One thing I tried last week, was to make liquid hand soap. We go through liquid soap like crazy around here! And I wash my hands so much that the regular/cheap/chemical filled stuff from the store makes my hands really dry. But I've decided, the wonderful stuff I was buying is a bit too much with our financial readjustments.
So ... homemade liquid hand soap! This is a recipe that I have seen in several places online.
I started by grating a bar of our our wonderful, original scent homemade goat milk soap.
Then I put the grated soap in a pot with a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of liquid [vegetable] glycerin. I set the stove top to medium high heat. I stirred the soap occasionally.
Once the soap was melted, I turned off the heat and left it in the pot overnight. This will help the soap thicken up some.
The next day, I used a hand blender to mix it all together. (Though thinking back, I am not sure this was necessary.) Then I poured it into a empty, clean jug I had.
We have two places in the house where using liquid hand soap works best for us. (In other places we use our homemade bar soap.) I just had to put the hand soap into dispensers that were pretty and interesting. So I got out two of my blue Ball pint sized mason jars and added in the dispenser part, which I got here for cheap off Ebay.
The soap smells great and works good. BUT ... it is not quite thick enough for our liking. Before I make another batch, I need to research online to see if I can find how to do this. (If you know how - please share your tips!)
Another money saving tip I wanted to share was, anytime you get ready to order something online and don't have a coupon code, go to retailmenot.com. I almost always find coupon codes there. Plus, I have noticed lately that there are often really good coupons that are exclusive to RetailMeNot.
In barnyard news, Sherlotta has suddenly developed a terrible case of wanderlust. Since last week, we have had at least three neighbors call us, worried that she'd be hit by a car. (Like her wandering mama Dixie was, earlier this year.) We decided that "The Bomb" (her nickname because she's got such explosive energy) needed a cooling off period behind bars. So - into the goat pen for her! (Which she actually LOVES.)
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| "Bomblotta" - this picture even though blurry - captures her perfectly! |
Of our 17 guinea keets that hatched last month, sadly there is only 1 remaining. We named this tough little survivor "Tribulation." Here is Tribulation with his/her ever present parents, Leah Rose and Rayford:
The next time we find a pile of guinea eggs, we hope to incubate them. Then we should have a good success rate.
The biddies we bought this spring are really growing! They're still not full sized chickens yet though. I think this Gold Laced Wyandotte is so pretty. She looks like she's on a mission here:
Finally, here is a Solomon sandwich:
What a funny way to fall asleep at naptime. :)
You are inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking about it and have to ask..... (I apologize in advance) so you could not keep your Samaritan's Ministries Insurance? Not sure if thats the correct name.
ReplyDeleteI should have mentioned that - several other people emailed to ask me the same thing! We are keeping Samaritan Ministries. BUT ... we have to pay it all out of pocket now. The insurance the school has to offer is too expensive for our family. Samaritan is much much cheaper (it's $400-something a month). But still, the budget isn't happy that we won't get that expense reimbursed anymore. (The old system worked so much better!)
DeleteThis is a brilliant idea about the dishwashing soap. I may have to give it a try. I usually try to buy mine on the cheap through Trader Joe's. There soap isn't very thick either. You are not alone regarding the health care charade. Ours went up too (although we still get a pretty good deal through the county). I'm just waiting for the day when Blue Cross Blue Shield and/or Aetna becomes too expensive for Fairfax Co. Schools to afford to subsidize.
ReplyDeleteSherlotta is so cute! That goat pen looked like more fun than the law allows!
Health care charade is a great word for it! Things are going to fall apart financially, no doubt. I keep hearing about doctors quitting the practice because they don't want to deal with it all.
DeleteI should have made it clear - this is soap for HAND washing. I'll go back and add that. :)
Sherlotta is a handful! But we love her anyway.
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