-DA

Did you know that making homemade laundry detergent is super duper easy?  And that it ends up costing you about $.05 per load of wash?*

About a year ago I got tired of lugging home laundry detergent.  Life is tough when you don’t own a car and prefer to buy the cheapest kind of no-animal-products-not-tested-on-bunnies huge bottle of detergent (which in my case comes from Trader Joes – meaning I have to lug it home on the subway).   I decided to try and make my own and wish I had done it sooner!  It’s so easy and so so cheap.  And no more carrying home huge, heavy bottles on the train.  Win, win.

There are a ton of how-to’s out there and I read a bunch before I got started.  I think the biggest difference in the “recipes” I checked out are the type of bar-soap you use and whether or not you make a liquid detergent or the powdery variety.  Liquid was out for me since I don’t have room to store a big bucket of anything in my apartment.  I think the powdery kind is much easier to make and use. 

On to the question of soap.  This how-to suggests using a soap called Fels Naptha.  This how-to says to use Zote soap.  These are both laundry soap in bar form and can be found on the internet should you choose to use them.   I checked into both soaps and they contain tallow as a main ingredient.  No thank you!   Then I found this how-to at the simple dollar.  While his recipe was for a liquid version I noticed this in his ingredient list: “1 bar soap (I use whatever’s cheap, in this case Pure & Natural).”  Use whatever’s cheap?  Use a regular old bar soap??  Sounded good to me!  See, we have a bunch of bars of soap sitting in the back of our linen closet.  I’m not sure how we ended up with them (stocking stuffers maybe?)  since both A and I prefer body wash but they’re back there and now I finally have a use for them!  Once I run out of the free soap I plan to buy some vegan bar soap to use in the recipe but for now it doesn’t make much sense NOT to use up the stuff I already have laying around.   So.  Onward!

Ingredients:
2 bars of soap (use whatever is cheap!)
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda

….. thats it.  Seriously. 

Just in case you’ve never bought borax or washing soda before (I hadn’t until I tried this), here’s what they look like:

I found both of these boxes in my crappy neighborhood groccery store right next to the detergents.  Washing soda is NOT baking soda either so make sure you get the right stuff!  I imagine you’d be able to find this stuff at a Target or Walmart as well. 

Step 1: Grate the bar soap.  You can also use a food processor for this step which makes it a LOT easier.  Mine is busted so I had to do it this way.  Takes a bit more elbow grease. 

Step 2:  Dump both grated bars into a container with a lid.

Step 3:  Measure out 1 cup of the borax and 1 cup of the washing soda and add them to the container.  (I have no idea why my washing soda was so lumpy.  I broke up the lumps with a fork after I took this photo)

Step 4:  Put the lid on and shake it up!  Add an extra tablespoon you have laying around for easy measuring and call it a day.  Or, you know,  actually do some laundry.  Use 1 tablespoon per regular load, 2 if things are especially dirty. 

Possible additions:  I’ve heard of people adding Oxiclean to the powdered variety.  It seems like a good idea but doesn’t really make sense for me because I’m trying to keep it cheap.  According to this site, ”OxiClean is actually sodium percarbonate, a standard cleaning chemical that’s been around just short of forever. You can buy it in bulk at most chemical supply companies or pool supply stores where it’s sold to help balance your pool’s pH.”  So if you have a chemical supply or pool supply place near you, I say check it out! 

And one more thing about the soap:  In the last few batches I’ve made I’ve used two different bar soaps.  The blue soap is one of those “manly” smelling soaps marketed for men and the white is just your average ivory soap.  I was a little worried our clothing would come out smelling “manly” but I’m happy to report that there is no scent left behind.  Once we finish up the free soap I’d really like to try something like this in the detergent. 

Ah, and most importantly, YES, this does get your clothing clean.  In the simple dollar recipe I linked to above, the author actually does a test run of the homemade stuff (using any old bar soap) versus tide with bleach and found the cleaning results to be about the same.  So try it.  This post was ridiculously long as compared to how easy and fast it is to make this stuff yourself. 

*note: I haven’t done an exact cost break-down.  It definitely depends on what kind of bar soap you use and how much that costs – for me this cost was zero since I’m using up stuff that I have in the back of my linen closet.  The borax and washing soda cost me about $6 for both though that is probably more than it should be given NYC’s inflated cost of living.  Even so, I suspect I’ll get at least 5 cups out of each box or 5 double-batches of detergent.  I think a double-batch of detergent lasts me around 4 months, doing on average 3 loads of laundry per week.  That’s about $0.04 per load.  So it’s pretty darn cheap.

Well beyond nobody listening to my emails, having the same boyfriend as last entry and still working the same grind, not a whole lot has changed. I’ve found myself to allow a little more go in my life and I feel I’m a bit better for it. Not to say though that things don’t still piss me off– I’m still breathing, aren’t I? So once again, I am compelled to give it to you in easy to swallow doses. A list.

1. Number one is another driving offense: zipping around me to cut in front of me to turn right. Um, what? I’ve had this happen to me not once, but twice in the past few weeks. You gain nothing by cutting in front of me. You’re not going to make it to your turn any faster; you have to slow down to make the turn to begin with. So it’s unnecessary for you to be a dick and cut me off. If I could, I’d go all NASCAR on your ass and put you into a wall. That is if I watched that stupid left turn sport and knew that sort of terminology.

2. Running away from me. I am a Nazi of sorts. I’m the first one to admit it. Not a Nazi in the literal sense as I’m plotting genocide of millions and follow a little man with an ego issue. More Nazi in the “We have rules and rules are for reasons and there are consequences for rules being broken.” Now. I’ve been trying to enforce consequences on this one guy that uses my facility as he constantly breaks the rules. He bullies my staff and does what he pleases. I’ve busted him twice, but he’s gotten progressively smarter. And, I believe, enlisted some help from employees. They are telling him that I’m here or he’ll see me walking around, waiting to talk to him. AND HE RUNS AWAY. I’m not talking a brisk walk. He will about face and run for the hills. Now if I was allowed to bring my broomstick into the facility, you bet your ass I’d catch him. And the other thing that pisses me off is that he comes in at 5am. I’m not much for mornings. Bet your biscuits with a side of gravy that I’m in an even worse state of pissed off when this guy runs from me. I will catch you. And when I catch you… I’ll show you an ego issue.

