Safer Drain Cleaner

IT WORKED!  Ok so our bathroom drain is constantly running slow.  I just could never get myself to put Drano down the sink, and and since it still drained, just slowly, I just dealt with it.  So we decided to do the baking soda and vinegar idea.  God bless science!  So reaching back to your high school chemistry days do you know what the combo do?

It becomes a very bubbly concoction!  If you want to know how this works, don't ask an accountant.  But you can click http://library.thinkquest.org/3347/vinegar+bsoda4.html  to get your geek fix.
Anyhoo I just poured the baking soda down first.  I put as much as I could, then I poured in the vinegar...bubble bubble...wait...pour more vinegar.  And by the time I was done...eeeew.  The gross stuff just bubbled to the top.  Super gross, but my drain works better, and it costs just a few cents.  

Zote comes in flakes!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have found the greatest thing!  Zote comes in preshredded flakes.  There is no longer a need for shredding the bar, for just pennies more you can save tons of time!!!  LOVE THIS STUFF!

Dog Bisquit Recipe

Ok, instead of trying to rewrite my BFF's recipe, I am going to just going to give her to you word for word.  I haven't gotten to test this out, but she is on of my BFFs for 22 years and I trust her implicitly.  Ok here we go....

original recipe yields 2 pounds of biscuits.

prep time 30 minutes

cook time 3 hours

 

Ingredients:

3 cubes beef bouillon

1 1/2 cups boiling water

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

2/3 cup brewers yeast

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 egg yolks

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Dissolve beef bouillon cubes in 1 1/2 cups boiling water, set aside. Grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl stir together the whole wheat flour, corn meal, brewers yeast, and garlic powder. Add the egg yolks, then gradually pour in the bouillon water while stirring. Mix throughly to form a firm dough. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thinckness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters and place 1 inch apart onto the greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, next turn off the oven and leave the cookies inside for at least 3 hours or overnight to harden. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

 

4 to 5 biscuits a day works best in my experience but you may want to stary with just 1 or 2 per dog, do not know about size of dog etc...

If you try this, tell me what you think!!!

Coming Soon, Dog Biscuit Recipe

One of my best friends just sent me a recipe for homemade dog biscuits.  Okay, dog biscuits no biggie right, but these biscuits also help repel fleas!!!!! After a little research I realized it is the garlic that does it.  I am going to post it soon.  First I want to test it out, which with my recent carpal tunnel surgery, might not happen for a few more weeks.  I might get my girlfriend to come over and help me though.  And Monkey is super excited for the baking to begin!

Containers

 I went and got some containers for my new cleaning supplies today.  I went with all glass because I don't know if any of the things will react with anything like plastic.  I started with three gallon size glass jars, at less than $5 a piece, for the big three...

Washing Soda, Borax, and Baking Soda.

I also got a case of one quart glass mason jars.  They were less than $0.75 a piece. I am using them for all my concoctions. I used my label maker to keep everything straight.  I am putting tablespoon measuring spoons in each one, since everything is one or two tablespoons.

I also stopped by the dollar store and got some, what I would call Parmesan cheese sprinklers.  I put baking soda in them, so that I can put them around the house to absorb odors, and then when I need baking soda for cleaning...sprinkle, sprinkle...

Baking Soda Sprinkler

Baking Soda Sprinkler

Must see documentary

I just watched an awesome documentary on the chemical free cleaning products called "Chemerical: Redefining Clean for a New Generation" on Netflix.   They say that people that stay home have a 54% higher rate of cancer.  They infer that this is due to all the chemicals in the home. Most things that are better for you cost more, but this is not only better, but cheaper. Here is a link to their website...
http://www.chemicalnation.com/content/

Hello

Ok,let me begin with I work A LOT. I am a mother of two, a teenage daughter, and a severely handicapped 18 year old son. My husband is a stay at home dad, raising children that aren't even biologically his. He has been doing this since they were 5 and 8. Our son is still in diapers, so child care is almost impossible. Meanwhile their biological father hasn't paid any child support in a year, and nothing of merit for 6 years. To keep our heads above water and off of all government assistance, I have to work three jobs. Thank goodness I work in accounting, so at least I get to sit behind a computer for these jobs. So now you know a little about me. I am going to share with you things that I find to save money, and just get through the day.

What made me decide to start some serious changes to to my life was my dryer taking the great kaput! Maybe kaput is a harsh word, she still tumbles her little heart out, she just won't heat up. At any rate, dryer stops drying. Well, I decided that was it, I wasn't replacing it. I live where there is no real winter to speak of, so first I got a clothes line....

So now I have decided, maybe I can get rid of things like paying an electric bill to heat the dryer. At this point I go Google-ing, and find I can make my own laundry soap with three simple ingredients.

#1 1 cup Borax

#2 1 cup Washing Soda

#3 1/3 of a bar of Zote Soap (grated on a cheese grater)


B, my husband, grated the soap while I measured and mixed the ingredients. It took about 3 minutes. I tested it out first still using downy fabric softener because I had it, and the clothes were hanging dry. Wow what an amazing job it did. My son's clothes are hard to get clean and fresh and they did. I am throwing my clothes in the non heating dryer just as they finish drying, it helps to fluff them. I am so happy with the results. And only about $.01 a load. So I'm one step closer to not having to work constantly. I have so many other things I want to try and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.

And here is my finished product...