Plans to make homemade laundry soap and natural fabric dye

When I started cloth diapering (almost two years ago!), I used Soap Nuts for all of our laundry. They work well, but occasionally some garments didn't come out as clean or fresh smelling as we'd like, so I went back to using unscented, dye-free Seventh Generation liquid detergent (which we already had in the house, but that I hadn't used in nearly two years). As the jug kept getting lighter and lighter, I started wondering what I'd do when I ran out. Would I go back to using Soap Nuts full-time? Would I go out and buy a new detergent? If the latter were the case, which one would I buy? Scented or unscented? Liquid or powder? And the big question--which would be the most environmentally friendly choice.

Around the time I started thinking about this, a friend of mine posted something on Facebook about how she had made her own laundry soap and that she HIGHLY recommended other people give it a try. I was really glad that she so passionately shared her experience because it really got me thinking about taking the plunge. What I didn't like, though, was that the recipe made FIVE GALLONS of liquid detergent. I'm sure I'd use it, but that amount just seemed like it would be cumbersome to deal with. I did some laundry today and realized that within a couple weeks, I'd have to buy more detergent if that's what I wanted to do, so I started looking for recipes, and they weren't hard to find at all! The one I liked best was one for powdered soap--a bar of grated soap (Fels Naptha, Ivory, Pure & Natural, or one other one, I think it's called Zote), one cup of washing soda, and one cup of borax--stir these three ingredients for several minutes, and use about a tablespoon of detergent per load.

This recipe came from a blog post (http://www.diynatural.com/simple-easy-fast-effective-jabs-homemade-laundry-detergent/), and in the comments I read that you can use any castile soap. Dr. Brooner's bar soap was mentioned, and I know they have naturally scented soap, so I think I'm going to buy some when we're out shopping tomorrow. I prefer mildly scented things to completely unscented things, but if I have to choose between unscented and highly and/or artificially scented, I would go with the former. Strong artificial scents make me feel like I'm going to pass out, and I'm not being melodramatic.

In my quest for other natural homemade soap recipes, I came across this blog post:
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/04/natural-homemade-laundry-detergent/. I actually can't wait to catch up on her other posts because it looks like a REALLY cute blog.

And I've been thinking of dyeing some fabric, but of course I want it to be as natural as possible, so I found this post: http://earthdivasblog.com/2010/07/13/how-to-dye-fabric-with-natural-dyes/. Another blog I'm going to have to try to catch up on.

Ooh, I love projects. I'm actually feeling a little depressed because I feel like I don't have time to finish anything. Heck, I barely have time to START anything! And on top of that, I'm back to work now. I know, I know...everyone else does it, so I shouldn't be complaining, but I feel like I spend all of my time making everyone else happy and I'm the last person on my list to be taken care of. And the thing is, I don't want to go out for girls nights and yoga all of the time...I want to STAY IN so I can sew, bake, make a frickin' candle, whatever. I need to get my hands dirty but one of them always seems to be holding a toddler. (Sorry, I'm feeling spread pretty thin lately, and today it was just getting to me, because on top of being spread thin, I'm utterly exhausted.)

A while ago I said that I was going to do some work that I didn't get to finish this past week when I was actually *at work*, but I've spent the last 45 minutes or so researching laundry detergents, reading articles, and writing this. Time to get to work, and maybe when I'm done I can continue my research.

Articles to bookmark

Since this page is, apparently, becoming my place to keep track of what I read, I thought I'd save two links here for future reference.

First, an article about "What the Bible Really Says About Routine Infant Circumcision". For those who argue that they believe in circumcision "for religious reasons," here is some food for thought about how you are NOT honoring God by agreeing to this procedure. (And for what it's worth, there's no medical benefit to it, either, and doing it "to look like Daddy" is ridiculous...I think that people are going to notice things like eye color and face shape, and not whether their penises match.) http://www.udonet.com/circumcision/christian.html

The second is an article from Psychology Today called, "Believing "children are resilient" may be a fantasy". People get so hung up on the fact that "they'll get through it" that they forget to nurture their children. Now, I DO believe that children will "get through it," but HOW they get through it helps shape who they are on the other side. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201106/believing-children-are-resilient-may-be-fantasy

Shape; August 2011

I just realized something about my new goal to summarize magazine articles...it will help me keep track of where I am in the magazine!

P24--there's a half-marathon in RI where live bands play along the route. Similar events are being held in other cities. Sounds cool...too bad I don't run unless I'm being chased. (For the record, I would love to run, but my knees and feet just can't handle it.)

An article on page 32 mentions body confidence, and asks if a man thinks twice about taking off his shirt and showing his potbelly. Nope, I don't think they do think twice about showing off the potbelly...but sometimes I wish they would. Nothing wrong with putting in a little effort to look nice for your wife. Just sayin'...

The book "What I Wore" mentioned on page 40 looks good. I could use some fashion advice. I have no skill whatsoever in that area.

Breaking my habit of collecting too much stuff

I have a problem with keeping things around the house. I do this for a couple reasons...one is that I'm afraid that if I get rid of it, I'll need it. I'm surprised that after holding onto something for YEARS, I'll get rid of it and find out that I needed it within a few days of saying goodbye. It happens at home and at work. At work I'll hold onto a stack of papers from three years ago, decide it's safe to shred them because the students are entering their senior year of college...then one of them will call me asking about letters of recommendation or something like that. As much as I'd like to, there's obviously no way I can remember some of those smaller details about all of my students.

In order to tackle the problem at home, though, I've decided that I'm going to start with my magazines. I keep magazines around because they contain good articles or exercises or whatever. I know it will be time-consuming, but I think I'm going to work on summarizing articles, then after I've written my summary, the magazine can go to the recycling bin or to someone else who might want to read it. Obviously this is more for my reference than for your reading enjoyment, but if it does end up helping one person, it's worth it!