3. Sob stories to compel me or others to break rules. I was recently shopping in Victoria’s Secret and was waiting in line behind a gentleman and, who appeared to be, his much younger girlfriend. Just by their mannerisms, they were a little more than friendly. This guy begins pulling out underwear by the handful. The girl behind the counter looked about as thrilled as I did. “Fuck. Another return. This is going to take foooorever.” So I start sampling all the little goods. Enhancing lip balm… lotion… stripper glitter lotion… fabric softener for bras… Ooh! Detergent for delic–“Look, my wife just died before Christmas. She never wore these panties. She just washed them…” Um, what? My ears perked. Did he just say his wife died and he’s attempting to return her Christmas panties? So I stroll around, continuing to listen. He and THE YOUNG GIRLFRIEND (now pretending to be the daughter) try to convince the store clerk to return all the panties. “Honestly, she never wore any of these.” “But Sir. I can’t return panties without tags on them.” “Well, the tags are right there. Along with the receipt.” “Sir. I’m sorry for your loss, but I can’t return these.” Look buddy. Maybe your wife got one look at Jezebel over there and realized that she was Old Hat and left your ass. No man that is grieving… Jew Scrooge or otherwise is going to ARGUE for a refund on panties. Then as she continued to return the panties that she could return, the couple giggled about seeing a movie and grabbing some Chick-Fil-A afterwards. I didn’t know whether to slap him for a blatant disregard for his wife’s recent passing with the taking up of New Snatch or bastardizing my beloved Chick-Fil-A.

4. In addition to sob stories compelling me to break the rules: not offering bribes to get me to break the rules. Let’s be honest here: Everybody has a price. Some may be more expensive than others… but everybody has a price. I could be coerced to do many things for a few million and a villa in Italy (George Clooney not included). Don’t ask me to do something for you that breaks the rules I’ve set in place without offering to ponying something up. For instance, there are ratios in place for the classes I teach. This is to ensure safety and that the kids receive the proper instruction and classes/teachers are not overloaded. Perhaps public schooling should look into this theory… no? I received a phone call from a parent asking for admission into a class. “Well, my one daughter is already in the class. Can’t you just fit one more into the class?” “No ma’am, I really can’t. I’m sorry. I do have an opening for both of your daughters in another class if you’d like to take that option.” “I really can’t. It conflicts with other activities.”” Well, I’m sorry ma’am, but I can’t really help you. It’s not safe to put the class over ratio.” “But really? How many kids come to the class regularly? It’s not like the teacher would be overloaded every single class hour.” – this dialogue continued until I nearly jumped through the phone at her. She ended up taking my FIRST option for her daughters. Why do we have to do the run around? You’re not going to give me anything to put my class in an unsafe ratio and I’m not going to budge. So why must we play this game? I wish I could just stop people before they begin.

5. And my biggest. and bestest pet peeve of the current month: UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS. After my parents got divorced, my Mom and I moved into various apartments. Never ONCE was I not aware that there were other people that lived in the house/building with us and I could be as loud as I wanted to. My Mom constantly hushed me and limited my slumber party partying until midnight. I did not jump rope nor hopscotch through my apartment. I was courteous of all tenants. So whyyyy do people think that just because they live in another apartment from me they can be an absolute asshole? I have absolutely the most heavy walking, I-walk-like-I’m-400lbs-but-I’m-really-not neighbors upstairs from me. I hate these people. You go up there and tell them to stop being so obese with their footsteps and they just look at you like you’re nuts. Like they have no idea what you’re talking about. You cannot possibly not be aware that you walk like you’re 400lbs. I would know that. Your ankles and knees would know that. They would send that memo to your body. And never ONCE did I think that having a party on a Tuesday was an acceptable idea. WHO PARTIES ON A TUESDAY? We don’t live in a college kid apartment building. We live with professionals, families and other QUIET people. I don’t even think in college I partied on a Tuesday. Oh, I guess there was that one time… but it was a twofer night. Can’t pass up a deal like that. But seriously. Stop being assholes to other people. Because, the difference between you and I is this… I live with someone that OWNS our property. You don’t. Therefore, YOU are leaving. Not me. I believe the slogan is: “I’ve got friends in high places.” And you are rocking my totem pole, friend. I advise you against this. Highly.

How to Do Laundry

1. Step 1

   To do laundry, first sort your dirty clothes, making separate piles for whites, bright colors and darks. If you mix whites with colors in the wash, the colors may bleed onto and ruin your whites. Also separate clothes that tend to produce lint (towels, sweatshirts, chenille and flannel) from clothes that tend to attract lint (corduroy, velvets and permanent-press clothes).

2. Step 2

   As you sort, close zippers to prevent snagging, and empty pockets (you don’t want soggy shreds of facial tissue all over your clothes!).

3. Step 3

   Pre-treat heavy stains with laundry detergent or stain remover, heeding instructions on the product label.

4. Step 4

   Use the measuring cap of the detergent bottle or the cup found in detergent boxes to measure out the right amount of laundry soap according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

5. Step 5

   Pour the soap into your washer or its detergent dispenser. Add liquid fabric softener, if desired, according to the product instructions.

6. Step 6

   Choose the water temperature for the wash cycle:hot, warm or cold; save on energy and opt for a cold rinse cycle for any load. Consult the labels on your clothes, your washing machine’s instruction manual or the detergent container for recommendations on washing temperature. In general, use cold water to protect colors and darks from bleeding or fading, and to avoid shrinkage. Use warm or hot water for durable fabrics like cotton (make sure they’re preshrunk), and to ensure that your whites stay white.

7. Step 7

   Start the washer before adding clothes, if you have time, to allow the detergent to dissolve in the water. The regular cycle suffices for most laundry, but use the gentle cycle for sheer or delicate fabrics. Adjust the water level to the size of your load.

8. Step 8

   If you need to add bleach, allow the machine to run for a few minutes to mix the detergent and water, then add about a cup of bleach to the washer or the bleach dispenser.

9. Step 9

   Add your clothes, close the lid and let the machine do its dirty work. Washing takes approximately 45 minutes.

10. Step 10

    Put the clothes (and an anti-static sheet, if desired) in the dryer after the wash is complete. Hang delicates (such as bras and certain sweaters) to air dry on a clothing rack or hanger. Check tags if in doubt.

