Money and Earth saving laundry soap

Money and Earth saving laundry soap

Credit be to Angie from www.Karmafarmonline.com for this Earth saving, penny pinching laundry soap!

Did you know that the enzymes and fabric brighteners in your mainstream soap STAY in your clothes and washer? YEP! The military won't even allow detergents with fabric brighteners because it can be picked up via infrared cameras!
http://www.armyreal.com/articles/item/2574

We have been using a "clean rinsing" detergent since the birth of my youngest son and I have used them in the past for cloth diapering as well, as the oils, enzymes and other "ickies" in your mainstream stuff tend to break baby out. (and remember, the dryer sheets are made with petroleum as well, they are a HUGE no no for cloth diaper care!)
This has been by far the easiest most "user friendly" recipe I've found, so I thought I'd share it with my faithful viewers! (yeah, YOU!)

Items needed:
5 gallon bucket
Sharpie
water
borax
washing SODA (yellow arm n hammer box)
bar soap
grater
bowl
stirrin stick
pot (ummm, the kind ya cook in man)

Ingredients:

1 bar soap
ivory is 99%pure, chances are the 1% is the fragrance but not sure.
Dr. Bronners is also a personal favorite
(think lavender, or peppermint ;-)
1/2c. borax
1/2c. washing soda ( a must for us Fl folk!)
3g water

Method:
1.Grate bar in a bowl
tip: lightly oil grater to aid in clean up
2.Fill a 5 g bucket with 3 g water
mark the bucket at the 3 g line so you wont have to measure it out again.
(know some one who has horses? use their feed bucket! Think reuse!)
3.Take out a pot dipper of the water to warm on the stove.
4.add grated soap and stir to dissolve. no need to cook.
5.combine the borax and washing powder and stir into the bucket until dissolved.
6.combine melted bar soap to bucket and stir well.
7.let stand 24 hrs. mixture will congeal. sometimes there is a bit in the bottom still "loose" but thats cool!


top loader :1/2c per load
He front:1/4c per load

Cost per top load is .1 cent >;)
Earth Friendly, Skin Friendly.
Angie made a really good point during her demo on this product:
It's completely customizable!
Some of us may not like scents at all
Some of us might
This little piggy had roast beef....
oh, sorry, got distracted.....

YOU control what and how much for the needs of your family.

Hints and tips:
- Before using your first load of a clean rinsing detergent, strip the washer and
your clothes of the residue from non-clean rinsing formulas.
To strip just use the hottest water allowable for the load and ivory.
-CLEARLY MARK ALL CONTAINERS! it's highly recommended
(and quiet genius I thought) to put the recipe ON the bucket!

Review:
what can I say? whiter whites, cleaner clean, better for the Earth, better for our health and it's sinfully CHEAP! yeah, way thumbs up on this one momma!!
A new staple in this nest!
Posted by Alice aka Momma Greenbird at 5:44 AM 0 comments
Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz
Links to this post
Labels:alice,green,mommagreenbird eco friendly, green detergent, laundry, laundry soap
Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Sweet N' Soulful Coffee Scrub

Sweet N' Soulful Coffee Scrub

The first gift of the Earth to cross my skin that I would like to share is coconut oil.

The way I came across this was happenstance really.
(Although, I don’t buy into the coincidence train. It all happens for a reason my friends!)
I was retrieving my youngest son from a fellow Goddess who had watched him so I could get a message and we traded some Shea butter for coconut oil. I knew that this stuff was like gold,but wasn’t too clear on the hows and whys so I decided to do some research.

The easiest recipe I found was for a sugar scrub that included one of the most miraculous substances on the face of the planet…COFFEE!
Well, now, coffee+sugar+coconut oil..Yes I think so!!



