Time For Homemade Stuff...

Winter time means a little extra time on my hands. All those things I ponder about trying but don't have time for during spring, summer and fall are now within reach. I find that I like making everyday products at home. They're typically less expensive and seem to work just as well. While there are some up front costs, the end result saves me money. It's not that I'm cheap :) I just like to save money lol

I would wager to guess that these things I want to do stem from my love of all things old-timey or old fashioned, however you prefer to describe it. For as long as I can remember I wanted to try growing, harvesting and canning vegetables. I was always eager to listen to stories of how my great grandmother did things. It was all fascinating to me when I first heard the stories and it still fascinates me to this day.

I was fortunate enough to be able to do that last year and I found that I absolutely loved it! I'm doing it again this year. I'm going to try growing things I never thought I could; cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts...and corn. I see everyone growing corn but I've never tried it. This year, corn is on my list!

And so it is that I began to get a little urge to make things on my own. I've enjoyed it so far, even though some of it has been a stretch for me but I made it through and each time I make something, I want to make something else. I think I'm addicted. I get most of my ideas from a website called "onegoodthingbyjillee." I'm asked her if she cared if I mentioned her website but she never wrote back so I'm just hoping it's okay.

Homemade Soap
I've been pondering homemade soap for a couple years now but I've always put off making it for one reason or another. Well, the other day I decided it was time. Now or never kind of decision. For this undertaking I needed a few items including an old slow cooker, a mixer of some sort, some essential oils, olive oil, coconut oil and a scale. An old plastic bowl was also used and some lye.

I think my hesitation all this time was the lye. I've heard and read so many scary things about it and it had me a bit on edge. Turns out the lye was the least of my worries. Apparently I'm challenged with measuring liquid ounces. Aside from that, making slow cooker soap was pretty darn easy.

I finally got everything together in the cooker, left it on low for an hour and then poured the mixture into an old plastic bowl. The recipe I used said to leave it for 8 hours to cure. Simple enough, I just left if overnight. This morning when I checked on it, it looked pretty good. There was a little bit of oil in the bowl - maybe my measurements weren't exact? lol I just poured it out and I'll save it for another use, like rubbing it into the dry, winter skin on my hands!

The soap came right out of the bowl and I used a bread knife to cut it into manageable pieces. I think it was supposed to be much harder than what I ended up with but hey, it works. I'm not complaining. I will, however, try it with vegetable oil or some other oil than the olive oil. It's too pricey for as much of it as you have to use.

The cinnamon and orange essential oils give it a fragrance that can't be beat! I can't wait to use it in the shower tomorrow and see if I come out smelling like the soap! I think I'm ready to move on to a larger batch of soap but I'll keep using this slow cooker method until I get brave enough and until I have an adequate frame for the soap to set up in.

Homemade Laundry Detergent
Next on my list was homemade laundry detergent. A few simple ingredients are required but from what I've been reading, once purchased, a gallon of homemade liquid detergent costs just .17.... where I come from that's a HUGE savings. A gallon of Gain costs anywhere from $8.99-$12.99 at the store. And I can use Gain dish washing liquid to make it smell like Gain.

I did have trouble finding one ingredient called Washing Soda. This is not to be confused with Baking Soda although you can make Washing Soda out of Baking Soda if you have to. I had to. Turns out Washing Soda was used a long time ago as a stain remover. Since the advent of all the new detergents out there, Washing Soda sort of fell to the wayside. It's making a comeback in this household! As I later found out, Wal-Mart carries it... ugh, who wants to go there for me? Really?

My homemade laundry detergent works every bit as well as any store bought detergent and I love that I'm saving money every time I do a load of clothes...I have a load going right now :) It seems homemade does more for me than just the money saving. I think it makes me feel like I'm living in a different era. One where people did things on their own if at all possible, one that gave them confidence when they accomplished it. I feel more self-sufficient as a result.

Homemade Dryer Sheets
I'm not one much for fabric softener. I've never liked the feel of my clothes when I used it. I'm also not one much for static cling. As far as I know combatting it means using either fabric softener or dryer sheets. In Florida I found that dryer sheets worked well to resolve the static cling issue. Here, however, the static is dangerous stuff! Literally, it shocks the crap out of me when I'm folding clothes lol

I read about making my own dryer sheets and how it would save me money over time. The recipe required fabric softener...I happened to have some from last year when I thought it would help with the static but I couldn't take that slippery feel it gave my clothes so I quit using it. I dug it out of the cabinet and poured some into a jar. I took an old, but clean, cleaning rag and cut it into two pieces. I found a jar with a lid and I was ready to go.

