Half recipe cheat sheet

Homemade Laundry Detergent

This detergent has many good qualities: It is all natural, environmentally friendly, non-perfume, and economical.  Homemade laundry detergent is easier to make than you would think.  It only takes me 10 minutes to make!  I make a batch about every 2 months, for a family of 4.    It is a liquid gel, so it dissolves well in my wash. I found all of the ingredients at WalMart.  Total cost $14!

 (which includes a multipack of ivory soap)  These ingredients will last the average family a year! 

This recipe can be adjusted to suit your needs.

You will need the following:

(or Naptha or Sunlight Bar soap)

Borax:  1/2 cup

Basic Laundry Detergent

Hot water
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1 Soap bar

■Grate the bar soap and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Stir over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

■Fill a 5 gallon pail half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, Borax and Washing soda, stir well until all powder is dissolved.

Top the pail up with more hot water.

Let cool overnight (to gel), stir well and transfer to old laundry detergent bottles.

■Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel). (I just use the lid of the detergent bottle, full - it is usually close to 1/2 cup)

Optional:

You can add between 10 to 15 drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade laundry detergent. Add once the soap has cooled to room temperature. Stir well and cover.

Essential oil ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil

Powdered Laundry Detergent

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try the other bar soaps listed at the top)

1 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

■Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.

■Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

My Debut Stripping Video

It is a good thing this is not on YouTube, although with this title I would probably get a lot of hits!

No, I am not "pole dancing", or dressed in a skimpy, sexy costume. 

This is all about stripping baby!  You know, the other kind of stripping - paint stripping!

I do prefer this method, due to the fact I don't use any chemicals. I am sure that the process releases some chemical fumes, so be careful, and ALWAYS wear a mask.

These are my doors: (oops, almost forgot to take the before picture)

They (12 of them) have looked like this since we moved in over 4 years ago!  Yuck!

And, seriously, this is what it looked like only 1 hour later:

Really, ONE HOUR LATER!!  So, why did I wait 4 years to finish this project?  I really wonder!?!

My tool of choice:

A Heat Gun!




Please use safety glasses and a mask for this kind of stripping.  (In this case I did not, but it was entirely for the video, and I am setting a bad example.  I always wear my PPE) Heat strip in a well ventilated area, preferably outside.  I learned the hard way, and my fire alarms were going off constantly for several hours.  Be sure it is not lead paint.  There are testing kits at the Hardware and paint stores.

Paintbrush Preservation

I have a secret.  My last paintbrush was 9 years old!  The only reason I had to replace it was because I loaned it to my parents when they were painting my brothers house, and it was not cleaned properly.  I figure a tutorial on my technique is pretty important because good brushes can be expensive.  First, the secret to successful restoring, are good paint brushes.  Inexpensive brushes tend to leave those nasty bristles behind in the fresh paint...ugh...I hate those.  So get good brushes, and make them last.  It is an investment.
Step #1:
Rinse the paintbrush with water until the water runs relativley clear, and most of the pigment is rinsed off of the brush.  Be gentle on the bristles throughout this whole process.  I drag the brush back & forth on the bottom of the sink very gently.

Step #2: 
Put a couple of drops of soap - I use Murphys oil soap, or in a pinch I use a good dish soap - on the brush, and lather on your hand gently. 

Drag the brush back & forth on your hand gently.  You will notice the lather will have some color to it from the paint left in the brush.  Keep lathering up on your hand.  Rinse thoroughly, and repeat the lather up step until the lather seems clean.

Step #3:  Rinse the brush thoroughly, until there is no more soap in the brush. 

Step #4:  Gently dry your brush on a clean, lint free cloth.

It will still be damp, and that is OK

Step#5:  If you are not going to be using your brush for several days or more, this step is for you only.  Just take a bit of the soap, pure, put it on the brush, and shape it so the bristles are perfectly in place.  Leave the soap in the bristles until your next use.  Keep your brushes wrapped in a clean cloth, or in the original package so it will not get full of sawdust.  Just remember to rinse the soap out of your brush before you use it the next time.

If you follow these steps, your brushes will last a really long time.