Laundry Detergent

I've been making laundry detergent for a couple of years now and I love it.  It lasts for a long time and works well with our family members who have sensitive skin.  There are a lot of recipes out there for it, this is the one I have been using.  (This last time I made it I substituted one of the bars of Fels Naptha with Zote, that is the pink grated soap in the last picture.  If it doesn't work as well as the Fels Naptha I will update).  Some people put scent crystals in theirs (you can buy them in the laundry aisle) but I feel like that adding those extra chemicals in it is defeating the whole purpose of making the detergent yourself (unless you are making it for economical reasons).  You could always add essential oils to it if you HAVE to have it smelling pretty!

Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients:

Borax, 4 lb. box

Fels Naptha soap, 2 bars

Arm & Hammer baking soda, 4 lb. box

Arm & Hammer Super Washing soda, 55 oz. box

Oxy Clean Free Stain Remover, (half of a 3 lb. container)

Directions:

Grate the soap with a hand grater.  If you want the soap smaller you can even pulse it in a food processor after grating, but it isn't necessary, as soon as water hits the soap it starts to dissolve.  Find a large container to mix all the ingredients in (like a bucket, I use a ginormous bowl).  I mix them together by adding about a quarter of each ingredient and then mixing them together, then adding the next quarter and mixing it together and so on.  Transfer it to a container with a lid to store it in.  Use 1 to 2 tbsp. per load depending on the size of your load.  Easy!!!

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 bananas, sliced
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 cup seedless grapes
2 cups berries

Directions:

Bring orange juice, lemon juice and brown sugar to a boil in a saucepan.  Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, around 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Let cool.

Layer the fruit in a large bowl (you will want to put the more delicate ones like the berries on top).  Pour the cooled sauce over the fruit.  Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours before serving.