This is so basic I can't believe I never thought of it. Pour some fabric softener into the jar, put the rag pieces in with it. Screw the lid on and give it a shake until the rag has soaked up the fabric softener. When you get ready to dry your clothes, simply take a rag out - wring it a bit and toss it in the dryer with your clothes.

When you remove the clothes from the dryer, simply put the rag back in the jar and let it soap up softener again. Not only will it do much better at keeping the static down, it doesn't leave my clothes with that slippery feeling. I haven't bought dryer sheets in months and the fabric softener isn't even half gone. In fact, I'm still soaking the rags in the first amount I poured into the jar. Oh yeah, another benefit of this "dryer sheet" is that the whole house smells like whatever kind of fabric softener you choose to use.  Awesome!

Homemade Lotion
I had no idea I could make this on my own but low and behold I went to a canning class one Tuesday morning and I came home with a recipe for lotion! The canning class was great and I learned quite a bit while there. We actually canned some apple preserves and a cranberry relish that reminds me of hot pepper jelly. If you've never had it, I'd love to share it with you. The ingredients don't sound like they would go well together; cranberries and onions, but they do. There are some other things in it too but who would have thought to put those two together?

I digress... the lotion recipe was a bonus for me. I found it at the end of the materials they gave us in the canning class and couldn't resist making it. I stopped at the Dollar General on my way home from the class to get what I would need and made it as soon as I got home.

It's called "Gardener's Lotion." I don't know why except to say that it is quite thick and maybe if you're a gardener you need a heavier lotion for the dried out skin on your hands...I'm just guessing here. I gave some away as Christmas gifts and so far, everyone has said they liked it. I'll be making more in the weeks to come because before I know it, spring will be here and my hands will be gardening again. Lotion feels wonderful on hard-working hands no matter what time of year it is.

Homemade Exfoliating Mask
I don't know if this one is successful or not though I did make some, I didn't try it myself. Indeed, this homemade experience has been passed on so I'll have to let you know if it works once I've been informed. I can say this much, it was easy to make and I had everything on hand to make it. It smelled really, really good. Going forward, I'll be saving the little pots that my Avon-bought facial lotion comes in so I have something in which to store the mixture next time I make it. Re-using things or re-purposing things is another fetish I've yet to kick. Not that I'm really trying LOL

I'm anxious to hear about this one and it shouldn't be too long before I do.

Homemade Stationery
I never even thought about making my own stationery but when I went to buy some at the store I found the pages were very small and the pictures were well, silly. I wanted something with texture, something pretty or at least something that would stand out. In a world where very few people exchange letters, I wanted to find some paper that would encourage a letter written back. The store had nothing to fit the requirements. This led me to the internet where I happened to find a very easy recipe for homemade paper. You really can find anything out there...

I was seriously gung-ho for this project and set out to gather the tools. The project required two of those grease splatter screens - you know the ones, they look like Miss Nancy's magic mirror that never, ever saw "Darcy" out there... lol I'm not harboring any resentment towards her, I know my name isn't a popular one. I'm good with it.

I have one here but when I tried to find another one, it was non-existent. Instead I went to the grilling section and found a great stand-in. I like it so much I'm not even going to look for another screen. It's a simple little grill grate that is just slightly bigger than the screen and works perfectly.

The basics of making your own paper go like this. Tear up about 5 sheets of scrap paper; junk mail, bills, flyers, etc., use whatever you have. The paper goes into some water to soak and then its blended into a slurry. From there you have to get it on the screen, sponge out most of the water and let it dry!

Simple Simon Met a Pieman... Watch your mail, you never know when you'll be receiving a letter from me on my very own homemade paper. If there were flowers to be picked, I would have put a few petals on the paper as it dried...and essential oils, and herbs... oh my the list never ends!

As Days Go By my homemade (list of things), home grown (vegetables), home spun (memories) will continue to find their way to the blog as long as you keep finding your way here to read about them. Meanwhile, I'm scouring the internet to find more things I can make at home and if successful, I'll pass them on. If they're unsuccessful, I'll still let you in on it so you can save yourself the trouble of trying them too! I know you're getting all geared up to try all this stuff... lol especially Francis and Kat bahahahaha! Just kidding, y'all know I love you!


...Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day" (poem)