It's been raining for 3 days solid now.  Hurricane Sandy is taking a toll on the east coast, but we are also feeling its effects.  Cold, wet, and getting windier.  So glad we don't live on a flood plain.. but we do live on the edge of the woods.  Praying today for those folks who are being affected today by water and wind.. More later..as I hope we don't lose power in the near future..

Just wanted to say that many of the 'homemade'   ideas I've posted are from a wonderful blog run by Jillee called One Good Thing.. 
Here are 2 more of her awesome ideas..

Whitening without Clorox
12c water
1/4c lemon juice
1c peroxide
Mix and use 2c per wash.. use your homemade detergent with hot water.. let the clothes soak for about an hour and then proceed with the normal washing.
I tried this today and used 2c of vinegar in my rinse.. dried my tea towels with a ball of aluminum foil.. it was amazing.  Try it- you may just like it!
This mixture can also be used in a spray bottle as a household cleaner.. 

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No Grate Laundry Detergent
3 Tbsp Borax
3 Tbsp Washing Soda
2 Tbsp Dawn
put the ingredients in a gallon jug and then pour 4c of boiling water over all.. Swirl till the dry stuff is dissolved.. cool
Fill the jug with cool water and use 1/2- 1c per load
I haven't tried this one yet, but soon.. very soon  
    

BEAUTIFUL photos of my Valentine grandchildren
These are new additions to Wendy's blog.
These are simply awesome. 

This reminds me of Thomas.. he no longer sleeps on our deck at night, but visits us daily.. er.. not really.. he comes to eat his breakfast, lunch, supper and beg for a midnight snack.
This week I stepped out on the back porch and directly onto the poor boy, full force-   yike.  that's a lot of weight on one skinny little wild cat.
When I lifted my foot, he ran to the other side of the deck and huddled in the corner.   Note- he didn't leave totally, but just got 'out of the way'.  When I recovered from the shock of it all, I walked over and talked to him.. assuring him that I certainly didn't do that on purpose and hoped he'd forgive me.  It was at that point, as though he understood everything I had just said, that he got up and walked over to me lovingly rubbing his head and body against my leg.  So forgiving.  I prayed that I could be that forgiving when others hurt me.   

A few more homemade recipes...

Here is a recipe I'm going to try- haven't yet..
Winter Sore Throat Tea
Lemon slices, honey, and maybe some sliced ginger .. put in a jar with a lid and in the refrigerator.  It will form a jelly.
Spoon the jelly into a mug and add hot water.. stir and sip.
Stores 2-3 months 

Homemade Hand Sanitizer
1/4c Aloe Vera gel
3/4c Rubbing alcohol
1/8c Glycerin
10 gtts essential oil- your choice
Pour everything into a food processor or blender ..
On high for 1-2 minutes
Bottle it- keeps 6+ months   

Homemade Sugar Scrub
Equal parts brown and white sugar in a 6-8 oz jar
Fill to top with olive oil and add 1-2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Mix to a paste
Sort of reminds me of BC ??   I have not yet tried this one either..

Oh..here's a really good tip.  I finally learned how to actually SHINE my stainless steel sinks.  First sprinkle some lemon juice in the sink- about 2 Tbsp.  Then sprinkle over it baking soda..right out of the box.  It will foam up nicely.   Scrub the entire sink with this .  Then rinse and dry with a towel.  Apply a few drops of oil in the sink and buff with a towel.. WHOA!!!  It shines!!  The oil you use can be olive, baby, or any other oil you might have in the kitchen.. just don't use a lot..a few drops does the trick nicely.

Faux Febreze
1/8c fabric softener
2 Tbsp baking soda
Hot tap water to fill a 32oz bottle.
Spray away!  
I tried this.  I liked it a lot.. BUT.. I found when I sprayed it on my black jacket, it left a white film on it.  Nothing else had it- used it on the sofa and chairs and carpet.  Smells heavenly and no white film.. just on my black jacket.   I guess I'd say.. use sparingly even if it does smell soooooo good.

