredients at your local discount dollar store is a good place to start.

For laundry detergent you’ll need: a five gallon bucket, access to water, a bar of cheap soap, which you’ll have to grate, one cup of washing soda...not baking soda, one cup of 20 Mule Team Borax.

Add four cups of water to a large pan and mix in the grated soap. Heat your mixture at a low temperature until completely dissolved. Add the dissolved mix to three gallons of water in your five gallon bucket and stir until your mixture thickens. Let it sit for a day and you have homemade laundry soap.

If you have a dishwasher, which we don’t and have no desire to own, you’ll need: Borax, table salt, baking soda (not washing soda) and citrus essential oil or a couple packets of unsweetened lemon Kool-Aid. Dry mix together and use one tablespoon per load. There are different variations on the above recipe, one being just borax and baking soda.

Another I found on the Internet consisted of: 2 bars of Octagon soap, 1 cup of baking soda, 1 cup of washing soda and a cup of lemon juice. Shred and then melt the soap in five quarts of water before adding in the other ingredients.

Baking soda does many chores from deodorizing to brightening teeth to eliminating ants. Most insects, and many other pests, hate baking soda. I use it when preparing a storage area for produce like potatoes and grains. Sprinkle a little around in the container or mix it in with the grain. When you get ready to use the item, simply wash off the residue. A few years ago I needed to build a storage shed. I needed to insulate the space between the roof and the ceiling but didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I had access to large wood shavings which make good insulation. Their drawback is the fire hazard. I mixed baking soda with a small test amount of the shavings and tried to light it. The mix smoldered a little until the flame got to the baking soda and then fizzled out.

Most people have used vinegar for cleaning but it can also be used to kill weeds, especially helpful for killing wild morning glory...a.k.a. bindweed. Just squirt it on the plant and around the plant’s base.

If you get an insect bite or sting, grab a handful of bindweed, make sure it's clean, chew it to a pulp and apply it directly to the problem. I've found it to work when all else has failed. In fact, I don't use anything else if it's available. Bindweed also contains lots of good stuff where medicinals and health are concerned.

Borax also works great for scrubbing and scouring various items, including the toilet bowl.

Rubbing alcohol cleans windows, outdoor furniture, bathroom fixtures and can take iodine stains out of clothes. We use old venetian blinds, cut in small segments, as markers in the garden. When one crop is off and another takes its place, we clean the marker with alcohol and print the new information on it with a marking pen. Even better if you make your own ethanol. Ethanol can be used in place of fuel oil for heating by making some minor changes to the orifice size.

If you have a greasy stain, try lemon or lime juice. While living on a sailboat some years ago, a Mexican fisherman turned me onto fresh lime for treating infections. Just clean the wound, the scab has to be removed if there is one, and squeeze on the lime juice. It stings, oh boy does it, but I’ve seen it clear up infections from barnacle cuts after antibiotics proved ineffective. Lime in a bottle or plastic container doesn't work when it comes to infections, bottled or fresh lemon juice doesn't work either.