11. Step 11

    Remove lint from the dryer’s lint tray.

12. Step 12

    Select the correct drying temperature for your laundry load: low for delicates, medium for most fabrics and high for cotton. When in doubt, low or medium is the safest bet.

13. Step 13

    Close and turn on the dryer. Expect the drying cycle to take an hour or more for a full load.

14. Step 14

    Once the clothes are completely dry, remove them from the dryer or drying rack and fold your clean laundry.

___________________________________________

   Brand Name Laundry Favors in Denim Jean Favor Gift Bag!  Fill a Denim Gift Bag or Laundry Basket, with Individual Size Brand Name Laundry Detergents/ Favors. Tide, Febreze and more! Options- Air Wick, Renuzit

Pictured- 7×7 Gift Basket/ Handles. Plastic storage basket. Color assortment of turquoise, yellow, blue, purple, and dark green. Also consider- Utility Basket with Handles 10″ x 9″ x 5″ and Pretty Translucent Colored Basket W/Wire Handle, 8.5×7.5×5-1/4 107G, 6 Translucent Colors: Orange, Green, Pink, Blue, Yellow, Clear

How are the diamonds? Be ', which take place under natural conditions, the presence of carbon under pressure millions of years to create a diamond. That's why diamonds are so expensive to buy. Fortunately, the man is no longer trusted to make the time to wait for nature to diamonds. Diamonds can be made by people created much faster and the quality is higher than before. In fact, a layman may have difficulty understanding the difference between a fake diamond from a real one.

Fake Diamonds –False Diamond

Here are some simple tips you can use to determine fake diamond – or real?

Ask. Ask the seller directly if the diamond you're looking for is a fake or real. A seller's reputation will give you an honest answer.

Wear. Real diamonds are almost indestructible. If you are looking for chips or scratches on the jewel, the chances of your diamond is not made by man and nature.

Documentation. Request a certificate from the Gemological InstituteAmerica. The GIA is the largest diamond grading authority in the world.

Assessment. Take the diamond to a diamond expert certificate. While the naked eye may not be able to distinguish between real and fake diamond experts who have the tools to detect the difference.

Setting. Look at the quality of regulation. Be if the diamond is fake, there is a greater probability of recruitment of poor quality, as if the diamond is real.

Fake or real, a nice cutDazzling Diamond in an environment can be a real eye-catcher. The trick is no longer for your Diamond, false or real pay, as is really worth. If you know the proper precautions, what to buy, you can enjoy buying diamonds without regrets.

Some features and the highest load washing machines and pre-loader washing machines, enabling a number of differences. They are like night, day in many ways. An important difference is a choice.

Ordinary washing machine top loader normal, high-efficiency front loader washing or cleaning agents to use IE. You can choose, such as Tide, the country, gain, Stratford, cheering, planets and many more brands. They are generally more expensive. There are great prices$ 40 when you buy 4 or 6, leaving behind his pocket a huge hole packages.

He asked why the load washing machines, washing powder, then?
Bulldozing more effective. Its functions, so that more water is injected into the clothes. With normal cleaning agents may lead to more bubbles, you need to machine. The reason is more intense in the Mainland of friction than the non-washing machine.

If there are a lot of bubbles form in this disk, which can lead to confusion in the machine.Programming functions can be involved. Even if you have such a regular cleaner production company does not have to confirm your situation to ensure there is a fault in the engine and control panel. Thus, despite the high cost, you must use your high-efficiency front loader washing machine.

Its great advantage is that, as a rule to help you save very little. One and a half bottle can continue will depend on how you washYou need to wash clothes.

A commonly used detergent in a typical front-end loading machine. With a loader, you must use the ball cleaner for regular cleaning of your clothes. In the case of this device, it is not friction, is not easy to penetrate the south.

However, there is what we call the energy efficient loader. They are similar to the loader in front of the function, but they look like top-load washers. In this case, it must use high-efficiencyLaundry detergents, as well as a lot of friction in the Mainland.

HE detergent is not easy to form a bubble, so this a good washing machine. In addition, it cleaned well, although only a small amount. So, now, you know what is in the wash detergent use, you can now more economic opportunities for washing machine washing machine.

I am pretty excited about this, as I hope you are.

I have worked all morning trying to install a WordPress plugin that numbers the comments with no success.

I decided to fire up www.random.org and figure out who the winners are the old fashioned way: counting

The first randomly generated number was 29.  This means that Melissa W will receive a 500g bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts.

The second number was 8.  For that, Daphne will receive a 1 kg bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts.

The third and final number was 4.  Christine was the fourth post and wins the prize of a 1 kg bag of Greener Living soap nuts and a set of coconut scrub pads.

Thank you all for playing our first soap nuts and scrub pads giveaway contest.

Come back and visit and visit again.  We plan to have more soap nuts laundry detergent giveaways in the future.

With major name brands costing a pretty penny, paying less than a penny per load sounds enticing.  And when you use natural ingredients, it’s less harmful to the environment than the big brands.  We call that a win-win!

So, what do the big brands cost?  Tide Ultra 50 oz is approximately $13 and claims to do 32 loads.  The price divided by number of loads is 42 cents per load.  Purex 100 oz claims to do 64 loads, and costs just under $5 (which is 8 cents per load).  How much does your brand cost?  If it’s more than a penny, why not give our homemade laundry soap a spin!?

It takes about 15 minutes, and ingredients can be purchased from most grocery stores. Here is what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

• 3.1 oz bar soap (Ivory is all natural, or Fels Naptha works very well too.)

• 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

• ½ cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

• Water

Tools:

• 5 Gallon container (we use a cat litter bucket)

• Knife or cheese grater

• Pot large enough to hold 5 cups of water

• Long stirring stick/spoon (for 5 gallon container)

Instructions:

1. Shave (or grate) the soap into small bits and place in pot with 5 cups of water.
2. Bring the water just shy of a boil and stir until the soap is completely dissolved.
3. Fill the bucket with 3 gallons of water and pour in the melted soapy water from pot.
4. Stir in ½ cup pf washing soda until dissolved. Then stir in the cup of Borax.

Optional: If you like fragrant detergent add a few drops of your favorite essential oils.

