Laundry soap 1.0

Mmmmmm....look yummy? Nope, it's not cheese!

I have had this recipe for some time now. I actually got it online somewhere and just hung onto it knowing that I would make it at some point. She has one as well. Hers has scent added to it. I am not that cool.

My daughter and I finally made it the other day. It was really quite easy. You have to have 3 things to throw it all together. The hardest part was grating the bar soap. And that wasn't so much hard as it was messy. I probably could have used my food processer, but I was worried that everything after that would have a slightly soapy taste. Mmmmm..soapy cheese. Great for tacos.







1 C grated Fels Naptha bar soap
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Washing soda

Mix well in a resealable container. Use 1T per load. 2 T for heavier soiled clothes.



I found all of the ingredients in my local grocery store. They were in the laundry soap aisle.

The soap seems to clean really well. It has a nice fresh, clean scent. However, if you have a super sniffer like myself, it may seem strong at first. It lessened tho, as I used it more. Well, I got acclimated to it, I should say.

Try it out. Let me know what you think. It is a huge money saver. And you know I love those!

Yogurt, yogurt, bo bogurt, bananafana, fo fogurt...

I have been wanting to do this for some time. although I never actually made it past the, "I want to do that" stage. Sure, I had entertained the idea of purchasing a maker, but I just knew there had to be a more cost efficient way to do it. Also, I just knew there had to be a way to do it where I didn't have to buy another small appliance.

So, my curiosity and excitement were at their peak when I came across this. Just what I had been looking for.

This weekend we put the technique to the test and our taste buds rejoiced at the wonderful yumminess. It was so easy and didn't take much time at all. The supplies are very easy to find, in fact, I had them all here at home. It makes your basic. plain variety leaving you endless ways to change it up. We happen to like vanilla. So, when it was all said and done, we added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4C of sugar and it was really great. It was more tangy than what we have experienced with store bought yogurt, but I think it is because we added way less sugar. I just store it right in the glass jar in the fridge. And when I get to about half way thru the jar then I will make another batch.

You should try it. Let me know what you think.

I love my Menu Maker

I am so excited about my Menu Maker. I am, more so than probably the average person would be. But that is because my husband put his love and sweat into making it. Just for me! Well, prolly not too much sweat. I mean how much can one person sweat whilst sitting at the computer. Anyway, I am rambling. Let me tell you why I love it so much.

The purpose of the Menu Maker:
1. To make your life easier.

2. To help one budget more efficiently.

3. To hopefully eliminate impulse shopping while in the grocery store.

4. To stop the madness of the "What should I fix for dinner tonight?"

How it works:
1. You enter all your menu items, such as main courses, sides and desserts. There is now a seasonal option as well. So when you enter your dishes you can select what season you would like them to appear in. So, soups in winter and grilled things in summer. Or certain veggies in certain seasons. You get the picture.

2. While you are entering your items there is also a spot to enter the publication from which the item came. Like what cookbook, or from in your head, or a certain magazine, etc. This way you know right where to look when the item pops up on your menu.


3. Once you have entered all the items in the database you then can choose the dates that you would like the menu to encompass. So, like mine right now is from April 16th to May 16th. However, I print mine out for a month at a time so that I will get a larger variety of items that pop up. Then I break it up into weekly segments based on when I am going to the store.

4. Here is an example of the finished product.


Now this is where you can use the edit feature. You will notice that some of the side dishes appear more than once. That happens because I do not happen to have very many in my database yet, so they can only be randomized so much. But, if it does happen you can use the edit feature and go in and move things around or input something new for that particular day. If you know you are having guests on a particular day you can edit the menu to reflect that. If you would like to have "no side" on a certain day just choose the "no side" button. If you know you would like to have a "leftover" night just make sure you enter that as one of your menu items and then you can edit it in when you want to use it.

Once you have it all edited and just the way you want it then you print it. And hang it on your fridge. And when the time of day rolls around for you to be thinking of dinner...just look to the menu. It will tell you all you need to know. And you will have all the groceries you need! With only one trip to the store. No more dragging the kids there on a whim because you forgot something you needed. Because you will have looked over the menu and made a grocery list based on the menu items. So, when dinner rolls around you will be all set to go! Just pull it all out and get to cookin!

I am in love with this thing. I really am. It is right up there with my sacred calendar that runs my life. You know, the one that hangs in your kitchen where you write down your every move so that you won't forget to do something. Oh, that's just me? Okay, well, moving along then...

Oh, and if you think that you can't live without it either, just drop me a note. I love to barter...marceeh at gmail dot com