I am throwing in the towel. . .

The paper towel that is. . .Farmboy loves paper towels. He NEEDS them in the house. I understand his need. I really do. . .for things like grease stained hands and cat wretch (sorry, but I just had to deal with some of that nastiness), but every time one of the kids goes and grabs one to wipe up a spill or dry their hands it makes me fret and go all Depression Era Granny and see money being tossed into the garbage. . .next it might trigger me into saving tin foil and rinsing out plastic baggies. . .
perhaps even start saving plastic containers from the grocery store. . .
oh, wait, I think I already do two out of the three. . .

You see! I need to stage an intervention! I found this idea on Pinterest and I am gonna take the plunge!

I bought two packages of these towels from Wally World.

I love theses towels! I already use them for drying dishes. They are amazing!

I folded them into fourths.

They are slightly bigger than a standard paper towel, but I figured with washing and shrinkage  they would be about perfect.

I cut along the folds.

So here you have one stack of twenty.

I folded them in half and then into an accordion third so that I can pull one off the stack and have it unfold for use.

So, I ended up with 40 "paper" towels for about 11 bucks.

I am going to keep some by the sink and some on the table to be used as everyday napkins. They can easily be tossed into my whites load in the wash, so I don't think it will even create a noticeable difference in my laundry duties.

I didn't fool with serging or hemming them at this point. We will just see how they hold up for now.

I'll keep you posted on how they work out!

PS. I am still keeping a roll of towels under the sink for Farmboy's hands

     and. . ummm. . .other "stuff."

Homemade laundry soap: One year later. . .

Almost one year ago we began making our own laundry soap and I haven't looked back. It is simple to make and I have been very pleased with the results. I have not any issues with stain maintenance, and I have even been washing muddy play clothes with it. . .manure has yet to be tested. 

I had come across some old pictures from the day we made it for the first time that Farmboy never got around to adding to the origional post, so I thought I would let you all in on the process he documented here on that February day at Grandma's house. 

- Supplies:  soap, borax, washing soda, and a bucket with lid = $12.51

- Time to complete: 20 to 30 min. (including cleanup)

- Difficulty:  1 easy to 5 hard  = 1

F.Y.I. I have not had to purchase any more of these supplies since the first batch, 

so the $12.51 has lasted us for the whole year!

For the recipe you will need:

1/3 bar soap

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

water

The first step was to grate the soap.

Add it to 6 cups of water and heat it until the soap melts.

It should look like this.

Next add the washing soda and borax and stir until disolved.

Pour 4 cups of hot water into your 2 gallon bucket, add the soap mixture and stir. 

Then add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water. 

If you do your math right you will end up with 2 gallons of laundry soap. 

You will need to let it sit overnight while it thickens. 

It will be kinda lumpy, but I pour it into an old detergent container and then 

just shake before each use. You will need to use about 1/ 2 cup per load. 

It does not get sudsy, so it is perfect for use in HE washers as well!

So the bottom line is that you get 2 gallons of soap that does what it is supposed to do for about $0.70.

I like them numbers!

Link to Homestead Revival