Next, cover the container and let sit overnight.  It will gel, but probably won’t look like the detergent you’re used to.  No worries, it’s perfectly normal to be lumpy and watery.  If you have empty containers from your name brand detergent, reuse them for easy dispensing.

Usage: ½ cup per load.  Works well in high efficiency (HE) washing machines because it is low sudsing, but be sure to stir it first or it may not fully dissolve.

Yield: 442 oz @ 4 oz per load = 110 ½ loads of laundry

My wife and I have discussed the usage of detergent when doing laundry. She is of the mind that more soap always means cleaner everything while I am of the mind that more soap means more rinsing. Much to my surprise, the Wall Street Journal’s article: The Great American Soap Overdose hits this issue head on.

The article describes how most American agree with my wife and how very few agree with me. The main problem here is that most detergents are concentrated and many new washers are high efficiency. This means that you really need to be “more precise in dosing” according to Whirlpool Copr.’s Institute of of Fabric Science (what else would they have).

As a result, Proctor & Gamble (Tide, Era, Cheer) are changing their caps so they are easier to read. Method (which I use) is launching a new pump dispenser to help eliminate the guess work.

Here’s the problem: excess soap creates a foam at the top which lifts the dirt up so it doesn’t rinse away. This leaves residue that fades colors and attracts more dirt.

It’s not just the clothes, the machines suffer our obese laundry issues, too. The detergent builds up inside and encourages odor and bacteria. Eventually, if causes the machine to wear out prematurely.

Industry surveys and studies have shown that more than half of Americans ignore the recommendations, instead guessing and using their own “recipe”.

Whirlpool designed a product called Affresh which is to be used once a month to clean out the washer. This is something that I think I might try. It is also recommended to run an empty hot water cycle with bleach.

Basically, if you aren’t using the recommended amount, you are: ruining you clothes, making them more dirty, hurting your machine and wasting money.

I had vowed to write here more often, so here I am. My new resolutions went really well for the first day and I then got sidetracked by the whole football playoff frenzy. But it really means a lot to me so I’m gonna get up a keep trying.

I’ve been rooting for the Saints all season long, so their playoff game was definitely one I couldn’t miss. It’s actually a funny story. I became good friends with a guy that worked out at my gym. He’s a hardcore football fan and everyone in his family had to choose a football team when they were young and had to stick with it their whole life. So at the beginning of the season he forced me to pick a team. My biggest deciding factor was a team whose jersey I wouldn’t mind wearing since some of the NFL teams have weird colors. My choice boiled down to the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints and because I’m a huge jazz fan I went with the Saints. So here you have it. I’m now a Saints fan for life.

However, during the Saints game yesterday I got a phone call from a girl I had seen a couple times which I really, really, REALLY liked. She ended up telling me that she wasn’t into me. It basically ruined the whole game for me. I’ve never been a very confident guy around girls. I’ve been diagnosed with social phobia plus I’ve never really had a girlfriend. The thing is, in the past few months, I’ve changed A LOT. I’ve been using social medias to promote my website and I’ve been interacting with a lot of people I’ve been admiring for years. Turns out they also really look up to me, so I’ve had a huge confidence boost. This would actually make a really interesting research: conquering social phobia through social medias. In any case, for the first time in my life, I really love myself and who I am. I believe this has really transcended to all aspects of my life including girls. So when Cora told me that she wasn’t interested in me, it came as a real blow. All my insecurities and my past came back to me all at once. The Saints won, but I didn’t really care anymore. I felt miserable. I felt like no one would ever love me. I felt worthless.

Today, I woke up feeling great. I realized that I’m still the person I was before Cora told me she wasn’t into me. It sucks but it’s something that happens. Just like there are girls who I’m not attracted to. But this is really a HUGE breakthrough for me. Normally, I would have felt like shit for several weeks. Plus the Saints won! So I’m happy and I think I’ve made a lot of progress. I’m sure I’ll find the right girl for me. And probably sooner than I think…

I didn’t do much today, which is REALLY something I need to work on. I’m not hoping that tomorrow will be a better day. I KNOW tomorrow will be a better day. In any case, one of the things I did was begin to read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. Up to now it’s been about his very early childhood. The book has been a HUGE culture shock. Mandela basically grew up in a hut in a tiny village in South Africa. He said that he started guarding cattle and sheep at the age of 5 and talks of the many chores he had to do for his family. The stuff I read felt like it was coming out the script of a movie. You never stop to think that people on earth are living these kinds of lives. I felt so grateful for who I was and the opportunities I was given throughout my life. It really put things back into perspective. I realize that I need to seize the opportunities that were given to me and truly make the most of them. I can’t keep wasting my life like I have done in the past. I don’t know exactly were this will take me, but all I want is to be proud of myself at the end of each and every day. This is not something that occurs regularly, but it’s up to me, and only me, to make sure it does more often.

On a lighter note, for the first time in my life I didn’t buy Tide, but instead I bought eco-friendly laundry detergent (whatever that means…). The packaging says EcoLogo certified and CO2 neutral. Apparently EcoLogo is an Environment Canada Program, so this doesn’t look like greenwashing. The weird thing is that it’s also a Vegan product. I really hadn’t planned on eating any of it…

Fundamentally there’s nothing particularly wrong with this Vanish advert. It’s insipidly uninspired, for certain, and it continues to peddle that advertising myth that women are basically stay at home dullards who get flummoxed by the slightest domestic problem but, let’s face it, it doesn’t commit any crimes that the vast majority of other adverts don’t commit as well. It’s hardly advocation, but I’ll let that one slide…

What bothers me about it, though, is the line spoken by the Vanish girl at the end.

“You CAN go to your party after all.”

Within that line is all that is pretty much wrong with modern commercials. It places a huge value on what is ostensibly a trivia matter and implies that peoples behaviour should be modified and amended in accordance to their presentability.  Does it really matter if a child goes to a party with a little dirt on her dress? Of course not, it’s a child – they want to have fun and could care less about a little red spot.

Far from being a simple solution to a simple problem, Vanish are presenting themselves as saviours of the day – they’re literally enabling the social functions of a child and saving them from a life of peer rejection. The red spot on the dress was such a calamity that the child was due to be yanked from fun with friends and hidden away before this patronising corporation with their magic chemicals came along and made everything alright.

