I made my own Washing Detergent!

I don't know about everyone else, but here in Canada it is not unusual to have to pay over $15.00 for a small jug of washing detergent.  We are trying to find more cost cutting ways to accomplish the same thing with the same quality of results.  I found a recipe on a website called Pinterest that has a DIY section.  I have modified the recipe to suit my own taste, but it is mostly in tact. I doubled everything except the washing soda because I ran out and the water because I wanted a more concentrated liquid. 

Here is what you will need:

1. 2 bars of soap grated (any kind you want, but a "pure soap" is recommended for those who are wanting to be as organic as possible. I used Irish Spring original.
2  2 cups of Borax - (I used 20 Mule brand)

3. 1 cup of washing soda (baking soda that has been baked in the oven on 400 until grainy, crystallized and opaque in color.You can also buy it at some stores already made.

4. a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)
5. a grater- be sure to use a grater with a fine end as this will make it easier to dissolve in the water.
6. a funnel
7. a long spoon
8. 2 empty gallon jugs/containers

So, here goes!

Grate your soap using a regular kitchen grater.

 I used this brand of Borax.  I'm sure borax comes in other brands as well.  This happens to be what we had on hand.

I decided to run the Borax through a sifter to get the lumps out.  It is often damp in BC and things like this clump up at times.

Since I didn't have washing soda on hand, I made it myself by spreading a full box of baking soda.

To make "washing soda" place the baking soda on a cookie sheet and bake it in the oven until it is grainy and  slightly tented in color.  The original recipe said about 30 minutes.  But I think it depends on your oven.  I took mine out at the hour mark after checking it several times and stirring it.

I am recommending this step next for those of you who choose to use soap other than "pure soap".  What I found was that some of the soap did not dissolve well and had to be skimmed off the top of the pot and put through the blender to make it smoother.  I don't know if you would have this problem with all natural soap as this is the first time I have done this. At any rate, it only takes a minute to do. 

Using a large stock pot, take the soap mixture and stir it into the pot with the rest of the water, the borax and  the washing soda.  Heat your water on the stove enough to dissolve your ingredients making sure to stir frequently with your long handled spoon.

I didn't have two gallon jugs.  So, I washed out a half gallon jug of milk and a half gallon jug I had of canola oil.  Be sure to wash well so that you do not have food residue in them.  You can also buy whatever containers you desire to use.  Be sure that you jugs are leak proof!  Scootard retrieved a jug from our trash can that had been recently crushed and it had a small hole in it!  Yikes!!...haha.  I had to find another jug!  By the way, I used these same containers to measure out my water and poured it in the pot.

Stir everything together and let it cool before transferring to the containers that you will use to store the mixture. I used a measuring cup  with a spouted tip to dip into the pot with and a funnel to cut down on wasted or spilled liquid.

Clean up the outside of the containers which are probably slippery by now with soap. 

Make some labels for your containers to keep other family members from accidentally ingesting the liquid.  It may look like some kind of a cool smoothy to kids!

Use approximately 1/2 – 1 cup per large load (depending on how dirty the clothes are! You can also make it more concentrated by slightly reducing the amount of water you add to it. This mixture does not make a lot of suds, but is said to be very effective.   However, If you are using a front loading machine, you may have to reduce this amount a bit to avoid a "white out" in your laundry room! 

Store it with the rest of your laundry stuff....:-)

If you are a powdered detergent user, you can also make a DRY version of the exact same soap.  is This is a  recipe found at LittleHouseInTheSuburbs.com:

Powdered Laundry Soap:
2 cups finely grated soap (Ivory, Fels Naptha, Zote, homemade, or a combination)
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda

Mix and store in a container or whatever you have. Use 1-2 Tablespoons per load.  Since there is no water added…it is very concentrated and you hardly use any per load!

Once you are finished making your detergent, sit down and enjoy a nice snack for a job well done!

And let me know if you try it and how it works out for you!

see ya next time!

Trip To The Okanagan

One would think that after all of my gallivanting over the past few months, that we would want to stay put for a while.  Well, we kinda did until it dawned on me that we had not seen my aging mother in law since last year.  Although I wasn't too keen on the idea of a 6 hour car ride, we packed anyway.  As always there are things to be done before you take a road trip.  One of them being to do "something" with the food you may have just purchased after coming home from a previous road trip.  I had all manner of peppers that I had just purchased for the purpose of making my own blend of hot sauce.  I affectionately named it the "Don't Do it" sauce.

I took another shot from a different angle just in case you thought these were plastic...haha

So, after Scootard cut the stems off of all of the peppers and pressed about 8 cloves of garlic for me, I was ready to rock and roll!  By the way, the peppers that I used where Thai chillies (5), Pablanos (2). That's the big green one you see in the bowl.It's not to be mistaken for a green "bell" pepper; Habanero (4), Red Fresnos (4) Green Jalapeno (4), Anaheim (5).

I have made this sauce about three times before and realized that I needed some "protection" from the oils in the peppers which could leave you feeling as though you had been in the sun with fair skin for too long!

after heating a large skillet with some good quality olive oil and salt....I dumped the peppers in and let them cook until tender stirring often.  The thing with the garlic though is that unless you want it "toasted": you will have to put it in AFTER the peppers are cooked.  It takes very little time to cook garlic.  I turned the heat off and then I put the garlic in and let them cook for another minute or two.  And......