Faux Clorox Wipes
1c water
1/4c rubbing alcohol
1 Tbsp Dawn (blue)
2 Tbsp Ammonia (optional)
Stir together and pour over cotton cloths.  
Put in a jar or air tight container.
As you use these, toss them back into the laundry and rewash..then put them back in the jar for next time.
I used an old gunky terry cloth towel.  I cut the wipes about 6"x 6" and soaked them in an old Cool Whip container with a lid.
I did not use the ammonia.

Homemade Dryer sheets
Cut up old towels or whatever  fabric you have into 6x6" pieces.
Soak in fabric softener in a container. 
Use 1 for each dryer load- squeeze out the excess fluid and toss into the dryer with your wet clothes.
When done, put it back into the softener for the next wash day.

Faux Oxyclean soak
1c water
1/2c peroxide
1/2c baking soda
Mix and soak laundry overnight.
I haven't tried this yet.. sounds good though.

Liquid Laundry Soap
Grate 1 bar of soap- Fels Naptha is awesome
1c Borax
1c Washing soda
2 gallon jugs 
Fill a gallon jug with hot water and pour into a pot
Cook until the soap dissolves
Add borax and soda
Bring to a boil- it will coagulate
Turn off heat
Add 1 gallon cold water, stir well
Pour a gallon into both jugs  
1/2c per load
~ I have not tried this yet.. but am looking forward to doing just that.  

Homemade Underarm Deodorant
1/4c baking soda
1/4c corn starch
1/4c Coconut oil
essential oil optional
In a small saucepan (I used the microwave), 
melt the coconut oil.  Whisk in the rest of the ingredients until smooth.. transfer to an empty deodorant container.  Let set
I didn't have an empty, so I used a 4oz mason jar.  It really does solidify to the texture of deodorant.  I had to use a cotton pledget to apply it after my shower this morning.  It does work, but remember, this is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant.  You may sweat, but it won't smell bad.  
I felt bad tossing those pledgets away.. I pulled them back out of the wastecan and shined my shoes- waterproofed them!  Ha!
** Addendum
I did try this deodorant for several days and now know that although it is a deodorant (and a great polish for shoes), I can't use it for its primary purpose.  It made my underarms burn in the evening.  Hope others don't have the same problem..Am thinking I need an antiperspirant rather than just deodorant.  

Jewelry Cleaner
Boiling water- I used a cup
Baking soda- I used about 2 Tbsp
I put this in a corelle bowl and then tossed in my rings.. They bubble and sizzle a bit.. I left them in for about 5 minutes.
I took them out using a spoon and layed them on a tea towel till I could handle them and rinsed them with cold water.  WOW!  They shine like new! 

 
    

  

 
   

     
   

Still more homemade stuff

Gardener Hand Scrub
Fill a jar 3/4 full with regular sugar
Add Dawn with Olay (pink) fill jar to just below the bottom of the mouth of the jar.
Stir mixture until pasty
Add more sugar if needed.
This stuff is FABULOUS!  I tried it and loved it!  It reminded me of the BC hand cleaner.. but without the oil.

So then, I thought maybe I needed a body/hand lotion or cream.. Searching again, I found THIS:
1 bottle baby lotion (16 oz)
8 oz Vaseline
8 oz Vit E cream
Mix in bowl with electric mixer until it resembles frosting.  
Dispense in jars.
This stuff is AWESOME so far.  I love it too.  Don't be turned off by the ingredients.. its not greasy, but softens skin so perfectly and has a very mild baby lotion scent.

  

More homemade stuff

Homemade 409
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp Borax
1/8c Dawn (blue)
1c hot water
16 oz trigger spray bottle
Optional scent or essential oil
Pour vinegar, borax and hot water into the spray bottle
Continue filling spray bottle with cool water
Add Dawn last- no need to shake

This works well and I am quite happy with it.


Homemade Glass Cleaner
Combine 1c water, 1/4c white vinegar, and a few drops of Dawn (blue) into a spray bottle and go clean your mirrors and windows..

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap
4 oz bar of Ivory, grated (or any other preferred soap)
1 gallon water.
Heat the water in a large pot until it steams.
Pour the grated soap into the water and let it set 15'
Blend well- I used a whisk- you can use a mixer if desired.
Let it set overnight.   In the morning, blend again and pour into a gallon jug.
I'm very anxious to try what I made.. my pumpers are all full, so I may have to wait.  Unless of course I just dump some into my hands to try ..  I added a few drops of Tea Tree Oil to make it a sanitary liquid hand soap.
 