Lived in clothes: BAD. Fastidious obsession with superficiality? GOOD.

That last line makes Vanish the fairy godmother; flying in at the last minute to save the day from the incompetence of mere mortal parents. And she’s younger, and prettier, and more domestically useful than mommy. She shall go to the ball!

Wow, day 10 already! The only things we have bought at the store have been 2 dozen eggs, 2 gal of milk, 5 lbs of ground beef, two boxes of saltine crackers, 2 loaves of velveeta-type cheese.
I did start my New Years stocking up list again. Week one was stocking up on nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, and walnuts – the ones we use most often). Week two was stocking up on bleaches, detergents, and cleaners. I bought some dishwashing detergent for the automatic dishwasher that was on sale, but it doesn’t do as good of a job as I like so I just add a teaspoon of baking soda and fill the jet dry compartment with vinegar and it works great! LOL
Most of my cleaners are made from dish soap, vinegar and baking soda, so I stock up on those things.

We all have heard the term Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.  An ingredient that is placed in our shampoos to create those fun bubbles that we all thought was keeping our hair clean. A surfactant. A detergent.  Yes, your shampoo is a foaming cocktail of ingredients that half the time you can’t pronounce. The problem is, some of the ingredients in your foaming cocktail sound harsh and all too familiar, but really are quite the opposite.

I want to talk about an ingredient called Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate.  I know it seems identical and really is two words deep. Have a closer look at the third word if you will! It does not say Sulfate, it says Sulfoacetate. Close enough you say! Hardly close at all! These two ingredient couldn’t be any further apart from each other if they tried.

Let’s break these down into layman’s terms! Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is the cheat detergent that is put into your shampoos to make those big bubbles. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate helps to create those big bubbles too! There’s a catch. Once is a harsh cheap chemical and the other, to your surprise is a natural ingredient. Shocking I know!

So, let’s talk more about this natural ingredient. What do we know about it? Well, it is derived from coconut and palm oils, it is completely 100% safe for our skin. This plant derived ingredient effectively helps to remove oil, dirt and bacteria, without drying or irritating even the most sensitive skin. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is also a hydrophilic, this means it is attracted to water which enables it to dissolve more readily in water, thus providing superior rinse ability!

To break this down even further let’s talk a little basic soap science. To make soap, you need vegetable oil or fat to be mixed with a high alkaline ingredient such as lye.  When this happens you create an product that likes oil and water.  Many soaps are anionic which means that they have a negative charge on the big soap molecule that needs to be balanced by a positive charged molecule such as sodium ion.  So to break down the ingredient Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate:

Sodium is the what is called the counter ion

Lauryl simply refers to a type of oil from the coconut that is 12 Carbon units long (olive oil is made of oleic acid that is 18 carbons long)

Sulfoacetate refers to the water loving part of the molecule.  Sulfur helps the acetate (vinegar) portion of the molecule create more stable bubbles and softer lather.

I know it’s hard to know the difference between some of the ingredients in the shampoos and conditioners out there when you can’t even pronounce half of them. So now you know the difference between Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. Two of the most commonly confused ingredients in shampoos.

SLI Beauty stands tall behind Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. We are a Sulfate Free- Paraben Free-Phthalate Free-Salt Free private label hair care company. Offering up a choice to consumers in the industry.

To find out more about SLI Beauty and our products please contact us;

www.salonlabel.com

info@salonlabel.com

or

1.888.595.7999

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon! Please feel free to subscribe to the SLI Beauty blog to learn more about products, ingredients and the industry!

SLI Beauty Team

” Put your salon’s name on the most natural and organic private label hair care products possible.”

A whitening detergent ad.

Advertising Agency: JWT, Jakarta, Indonesia
Executive Creative Director: Juhi Kalia
Creative Director: Randy Rinaldi
Art Director: Imelda Untoro
Copywriter: Dessi Tambunan
Photographer: Sam Nugroho
Digital Imaging: Rudi Harianto
Print Producer: Gina Virginia Ma’ruf
Published: May 2007

Certified Organic Soap Nuts

Hi Everyone,

Great news!  We decided to do a product giveaway.  There will be three prizes:

1. A 500g (1.1 lb) bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts

2. A 1 kg bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts

3. A 1 kg bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts and a set of coconut scrub pads

Safix Coconut Scrub Pads

You can enter up to three times:

1. Post a link to the http://soapnutslaundry.com giveaway on your blog or website

2. Tweet a link to the the giveaway

3. Post a link to the giveaway on your Facebook status for all your friends to see.

Each entry is given for a reply posted to this blog entry.

For three entries to the contest, you need to post three responses with where you posted your link

Winners will be chosen through random.org

The contest will be open until the end of January 28, 2010

Contest open to residents of US & Canada

Good Luck!

Get a free sample of Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets (each sample includes 2 sheets).   I love trying out new products.  I haven’t tried these yet,  but now I can. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to recieve your free sample.

A very frequent question I get is how do I wash my cloth diapers. First, you should start with the most simple washing routine for your diapers (always avoiding the no-no items of bleach and fabric softners). If you start complicated, your wash routine will always be complicated. If you start simple, you may find that simple is more than enough for you. In which case, you’ve made your life infinitely easier. Second, the real trick to washing cloth diapers is using just enough detergent to get your diapers clean, and then using enough water to thoroughly rinse the detergent out. Seems simple, right? Well, the 1/4th a capful rule makes many people wary of using too much detergent and they end up with ammonia build up. Don’t be scared. If you use too much detergent, you can always rinse it out. You won’t ruin your diapers by using a little more detergent. Lastly, take into account your load size. A very small load of diapers (10 or so) will need very little detergent. If you are cloth diapering 3 and your load is 30 diapers, you’ll clearly need more detergent. Also, if you have a load size setting on your machine, always over estimate your load size, rather than underestimate it. You need water to clean your diapers!

One of my first questions when I was beginning to cloth diaper was, “What on earth is a diaper pail?” I couldn’t think if people were using Diaper Genies or what. You can use a Diaper Champ or something similar, but the easiest is using a kitchen trash can with a lid. You can see mine have liners. I made them from some extra home decor fabric I had lying around. I made two, so while one is in the wash, the other is in the pail. But it isn’t even waterproof?! I realize that. You can make a waterproof liner, but I don’t see the need. When I remove my liner and throw it in with my diapers, I spray my pail with Lysol. I let it sit and dry, then put a new liner in. In over a year of doing this, I have no problems with it.