PRESTO!

I even had enough left over after putting some in my favorite table thingee, to store in a jar under refrigeration....:-).  While I was cooking the peppers, I also made a pot of soup, and a pot of lentils to take with us.

After a good nights rest, we hit the road!

BC is always beautiful with the snow capped mountains and various elevations of land along the road in the distance....

Penticton was our destination and it was going to be a long 6 hour journey.....

I noticed that the further we went.....THE COLDER IT GOT!  And I had on sandals  when we left!  Sheesh....

The outside temperature was reading 50 degrees (10 degrees c).

As we approached Allison Pass the temperature got ridiculous....ha

NOW, it was time to stop and get some socks and tennis shoes on......sheesh!!

Nothing like cold AND WET during a long holiday weekend.......:-(

The lake looked like it was still frozen over, but not cold enough to stand on if you know what I mean.....

I was glad when the sky started to clear some and it stopped raining.  Perhaps it wasn't going to be a bad weekend after all.....:-)

Here are a couple of shots of the Skaha Lake just south of Penticton......

We were getting closer to our destination......

The next thing you know.......Scootard and "Mom" were reunited about a long break in between visits.....:-)

It was time for me to take a time out on the deck, soak in some sun and settle in for a nice long weekend...:-)

And before you knew it, it was time to head back to our own town....:-).  Gotta love the holiday weekends though.....:-)

See ya next time!

Out On The Town.....:-)

I have spent several years living in the Southwestern part of the United States before moving to BC. So, when you move to a place like British Columbia where there is always more rain than sunshine, it can be quite an adjustment. I have NOT adjusted after nearly 5 years. When you can actually go and do something without feeling like a drowned cat is rare. Most of the time, I just brave the weather with Scootard or I would never go out for most of the year. This particular morning, we had some business in the "Big City" and decided to get going and try to make the best of things..

I love being by the water and I especially like looking at boats and yachts as well as RV's and other modes of travel.  Even though it was over cast outside, the marina was still beautiful....:-)

Strangely enough, I don't like it when my clothes get wet.  I figure if I have to do the rain thing, I should at least have an umbrella.  I didn't have one with me so I decided to take the pics from the car.

I did finally stop raining after a while, but we were on the move again.  I love to ride through the down town areas of big cities to see what they have done to beautify their surroundings.  I'm sure this has been there for a long time, but I don't remember seeing it before.
 

Cityscapes always make great pictures if you have the right camera to take them with.  They are especially pretty at night when everything has slowed down and people have settled in to their homes.

And this is a movie set that we happened upon while driving around.  I don't know what the movie is going to be or who is in it, but we got there just in time to see them shooting a scene where an older man was having a conversation with a younger man that turned a little rough.  They shoot a lot of movies in Vancouver or White Rock and places like that.  If you look at the guy in the "ribbed jacket" on the left, you can see him holding a long microphone or whatever that thing is.  You can also see the shade screens that they are using.

  

Here is the scene that they shot where the older guy got rough with the younger.....I wonder what this movie is going to be called and if it is in French or English......hummmm.
Oh well.... I guess I missed having my name in lights that day! ha

We were near a historic place called "Gas Town".  This is a statue of Gassy Jack Deighton.
He was a Canadian bar owner.  He most have sold a lot a liquer to get a bronze statue of himself erected!
He died at the age of 44 in 1875.  

We made our way out of Gas Town and I took some pictures of other things I thought nice.  Scootard wanted to take fountain pics......:-).  I can imagine just sitting there and letting the water run over your feet.  That is if it ever gets warm enough here to do such a thing......:-(.

Some one had the idea that this would add to the beautification of Vancouver.....I find it a bit confusing.....

One of my favorite things to see are the lions that sit at the entry way of the Lion's Gate Bridge......  I just happen to be able to get this picture without car pollution.

And I remember the first time I rode Ms Vicky across this.  It seemed like I held my breath forever before we got to the other side.  It doesn't look too bad right now, but at the time I was on it with my scooter....there were a LOT more cars than what you see here.

We finally decided to go for lunch some place and decided on a place called Lonsdale Quay ( pronounced Lonsdale Key).  I know.....weird.  I like all of the stores and shops here......

I wanted to sit outside as I find the water very calming and beautiful.  But if a Canadian says "if you go out there, the wind is going to suck the heat right off your bones".....you might want a table inside! haha

So, we settled down at a table right by the window and I asked about this boat.  It's a fire boat thingee.  Coming from the SW part of the United States, I don't see these unless I'm in Canada or some other coastal town where they have a lot of marinas.

by now, we were starving.  I had a typical lunch.  I know some of my friends don't eat animal products.  I haven't gotten there yet although I have tried and almost starved to death.

Scootard ordered some Spanakopita  which is a greek dish of spinach, feta and spices in filo wrapping.  Not enough protein for me although I would eat this with something else.  

I looked around a bit and then we had to get going as we still had the rest of the day ahead of us for running the business.

We made our way through the city and finally headed back home......

I'm glad it finally stopped raining, the sun came out for a bit and the day ended with warmer weather than when we started out in the morning.....:-)

see ya next time!