Self-sufficient households; help!

[FrontPorchIndiana]

Has anyone used this in the newer High Efficiency washers? Will it cause too many suds?

 

[ninjapoodles]

Making soap can be really, really simple, if you want it to be. All you need as far as ingredients are lye, distilled water (or any number of liquids, including milk, but milk soap is a little trickier to master), and fat.

As far as equipment, you need a dedicated (by which I mean don't use it for anything else) plastic pitcher in which to mix and cool your water/lye solution, a plastic flat-bottom bucket in which to mix the lye-water with the fat or oil, and some kin of mold to pour it into. That's really it! For best mixing, a cheap stick-blender (easily had for less than $10) really helps, though you certainly can stir it by hand until trace, if you have plenty of time and a strong arm.

There are lots of books on soapmaking, and LOTS of websites and supply houses. You can use anything from corn oil to lard to make soap--it can be humble and rustic or gentle and fancy...no matter what your ingredients, it's just saponified fat. There are online "calculators" that allow you to just plug in your ingredients and have the formulas figured for you.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Theres a book out there thats really usefull, called "A slice of organic life," I believe...


Anyway, goatsmilk is good, and if you have cats it does wonders for them too. We don't drink goats milk, but only because we don't even drink 2%, as half the family ONLY drinks skim milk, so you can see where buying 8 million different milks for the time being until we get animals, can be costly!

Also, I think Canadians are going to need to become self-sufficient, and live in the cold during the winters because heating oil cost here is going up like 40% or something in the next two years -_- thank god our fireplace is propane, and we live in a double brick house, you can have the heating on the lowest setting and its still warm and toasty inside

 

[okiemommy]

ok I will have to try that Thanks!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
We buy our soap locally, rather than making it... a lady where we live, has goats simply so she can make soap! It's AMAZING soap too, smells incredible, feels incredible, and we're supporting a local business.

 

[goatkeepers]

I say, get a goat!

They are wonderful pets and their milk is great! We drink it raw, so you have to be a little more careful about contamination, but if you make sure to scrub your stainless steel pail and milk-strainer really good after every milking, it shouldn't be a problem. Pasturizing kills all the good bacteria as well, so you might as well drink store bought milk.

My does just dried up and I already miss the milk. I also made a lot of cheese with it.

 

[Oblio13]

Nuggetsowner :

We also have hard water. If I wanted to add salt...

I'm not sure adding salt is a good idea. It'll corrode your plumbing and your washing machine and eventually contaminate your ground water and possibly your well. We have a problem here with the salt from people's water softeners contaminating their neighbor's wells.

And if you have hard water, there's probably already too much salt in it. "Hard water" means there's calcium and magnesium sulfates and/or chlorides (salt) dissolved in it. If you have a water softener, it works by exchanging those ions for chlorides or sodium (more salts).​

 

[suenrob]

Is it cheaper to keep goats than buy milk? I am trying the self sufficient thing but I feel like I spend so much on feed and supplies that I am defeating the purpose.

Ps. How many goats for a family of 2 and what kind to get?

 

[2manyhats]

I'm interested in goats milk. Is there a difference in the taste of the milk by breed. A friend gave me some cheese made with milk from an Alpine and then some cheese once she added Lamonchas (spelling?) to the herd. The first cheese tasted like cow's milk, but the second tasted of goat. I didn't know if it was the milk or type of cheese that made such a difference. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Here is the recipe I use. The soap will set up and look like chicken fat, so all you have to do is keep it stirred for a couple of days and it should be alright. Also I heat up a little in a pot slowly and then add it to the wash. I use a front load washer.


Homemade laundry detergent. This fills a 200 ounce detergent bottle. Please read all instructions before making.

What you Need:
1/3 Bar ZOTE soap (you can get this on the spanish isle at Dollar General for $1 a bar and you get 3 helpings from it)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (you can get this at you local grocer for about $3 in the cleaners isle)
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (this should be near the Borax for about $3)
3 Quarts of boiling water (you will also need 5 more quarts of boiling water)
Big "old" pot

Directions:
Put 3 quarts of water in the pot and bring to a boil. Grate soap into the water and stir until melted. Add Borax and stir until dissolved and then add the washing soda and stir until dissolved. Cook for about 1 hour until it begins to resemble honey (it will stay pink). Put 1 quart of boiling water in a 5 gallon bucket and then add the mixture and mix well. Add 4 more quarts of boiling water and mix well. Let stand for 12 hours before using. Let cool for a couple of hours and then you can use the top of a milk jug for a funnel and fill your detergent bottle. Pour slowly. When it is set it will resemble chicken fat, but don;t be concerned, you can put some in a small pot and heat it up slowly on the stove top and bring it back to a liquid. This is what I do because I have a front load washer and it works well for me. Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup per load.

If you would like to have a scent, just add about 10 drops of any essential oil that you may have.

This is a low sudsing detergent which is great because it helps lengthen the life of your washer.


We also do other things like hang out our clothes, make our menu for the month and shop big once a month, we drive as least as possible, we make our own bread,laundry detergent (as listed above), our own fabric softner, I make clothes for the kids, we recycle as much as possible, we raise chickens and ducks and we have small turkeys right now, etc. The list goes on.