The inside of my diaper pail has the following instructions:

Dump any solids! (That means, put poop in the toilet.)

Remove insert (if any). (Clearly, some of my diapers do not require this step. However, anyone not in the know about how to put my diapers in the pail is also not in the know about the Smartipants and TweedleBugs being exempt from this requirement. And clearly fitteds, all in ones, and covers don’t have inserts.)

If velcro, secure velcro to laundry tabs.

My laundry routine:

1. Once all soiled diapers, wipes, and the diaper pail liner are in the machine- I run one cold rinse. (This rinses out any poop that wasn’t dumpable – think breastfed baby- and keeps most poop stains from setting in.)

2. Add 1/2 capful of detergent (I know, you’ve heard to use a forth of what you’d normally use. I did that, it did not get my diapers clean enough. So, now I use half a capful  to 3/4 a capful!) and turn washer on for a hot wash with warm rinse.

3. Turn washer back on (without adding more detergent) for another hot wash and warm rinse. (My machine does have an “extra rinse cycle” button that you can push, however, I found that a wash and two rinses just wasn’t enough. So, now I essentially have a wash and 3 rinses.)

4. Put all diapers, wipes, inserts, and pail liner into the dryer and dry one cycle on low. Take out all covers (this includes the outer portion of pocket diapers) and dry on high heat. (There is something wrong with my dryer. It takes the full two cycles to dry all my stuff. It doesn’t take me that many at my mom’s since her dryer is not incapable of actually drying. At her house, I remove all the covers, then leave my inserts in for a 15 minute high heat  blast in the dryer for germ killing reasons, not drying reasons.)

That concludes my wash routine!

What detergent should I use?

You can use the special diaper detergents, but to start off that way goes against my “keep it simple” rule. So, I decided simple would be buying only one kind of laundry detergent for my entire household. I have used original Tide, regular All, All Small & Mighty, Arm & Hammer with Oxi Clean, and some super cheap kind at my Mom’s house. My favorite is Arm & Hammer with Oxi Clean. It is cheap and works well. (And it smells really nice!) Trying to decide on a detergent? Avoid “free & clear” varieties. Avoid anything with added fabric softner, water softner, or bleach. I also think the liquid kind rinses easier from cloth diapers.

What about stripping?

I every other week to every week wash once using plain blue Dawn instead of my detergent. It seems to keep build up problems at bay to routinely Dawn your diapers, though it is far from necessary. Need a deep clean but don’t want to use Dawn? Use more of your detergent (and you can add a scoop or two of Oxi Clean) and add a couple more rinse cycles to the end of your wash. It is amazing what a really good rinse will do.

What about using baking soda or vinegar?

Once again, to start with, keep it simple. Baking soda added to the initial rinse can help with detergent build up. Vinegar added to you end rinse cycles can sometimes help with ammonia build up. Sometimes vinegar will make your problem worse. Baking soda can make ammonia problems worse. So, jump these hurdles if they come, don’t start out using either.

How do I know if I have ammonia build up or detergent build up?

We often automatically assume it is the dreaded detergent when we have issues. Detergent build up will show up by your diapers not absorbing as much as they should. You’ll begin having unexplained leaks that are not caused by improper size or infrequent changes. Your baby could get a rash on their bum, but it usually doesn’t make your diapers smell. If your baby has a rash and your diapers have a smell (sometimes out of the dryer, sometimes when peed on) but are not leaking, ammonia is probably the culprit.

What do I do for detergent build up?

More rinsing! A Dawn strip can help you get your diapers back on track. If you are using “free & clear” detergent, find something else to use. “Free & Clear” detergents are a common culprit in detergent build up. Don’t cut down on the amount of detergent you use, you’ll only give yourself an ammonia problem that way. Add more rinsing to your routine! (And you may want to switch detergents. The more basic the detergent, the better.)

What do I do for ammonia build up?

A Dawn strip may help you quickly get your situation under control. Increase the amount of detergent you are using, because you are clearly not using enough detergent to get your diapers clean (thus the build up). You may need to increase you rinsing to make sure you rinse the increased amount of detergent out.

If you can, once a week add an extra rinse cycle or two to your normal load. I call this a “mini-strip” and usually do mine with Oxi-Clean or Dawn instead of my usual detergent.

What do I do if I’m still not sure if my problem is detergent or ammonia?

Easy. Do the most simple thing. Increase your detergent and add an extra rinse or two. To keep it from recurring, you can increase both your detergent and rinsing permanently. A strip or “mini-strip” would help both!

How many rinse cycles must I do?

Typically, one extra rinse is enough. ( rinse + wash + rinse + rinse) If you find that isn’t enough, you can increase your rinsing in one of two ways. You can add on rinses to the end *rinse + wash + rinse + rinse + rinse) or you can increase your load size on your washer, so each rinse uses more water, thus rinsing a little better. (small load to medium load) In my experience, water is the key to clean diapers!

Isn’t machine drying rough on your diapers?

Yes. I never dry my PUL on anything but low heat. I am not very easy on my diapers (should give you a little more confidence in my reviews). You can line dry your diapers, I just find very little time for such things.

How often do you wash diapers?

I wash mine daily. Some people wash every other day. Some only wash twice (or once!) a week. I have too many diapers to wash anything other than daily. My diaper pail is completely full by the end of the day! Also, Aidan pees acid. If his diapers sit longer than 36 hours, they must be washed twice to get all the ammonia out.

Doesn’t washing diapers take a lot of time?

Well, I’m not washing them by hand! You quickly settle into a nice washing routine. If I start my diapers when the kids are getting baths, I can have them in the dryer before bedtime. (I take them out when I get up in the morning, unless I just can’t sleep & do it after the kids are in bed.)

Still have questions? Feel free to ask!

