Homemade Laundry Stain Remover and Pretreater Recipes

Lots of ideas! :-)


Homemade Laundry Stain Remover and Pretreater Recipes | ThriftyFun:

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I've been reading a lot lately about saving money, by making your own laundry detergent, etc.  I got interested in this, when we were having trouble finding detergent for our dishwasher.  Oh there is some you can purchase here, but the National powdered brand is running about $3.00 a bag, and doesn't dissolve in our dishwasher.  The other brands that are imported from the US, is costing over $10 a box, and I just can't bring myself to pay those amounts, so I've been on a search to find something else.

In my searches, I found several recipes for laundry detergent, and since I'm paying almost $10 for a bag that lasts us about 2 weeks, I decided it was worth a try.  I had to do some searching to find ingredients here that would work, since I couldn't just go and buy a box of Washing Soda or 20 Mule Team Borax at my local Walmart store.  :-)

This morning I made 3 different recipes.  I know I couldn't make up my mind which one to try, so decided to try all 3...I figure we will use these and once we've worked through them, and by the time we finish, I should be able to choose the one that I liked the best. :-)

So here are the recipes for the ones I tried....

Liquid Laundry Detergent #1

1/3 to 1/2 bar of laundry soap, (I used "Lava Todo")

1/3 a bar of nice smelling soap, (I used Johnson's Baby soap, Lavender.  This is for the smell, so you don't have to do it if you don't want to.)

1/2 cup of washing soda, this is "Carbonato de Sodio". I made my own, today, by putting baking soda on a  cookie sheet and "baking" it for 45 minutes in a 400F oven. You can find Baking Soda here at small stores that sell spices.

1/2 cup of borax, this is "acidio borato", Tony found it at place that sells chemicals for cleaning. 2 Cups cost $4.00. We're going to check at the same store for the "washing soda" next time. ;-)

( I thought about using some cleansers like "Tips" that is "Carbonato de Sodio" but it also has Carbonato de Calicio, which is "lime" and my water is already very hard, so I don't need to add lime!)


1. Grate soap into a sauce pan. (I used one that I don't use for cooking, but, it is soap, so I think if you washed it well afterwards it would be fine. ;-)

2. Add 6 cups of water, heat until the soap melts.

3. Add the washing soda and borax, stir until dissolved

4. Pour 4 cups of hot water into a bucket. Add soap mixture, and stir.

5. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water. Stir.

6. Let set 24 hours. Stir and pour into 2 gallon jugs. (I'm going to be using Tampico jugs. :-)

Use 1/2 cup per load. The recipe said it might get lumpy...to just shake before using...and that the lumps don't bother the cleaning power.




Liquid Laundry Detergent #2This is a "no-cook" version.

You need 1 gallon jug, (again, I used a Tampico jug)
To the jug add:

3T borax
3T washing soda
2T dish soap, (Dawn was recommended, but the lady making it said, she had used something else)
Then pour in 4 cups of boiling water.  Swirl until dissolved.   Let cool, and fill the jug with cold water.  Said, that soap bubbles would overflow, but that was ok...

Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load.
(This one is very watery.  Not sure how it is going to work.)

Powdered Laundry Detergent 

1 Cup of grated bar soap (again used the baby soap, lavender)
1 Cup of  grated laundry soap bar (used "Lava Todo")
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda

Mix together.  I put about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup at a time in my mini food chopper and processed to make a finer powder.

Store in an airtight container.  Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per load.

I will post back in about a month, and let you know which one we liked the best! :-)
  

The Journey of Waiting

This is my latest post..."What happened and why?"  Hope you enjoy it!

The Journey of Waiting:

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What's been happening?

We thoroughly enjoyed our last week-end! It was a such a blessing to have Stacey and Andy Meyers visiting us.  They are in Ecuador for their honeymoon.

The kids really enjoyed all the extra attention.  We had fun showing them around and just visiting and playing games.

Sunday we had a great attendance again.  With 151 in the church service.  In the Ladies Sunday School class we had 37!!  We had a special "fellowship time" with rolls and coffee, starting class about 15 minutes earlier than normal. This was just idea I had, to see how it worked.  They ladies had a wonderful time, and we are going to be doing this once a month. :-)

2 people talked to Tony after services to let him know that they were interested in getting baptized this next month.

We are getting ready to start a contest in the Ladies class.  There are so many ladies that come to church but  don't make it to Sunday School.  So my idea, is to try to get them involved.  I am thinking to start this Sunday, and anyone who isn't present in Sunday School, will be considered a "visitor" the next week.  The ladies are going to get 5 points for each first time visitor and 10 points for each time that "visitor" returns...so the idea will be to try and get some new people in the "habit" of attending Sunday School!  

