Flannery on Writers...

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.
- Flannery O'Connor

Here is the recipe I use to make liquid laundry soap. I was going through so much that I decided that it would be worth the effort to make my own. Also if I run out I just make more instead of it being an emergency shopping trip! The friends who gave me this recipe thought it worked better than store-bought, and I completely agree. The load of Micah's work clothes that I tested it on came out cleaner than usual! The people who gave me the recipe calculated that it was about 2 cents per load of laundry. My washing soda was three dollars cheaper than theirs was, but I'm not motivated enough to do the math. ;-)

Liquid Laundry Soap
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup washing soda (or sodium carbonate)
1 cup soap flakes or a grated bar soap
2 gallons water
20 drops essential oil (optional- I didn't have any)

Combine Borax, washing soda, and most of the water. Boil soap flakes in remaining water, and add to first mixture. The soap will help gel the mixture. If your water is hard, add more washing soda. This recipe makes about 2 gallons, so have some jugs ready before you start!

Use about 1/2 cup of laundry soap per load.

If you have trouble finding the washing soda/sodium carbonate, as I did, check the pool section, where you might find it intended for use as a pH balancer. This is fine as long as it is only sodium carbonate. (I couldn't find washing soda at my Walmart, but my small local grocery had some.)

An alternate recipe I make just for our cloth diapers is 1C Borax, 1C Washing soda, and 1C Oxyclean (4 tablespoons for a medium load). I use this instead because I was told that the bar soap in the other recipe could make my diapers retain odor and repel water! This recipe has been working very well, and I like the fact that there aren't any scents or unknown ingredients going on a tender baby bottom!

My friend Anna also posted today about making laundry soap! She makes her own powdered version, which is very similar to my liquid recipe. She points out that it takes up less storage space, so if you're interested in making your own and that is a factor, you should definitely head over there!

Nathan

New studies on caffeine and alcohol intake during pregnancy...

'U.K. policymakers are shifting recommendations on consumption of low levels of alcohol and caffeine during pregnancy in reaction to two recent studies on the effects of the drugs, the Los Angeles Times reports. The studies -- which were the "largest and most rigorous" to date on low-level alcohol and caffeine consumption during pregnancy -- challenge the notion that alcohol should be avoided entirely during pregnancy and that light caffeine consumption has no effect on outcomes, according to the Times. The Times reports that the two studies suggest that "limited alcohol consumption is not so bad, while regular caffeine intake is worse than we thought."'

Whole article here.

Fortnightly Purse is up!

And wow is it a fun one! :-) Take a peek and enter here!