Ghari detergent tikiya walon ki beti se shadi karne ke liye bheed lagi thi.Kyonki unka maanna tha: “Pehle istemaal karein, phir vishwas karein”;-))

A powerful detergent that is tough on stains, but gentle on skin. Contains no perfumes, dyes, enzymes or optical brighteners — additives that typically remain on your clothes even after rinsing and can cause skin irritation. Perfectly suited for people with sensitive skin and for washing your baby’s clothes

Eco and Skin Friendly Laundrey Detergent 
Planet products are great for the enviroment and they actually work. I know alot of people who shy away from eco friendly products because they are afraid they won’t work as well, but this actually does. It is gentle enough for your more delicate laundrey will but will still clean the hardcore dirt; I’ve used it successfully on dog beds and clothes soiled from heavy yardwork. Another thing that is great about this is it is totally safe for people with sensitive skin. I have skin allergies and occasional eczema (I can’t use alot of harsher detergents), but this has never bothered my skin and is totally fragrence free…..Read more

Lovers of root beer* surely will recognize this logo:

The Stewart’s Restaurant and root beer franchise is the perfect American symbol—it stands for good, fast American food, family picnics, ice cream sundaes. And its restaurants look like throwbacks to an earlier decade, when for the sake of argument and nostalgia, things were simpler.

Then there’s “Stewert’s root beer Restaurant” in New Brunswick, NJ. Notice the slight change in spelling, and the horrifically obvious attempt to bring in diners who see the classic “Stewart’s Root Beer” name and logo and just want to enjoy a little slice of their childhood, of their America.

Best yet, “Stewert’s” of New Brunswick, recently amended their storefront logo from an exact replica to this, ostensibly to avoid what has to be an imminent and easy lawsuit:

“Stew root beer—the next best thing.”

The advertising tactic of disguising an inferior or new brand as a much better, more established brand is done constantly (that I’ve noticed)—particularly with grocery products. Do I want “Cap’n Crunch” for $3.50 a box or “Berry Colossal Crunch” for $2 a bag? And do I want “Tide” laundry detergent for $10 a bottle or “Generic Grocery Store Brand” in the same color and bottle as “Tide” for $7?

You can look at it two ways. In one regard, we pay for and demand brands—Stewart’s, Cap’n Crunch, Tide—because we trust them so it doesn’t matter if an inferior brand is trying to trick us into buying their product. However, when it comes to mass-produced products and brands, is there much of a difference in quality between the established brand and the “knock-off?” Does it matter?

I know I’d have been upset if I paid for a Stewart’s experience and got the Stew.

_______________________________

*As a lover of root beer, Stewart’s is my every day brew. The best though is Barq’s, and there’s no debating that.

It’s been a while since I have covered personal care products.  In this series I have covered a number of topics.

Part 1 – Deodorant

Part 2 – Natural Soap

Part 3 – Toothpaste

Part 4 – Facial Products – Cleanser and Moisturizer

Today, I will cover Part 5 – Hair Care

I have been using this all-natural “product” for a little over two years.  It is called “no poo”, because it isn’t shampoo.  I use baking soda to wash and apple cider vinegar (or citric acid) to rinse.  Click here for more information. You can also Google “no poo” and get lots of information.

Did you know that shampoo was only invented in the last century?  Before that people used to wash their hair once a week, on average, and they used bar soap or borax.  Shampoo is detergent and it is very harsh.  It strips our hair of natural oils and then we have to use conditioner to soften our hair.  But conditioner is just building up unnatural waxes and chemicals on our hair.

I don’t really have a problem putting a chemical on my hair, I do color my hair after all, but my issue is what goes on my scalp.  There are various toxins (click here to learn more) in shampoo and these toxins can be absorbed through the skin.

Now, I know that washing my hair with baking soda may sound really odd, but I absolutely love it.  I assure you that I am no hippy, I don’t wear dreadlocks, and my hair is not greasy.  My hair behaves better with the baking soda than with conventional shampoo.  It doesn’t lie so flat, it has more body (and I need that).  And my hair is so soft!  I used to have bad split ends all the time and now even my hairdresser has noticed that my hair is much healthier.  I still use a hair dryer and flat iron.  In fact, people are always surprised to find out I use baking soda.  They can’t tell the difference, that’s how well the baking soda cleans.  I have heard from people with curly hair that baking soda makes their hair behave better, too.  So don’t worry about my comment about more body.  Perhaps you don’t need more body.  It seems that the baking soda brings balance, whether that be more body or less.

The general recipe is 1 tablespoon baking soda to eight ounces water to wash.  Then you rinse with either apple cider vinegar or citric acid.  I used to use 1 tablespoon ACV to eight ounces water, but now I use 1/8 teaspoon citric acid to eight ounces water.  I was using 1/4 teaspoon citric acid for a time, but noticed my hair was a bit dull.  When I lowered it to 1/8 teaspoon, it brought back the shine.  In the summer months my hair can be more oily (in this humid climate), so I increase my baking soda to two tablespoons in eight ounces water.  It’s something you have to try out and see what works best for you.

I let the baking soda wash sit on my hair and scalp a few minutes and massage my scalp with it.  Then I rinse thoroughly with plain water.  Next comes the rinse.  I let it sit for about a minute and rinse it out with plain water.

This may sound interesting to you.  It may sound crazy!  Some other options are to use a shampoo bar instead.  This is a natural soap that suds nicely and won’t strip your hair of its natural oil.  It’s not a harsh detergent.  I have used one from Heart of Iowa Soapworks that I liked a lot.  It had castor oil in it and lathered very well.  I know that you can also buy shampoo bars through the Oklahoma Food Coop.  I’m sure most natural soapmakers sell a shampoo bar.  Just ask.  You don’t want a regular soap bar, but one that is meant for the hair.  Then follow this wash with either the apple cider rinse or a citric acid rinse.

Still too daring for you?  Try going farther between washes with your regular shampoo.  I used to think I had to wash my hair every single day.  My hair is oily and if I skipped a day it wasn’t pleasant.  But then I tried it.  I tried washing every other day and realized my hair got used to it, my skin produced less oil.  So then I decided to try washing every third day and that worked, too (after a little adjustment period).  I now wash my hair only twice a week.  This has really helped with the split ends since I blow dry and use a flat iron every time I wash.  Cutting back on heat from seven to two days a week is a big difference.  So if you’re not comfortable with baking soda or shampoo bars, you can cut back on your chemical load by washing less.  Remember that 100 years ago, women only washed their hair about once a week.  And they typically had very long, beautiful hair.  Women that grow their hair really long will tell you that washing often is damaging.