The kids have done really well in school this week.  We just have one more week left and then we will be on our "Summer Vacation".  Our school year is running a little longer than normal this year, because we took some extra time off for different things throughout the year.  We are all looking forward to our "vacation"... not sure who is more excited though, the kids or the teacher! ;-)

We have some more exciting news in our family.  Our oldest daughter and her husband announced this week that they were expecting, in February.  That will be 2 new grand babies for us this coming year!!  Also our middle daughter and her husband will be moving this week, to work in a church in Ohio!  We are very excited for all of these blessings.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Ecuador!

Blessings,
Joy

Happy Father's Day!!

Wow!  We have had an incredible week-end!

28 men signed up to attend a one-day retreat at a local camp.  24 actually attended!  Tony was thrilled at the turnout.   The theme of the retreat was "Courageous", based on the recent movie.  

While Tony was away yesterday, the kids and I worked on some special Father's Day treats.  We made a batch of Ginger snaps, which they had to give to him as soon as he got home, in hopes that he would share with them! Which of course he did. :-)  They also made cards and letters.  Teddy made his Dad a desktop organizer, from paper tubes and duct tape. ;-)  

This morning the kids and I made breakfast for Tony, and gave him our presents.  Then we all got ready and headed to church.  

We had 146 in the Worship service this morning.  25 Father's stood up to receive their gift.  13 of the men who attended the retreat, went up to the platform to receive a copy of the "Resolution" and to read it aloud with Tony.  After service they brought their families forward to sign the resolution and pray a prayer of dedication.   

That was all really incredible, BUT even more exciting than that, was that 3 precious souls came to know Christ as their Savior this morning.  One of the young men who attended the retreat yesterday, brought his wife up and said, to me, "She wants to accept Christ as her Savior!"  Then one of the men who had gone to the retreat, after signing the resolution, told Tony that he needed to take the first step and accept Christ.  Then after he had accepted Christ, he brought his teen age daughter over and she told Tony, she wanted to accept Christ!!  

This afternoon, we enjoyed a great Father's Day lunch, together.  Tried a new recipe and EVERYONE loved it!   Tony and the kids have been playing a "new" game outside.  I love hearing their laughter through the window.   

We are truly blessed!

Joy

Teddy's Essay

My Hero

My hero is dad.  Heroes come in all different shapes and sizes.  My dad is a real hero because, like FDR loved his country, Dad loves me and my family.

Heroes are bold, loving, caring, and kind.  My dad is all of these, he is a bold speaker.  He speaks at church and does a great job!  He forgives me even when I am bad; He gives me food and cares for me.  He lets me go to Tennis and buys me stuff like, movies, ice cream, and drinks.

Heroes are also true to their beliefs like Gladys Aylward was true to her belief in Jesus Christ, even when she faced great threats.  My dad also encourages me to be a true Christian.  He also is true to his belief in Jesus Christ.  He teaches people about Jesus, just like Paul.  He helps me learn how to testify and spread the good news of the gospel.

That's why Dad is my hero!

Happy Monday Morning!  We've turned the calendar to a new month.  Can you really believe that it is already June?  It seems like just last month we were celebrating New Years!!!

We have had so many blessings already this year.  It just amazes me that God would choose to work through me and my family.

Last week we had 186 in services.  There were 32 ladies that attended our Sunday School class.  After services Tony baptized 3 precious new believers.  

This week we celebrated "Children's Day" here in Ecuador, Friday, June 1.  We had a team from the church take our puppets to a local school, at the request of the director for a presentation, Friday morning.  It was very well received.  One lady asked, them, "What does the church charge to do this?" ;-)  She seemed pretty amazed that the response was nothing, that we are willing to go wherever there is an opportunity or an open door.

Yesterday, we had 150 in services.  People responded to the invitation for prayer, and there was a great spirit in the church.   We are thankful for the work that God is doing in hearts and lives here in Manta.

This is a big "celebration" month for our family.  June 1, was Teddy's "Welcome to our Family" day.  We had a great time celebrating him and enjoyed "Children's Day" with all 3 kids.

Yesterday our oldest daughter, Mandie and her husband Mike celebrated their 6th anniversary.  This Wednesday our daughter, Lexi, will celebrate her birthday, and on the 27th, our daughter Ashley and her husband Shane, will celebrate their 4th anniversary, (I think, I have the "years" right! ;-)

We are praising the Lord for his blessings upon our lives and the lives of our children.

I pray that each of you have a week full of blessings from the Lord and open doors of ministry for the glory of God.

Blessings,
Joy