I immediately concocted the following recipe in my VERY scientific lab otherwise known as the kitchen; in a little less than 10 minutes.
Below the recipe you will find my review, health benefits, suggestions and other musing thoughts I know you are waiting for with baited breath!
Sweet N’ Soulful Coffee scrub
2 TBS White Sugar
2 TBS Ground Coffee
1 TBS Coconut Oil
2 TBS Plain Yogurt

1. Combine all dry ingredients.
P.s. you can use coffee grounds you have already used in the coffee maker! Talk about recycling!!!
2. Add oil and yogurt
I only use the yogurt once in a while, so I don’t add it to my mix. I also found that really smashing the oil into the sugar and grounds helps. Good way to get out that stored anger!

That’s it! Really!
Now onto storing, using and all that other jazz you might what to know:
Storage
If you want, you can keep it in the fridge, especially if you’ve opted for the yogurt.
As I stated before, I don’t mix the yogurt in, so I have been keeping it in an unsealed container in the bathroom.
The only problem with this is the oil tends to melt when it gets warm and will separate from the mix a little. No biggie. I just mix it up in my hand.

I would also recommend taking what portion you are going to use out before your Goddess routine begins and putting the rest back as wet hands might compromise the mixture.

The only con to this scrub is the way it smells and tastes! I can’t seem to keep my fingers out of it when I’m in the shower! Figured that one out when I used some on my lips, YUMMMMMMIE!

Me and my blue vein Irish self have VERY sensitive skin and if something cleans well, it dries me out and if it doesn’t dry me out it breaks me out. And forget trying to exfoliate without looking like I just spent a day in the sun after a chemical peel!
Not with this stuff! I come out of the shower with silky soft, non greasy, deliciously clean skin!

Not to mention that the cost to making this is next to nothing and the smell…DIVINE

And the best part, its 100% safe for Mother Earth!

Ingredients list info:

Ready for science 101?

Brown Sugar:
Contains molasses which is a source of vitamin B, an antioxidant that can prevent/reverse signs of photo aging.

Is chock full of alpha-hydroxy which is essential for glowing skin.

Moisturizes and balances combination skin.
(and it really works!!)
The natural glycolic acid in sugar not only helps condition and moisturize skin, but protects it from toxins.
Sugar has anti-bacterial properties to aid in cleansing the skin.

White Sugar:
Contains most of the same properties as the brown sugar and its course texture adds to the exfoliating properties.

Ground Coffee:
Mother Nature’s great antioxidant!
The caffeine in coffee is a diuretic which goes to work dehydrating fatty cells! The over all effect = a smoother look and feel to the surface of the skin! And what Goddess doesn’t want to be smooth?!

Coconut Oil:
Is super moisturizing and absorbs very easily into the skin without leaving an oily feeling.
Helps to keep connective tissues strong and supple so that the skin doesn't sag and wrinkle, this also helps limit the damage excessive sun exposure can cause.
Helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
Prevents destructive free-radical formation and provides protection against them.

Can help to keep the skin from developing liver spots, and other blemishes caused by aging and over exposure to sunlight.

Plain Yogurt:
Has anti fungal and antibacterial qualities, so it is useful for cleansing the skin and unblocking clogged pores.

Contains lactic acid which softens the skin, reduces wrinkles and hydrates dry areas.

Adds elasticity to the cells of the skin as it soaks in.
The natural probiotic properties of yogurt work on the cells of the skin to rejuvenate and peel away years of sun damage and other damage to the skin.

Wrappin it up:

So, there ya have it. A full body scrub gentle enough to be used on your lips that fights the signs of aging and damage due to sun exposure ( a must have for us Florida Goddesses), smells good and tastes GREAT!

Wow, is it just me, or did that sound like a food commercial?? LOL
Not to mention, this product is GREEN! No more consuming plastic packaged chemical laden body products that feed the consumerism bug. This is an all in one product that doesn’t require you buy 10 more for it to work at its best!

Footnote: There is a possible global drawback here. Please make sure your coffee is free trade. Our brothers and sisters deserve to be justly compensated for their efforts!