If you want to give the baking soda method a try, here are a few tips.

Adjustment Period Your skin is used to producing a certain amount of oil to moisturize your hair.  When you stop stripping your hair of this oil, it takes a bit to adjust.  The first couple weeks may be a bit oily.  If you want, you could start out using the baking soda wash every other time you wash.  Then slowly back off the shampoo, try it every third time you wash, then every fourth, and so on, until you don’t need it anymore.  That’s the way I made the switch.

Vinegar Smell Some people are put off by the vinegar smell of the apple cider vinegar.  Citric acid on the other hand (this is the same acid in lemons) does not have a smell.  You can buy citric acid crystals at the grocery store, they are usually sold with the canning supplies, it’s a natural food preservative.  I had some on hand because I made bath bombs a few years ago.  I bought my citric acid from Majestic Mountain Sage.

Fragrance You can add essential oils to the wash and rinse for fragrance and health benefits.  Here is a list of oils and their benefits.

No Detangler?  I’ll never be able to brush through my hair! Your hair is slightly less manageable when wet, using the baking soda/vinegar routine (as opposed to using conditioner and being able to pull a comb right through it).  I find that if I just brush through my hair before washing, though, it is fine and manageable.

Learn From My Mistakes A mistake I made at first was not rinsing out the vinegar rinse solution.  For some reason I thought that my hard water would be bad on my hair after washing (I did read this somewhere).  This was a bad idea, my hair felt like straw most of the time.  I almost gave up on “no poo.”  Then someone mentioned rinsing the rinse out.  I tried it and wonder of wonders, that was the trick.

Trial Period Give your hair a good two-week trial to see if you like this method.  Like I mentioned, your hair will need to adjust the amount of oil it produces.

Redistribute The Oil You may consider buying a natural bristle brush, it will help distribute your hair’s oils down to the ends where it needs it most.  Remember in Little House on the Prairie, Ma and the girls would brush their hair 100 strokes per night?  I don’t do that, but I do use the natural bristle brush occasionally.  I just take sections of my hair and brush each one 10 to 15 strokes.  I wash this brush out often since it’s picking up the oil from my hair.

Hair Loss? You may notice more hair in your brush, switching to this baking soda wash.  I did.  But don’t be alarmed.  I also noticed that there was a lot less hair in my drain.  So it seems I’m shedding the same amount of hair, it just isn’t coming out in the shower as before.  I think this is because when you use regular shampoo you are scrubbing more and the shampoo creates a slick environment, the loose hair is easily rinsed out.  With the baking soda, I am massaging my scalp, but I can’t run my fingers through my hair as I could with shampoo.  This means those loose hairs aren’t being displaced until I brush my hair.

Adjust If Necessary My hair is naturally oily.  You have to see what works best for your hair type.  If your hair is dry, you will want to use less baking soda than I use.  Search a little online and ask me any questions you have.

If cleanliness is godliness baking soda is the source of all that is holy, at least in my house.  Everyone has his or her dirty little cleaning secret for baking soda, or at least has heard of a few.  Whether or not you have ever used it in your daily cleaning routine,  baking soda is most likely a key ingredient in a product you buy from the grocery store.  I was turned on to the versatile power of such a simple thing a couple years ago when I tired of the irritation my skin suffered as a result of commercial laundry detergent.  A little research and a wonderful Livejournal community later I was hooked on the white powder…the other white powder. 

With the holidays here in full force, whether you entertain at home or not, you have probably looked around once or twice at the dust and grime glowing in the twinkling lights and vowed to spend a day making your house twinkle.  Let me share some of my many uses for baking soda with you in an attempt to simplify your cleaning process.

Laundry Detergent:  Hubby scoffed when I suggested trading our chemical rich detergent for baking soda mixed with a small bit of Borax, but agreed to a 30-day trial.  In his opinion nothing could clean construction and mechanic filth from his work clothes unless it was harsh and abrasive, preferably high-octane.  Four months later he asked why I had decided not to do the trial.  Obviously Hubby does not sniff his clothes.  Otherwise, he would have known I had switched just after he agreed to the trial.  For more smelly articles, or just for a nice accent, you can add a couple drops of your favourite essential oil to each load.  Just make sure it is an essential oil, not a fragrance oil, and one you have tested on your skin beforehand in case of an allergy.  Lavender is a wonderful antibacterial and, for those with sensitive skin, tea tree oil works great as well.  I use a cup of a 3:1 mixture of baking soda and borax per load, and I have never had to rewash anything.  It even works for items the animals have used. 

Kitchen Cleaning:  Everyone has been told at one point or another to put an open box of it in the fridge to keep it fresh and eliminate odors, but I clean everything from the sink to the hardwood floors with baking soda. For extra shine add apple cider vinegar to your mop water, sprinkle the floor lightly with baking soda, and mop as usual.  Apple cider vinegar is baking soda’s best friend and partner in cleaning crime.  Remember those volcanos we all made in grade school?  They were also tiny eruptions of clean!  Recreate this science project in your garbage disposal to clear away grease and gunk clogs.  This works on bath tub drains, too!

Bathroom Scrub: Baking soda can be used exactly the same way you would use Comet in toilets, tubs, and sinks.  Sprinkle it straight or make a paste and scrub it in with a brush to get in the cracks and crevices.  You can also make your own toothpaste with baking soda, and it can be used as a dry shampoo or deodorant in a bind.  I also make my own bath bombs and salts using baking soda and a few added ingredients. 

These are the main areas of cleaning, but baking soda can be used anywhere from the cat box to the baby changing table.  It works extremely well on anything that may be damp or sticky that may need to be dried up before you can clean it.  You can even sprinkle it on furniture and carpets like a cleaning powder as long as it can be vacuumed.  Coupled with apple cider vinegar and a few essential oils, and occasionally a handful of Borax, you can clean just about anything.  I would not recommend it on anything susceptible to scratching, though.  For glass and easily marked surfaces I would just use the vinegar. 

In the end, baking soda is cheaper and just as affective as commercially sold cleaners.  It has been a gift from the gods as someone who is extremely sensitive to harsh chemicals, and is safer for homes with children and pets.  The only concern?  If you use it all cleaning one thing you have to make or acquire more before you can clean anything else.

Go now.  Be clean!