Friday, August 20, 2010

Laundry Soap & Goats

How many times do you go to the store to buy laundry soap and say to yourself….my goodness this stuff is outrageous!!! I do it all the time. I have stumbled upon the sufficientself.com and they are all talking about how they make their own laundry soap. So, I have decided to try it….it seems pretty easy and from what I have read you can make 10 GALLONS, yes I said gallons for around $6!!!! That is amazing!!!! So, next weekend I will give it a go and let you know how it turns out! Here's the recipe:


Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.3-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!


Today, were hopefully going to finish the chicken/goat run so everyone can be out at the same time not this group then that group. It’s going to make things a lot easier!!! Thankfully we have help!! Josh, Sara and possibly the kids are coming over to help us out! We couldn’t be more grateful!! While they are out working their butts off I will be inside making homemade spaghetti sauce and homemade spaghetti noodles!!! I’m really excited to make the noodles because I haven’t tried homemade spaghetti noodles…others yes but not spaghetti!!!

I tell you what, when you’re new to any animal it’s DEFINITELY a learning process. I think Bob the pygmy goat was not technically a legal sale…not on my part but on the previous owners….I have learned that there is a disease called scrapies and you have to put a tag in the ear or tattoo your goats so if for some reason they end up with scrapies they can track it back to the original farm to check those animals. He is such a pain in the rear that I haven’t been able to tell if he is tattooed but I know he doesn’t have a tag and in the state of Indiana you’re not allowed to see goats or sheep without a scrapies number. Its doesn’t really appear in goats like it does sheep but they do have the occasional case. WHO KNEW?? You would think after all the extensive reading I have done on goats I would have came across this…NOT. OH well! I called the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and I have a flock number, a premises number and theyre sending my scrapies tags!! They will be here in two weeks!


I asked about Bob, the pygmy goat and they said to write down the address where we purchased him from and put one of our tags on him. That way if they ever needed to contact the owner they could trace him back to us and we can give them the address where we purchased him at. They said it’s not the technical way to do it but it will work since he doesn’t currently have a tag! So, in two weeks all my goats will have tagged ears but Olive….she has a tattooed tail since she doesn’t really have ears.

Well thats all for now.

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