Yukon Chatter Bug

Does frugality come with age? I don’t know, but I’m happy to announce that I now make my own laundry soap. There are tons of recipes on the Internet, but they’re all basically the same. The big question is whether you prefer powder or liquid.

When buying laundry soap, I always went for the liquid because the powder always left a bit of residue on my clothes, especially when using cold water. However, when making your own, the liquid soap takes a little longer to make, so I decided to test the powdered version, and if it didn’t work, I could always switch. I’m all into saving time making the stuff.

So, it took me about 10 – 15 minutes, and it works like a charm. No residue on my clothes, and the dirt is gone, gone, gone. Also, this method is cheaper, safer for the environment, and takes up less space on the shelf.

So here’s what you need:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar of soap, grated - (Sunlight, Fels Naptha, or Zota – NOT body soap)
1/4 cup Oxyclean (optional)

Mix it all up. Use 1 Tbsp for small loads, 2 Tbsp for large loads.

One word of caution, I read that you should use gloves when handling the washing soda because it is caustic. I also rinse my hands after each use of the laundry soap.

All of the ingredients are near the laundry detergents at the store. For the bar of soap, most Whitehorse stores carry Sunlight. It’s sold in a package of two bars, and is usually found near the laundry soap.

Some people prefer to use baking soda instead of washing soda. They are interchangeable in your laundry, but not in your baking! Washing soda is more alkaline and is more effective than baking soda.

For your first loads after switching, the Greenpeace website recommends washing your clothes with washing soda only; this is to prevent yellowing. I didn’t do this, and I didn’t experience any problems.

Thanks to the following sites:

The Frugal Shopper
Modern Cottage
Diaper Pin
Green Home Living – a great story!

First Impressions

Somewhere
Between the
beginning and end
Of every moment

Someone – ought
to kiss that woman

I was sitting with a friend, enjoying a glass of wine, when an older gentleman reached over and passed me a light blue sticky note. This is what it read. How delightful!

Compare that with the other fellow.

Although I haven’t posted regularly, I do read other people’s posts. As blog reading goes, or net surfing for that matter, one post leads to another.

It all started on Laurie the Librarian’s blog and her post today about using Power Point presentations efficiently. From there I clicked on her link to an earlier post on the same topic, which linked to a video presentation on Rowan Manahan’s blog Fortify Your Oasis.

Surfing his previous posts, he had been tagged with a book meme; so, picking up a random book on the shelf next to me, this is what I came up with (very creepy and cool at the same time):

1. Pick up the nearest book
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you

Consider that the fifth sentence reads:

I thought of Carole a lot.

Then, the next three sentences:

I know what she’s up to. She’s playing a very, very dangerous game and she doesn’t even know it. Let’s hope she comes to her senses soon.

This is from Filth by Irvine Welsh.

So, if you’re reading this post, consider yourself tagged, especially Laurie and Dave.