    
     

Homemade stuff

I'm REALLY getting into this homemade stuff.  A regular Suzy Homemaker.. ha!
I just was feeling rather irked with the price of items on my grocery list and decided to do some research and used Google and Pinterest.
I've made some pretty good stuff so far..  let me share:

Fabric Softener:
6c HOT water
3c white vinegar
2c Suave conditioner
Dissolve the conditioner in the water
Add vinegar and mix
Use 2 Tbsp in a Downy ball

I made this.. it is okay, but when I washed my big blanket and used it, the blanket came out with static.   So I did a bit more research and found that if you take a small piece of aluminum foil and crunch it up golf ball size and toss it in the dryer with your clothes, they come out without the static cling..   Who would have thought?

Here's another fabric softener recipe.  I haven't tried it.
1/2 c Purex crystals (or Downy crystals)
Mix in 1c hot water
Add 6c white vinegar SLOWLY
Dispense 1/2c in Downy ball


Dish Soap- not for the dishwasher
1/4c soap flakes or fels naptha grated
2c water
1-2 Tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice
1 Tbsp glycerin (optional)
Pour water and soap in saucepan
Heat slowly..stir.. melt the soap, but DO NOT BOIL  
Cool- add vinegar or lemon juice and dispense in bottle.
Note:  I made the first batch with a bar of Ivory soap- grated.
I also used the vinegar.  I think it came out okay, but a bit on the lumpy side.  I wasn't happy, but it does clean the dishes.. no suds.. and though it has a kind of greasy feel to it, the dishes dried in the air are sparkly.
The 2nd batch I made with Fels Naptha soap and lemon juice.  I made 4 x the recipe and got a little over a half gallon.  The problem with it was that it is the consistency of snot and is one big clot in the jug.  I will be trying it out anyway to see how it cleans.
In the mean time, I decided to add a half cup of Dawn (the blue kind) to the Ivory dish soap and it helped a little.   Hmmmm
I think it needs work.
Addendum:
I decided that the 2nd batch with the Fels was worth working on.  So.. I added a cup of blue Dawn and 4 cups of warm water.. and shook it up.   Now, I have to say, this works even better than the Ivory recipe... Love it.  AND- the clot consistency is gone.. its now a nice thick detergent for my dishes.  Again, no suds, but suds don't clean.. 

Dry Laundry Detergent for a year (family of 4)   
3 bars Fels Naptha, grated
1 box Borax
1 box Washing Soda
2c baking soda
1 very large container cheap dollar store Oxyclean
1-2 containers fabric softener crystals (Purex or Downy)
Use 2 Tbsp per load

I find this detergent amazing.  IT CLEANS.  When I made it, I used a dishpan lined with a tall kitchen bag not knowing how much volume I would encounter.  I made a half recipe for the trial.
The bag is so you can really mix the ingredients well.. it's heavy even at a half recipe.  Once it was all mixed pretty well, I scooped it into a 'gallon' plastic ice cream container, and the remainder back into the generic Oxyclean tub.  My measuring spoon is the one that came with the Oxyclean.. its about a T or more.  
Note:  I turned the HOT water on first in the washer and added the soap to it.  The Fels Naptha needs to melt and does so quickly.  Once it looks like its melted, I added my laundry and turned it to the warm setting.  (Or you could use the cold setting).  It did a remarkable job.. and it does not make suds either.  Good for the septic.
I found that using the homemade fabric softener and this detergent, plus the aluminum foil ball in the dryer.. my clothes were almost ultra soft.  And NO static cling.
I would make this again and next time go the full recipe.

Now, some laundry really gets soiled heavily, and though I think you could do a presoak with this stuff, I also found a recipe for 
Homemade Shout:
2/3c Dawn (blue)
2/3c Ammonia
6 Tbsp baking soda
2c warm water
Mix together in a spray bottle .. shake the bottle, spray on the stains and let it set for 2 minutes.. then toss it into the washer.
I have NOT made this yet.  I still need to purchase some Ammonia.