Blog - Page 11 of 12 - Simply Me DIY - Make it instead of buying it.

January 8, 2019January 9, 2019

Creamy DIY Laundry Soap

I haven’t bought laundry soap in a long time. That’s not to say I don’t have any, but I bought it a long time ago. I have it on hand for when I don’t get a batch of my laundry soap made, which doesn’t happen often.

I try to keep it made, but there times when I just can’t get it done. Each batch makes 2 quarts each, so it last for a while at a tablespoon at a time. This makes it easy to keep around because it lasts for a good long time.

The Ingredients

The ingredients are simple to find and they can make several batches.

Soap: I use Fels-Naptha soap made by Purex. These are 5 oz bars and 1 bar will make 2 quarts of homemade laundry soap. I’ve tried the Dr. Bonners bar soap but the laundry soap didn’t stay creamy, it hardened into a bit more of a solid so it didn’t dissolve as well as this does.

Borax: Is a naturally occurring mineral and salt compound. When powered it’s white and dissolves in water, dissolving better with higher temperatures.

Washing Soda: This is not the same as baking soda, although you can make washing soda from baking soda. Only a few molecules separates the 2, but there is a definite difference. Washing soda is not made for cooking.

The Recipe

While this recipe is a process, it can be split up into small easy portions.

First:

Cut one bar of soap in half.

Chop each half into smaller sized pieces to about the size of a pea. Add each half to it’s own quart jar.

Second:

Add 1 cup of boiling water to each quart jar.

At this point you will want to allow the water to cool off. This can be a few hours to a few days. I’ve actually let it set for more than a week at a time.

Third:

With a butter knife, cut up the bar of soap in the bottom of the quart jar.

Forth:

Add 1/2 cup each borax and washing soda to each quart.

1/2 cup each borax and washing soda in each jar.

Fifth:

Pour boiling water to the shoulder of the jar.

Add boiling water to the shoulder of the jar.

At this point, I will use that butter knife and sort of mix, in a slicing motion, the water, borax and washing soda, with just a few strokes.

Then I use a stick blender (because it fits in a wide mouthed quart jar) and mix on high until you reach a consistency that’s kind of like mayo.

Make sure you mix all the way to the bottom.

Watch the jar, if you mix shortly after pouring the hot water in the jar, the jar will get hot fast.

And there you have it…your first batch of laundry soap.

Creamy DIY laundry soap, about the same consistency of mayonnaise.

I use about a tablespoon per normal load of laundry. I’ve used it in cold water and warm water and it’s worked in both.

I’ve also used this as a stain remover and it’s worked for me there too. Just put a small amount on the stain and rub it together, then throw it in the wash as normal.

If you’ve tried a different recipe you think is great, I’d love for you to share it in the comments below. If you want to give this one a try, let me know how it turns out below too.

Be sure to share this post with anyone you may know, who can use it.

Please, if you’d like to be notified when I post a new DIY/homemade idea, be sure to subscribe in the side bar.

And finally, if you have something you would like me to try, drop me a line.

Until next time……Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

January 1, 2019January 9, 2019

DIY Gift Bags For All Occasions

So, I started making the bags for the gifts my grand-daughter made for her teachers today. You can find the gift ideas and how to for here. This was one of those ideas that came to me last minute. I thought the homemade bags added a nice touch to a homemade gift. But because it was a last minute thought, it was also something I started without finding out if I had everything I needed.

Thankfully, I buy things on sale when I see it because it “might be useful for something” and I rarely throw away scraps of any good size. This is handy and can make for a stack of “stuff” that my other half is not always real happy about:-) But hey, he does the same, so he generally is pretty quiet about it.

Gathering your materials

A few thoughts before you get started.

Be sure to think about and then gather all your materials ahead of time, so you have everything at hand. This is something I’m real bad about. I will think of an idea and start putting it together without thinking the whole project through first. Then I find myself in the middle of a project looking for something (like my pinking sheers) and not finding it or having to improvise. Note to self……

Gather your supplies BEFORE you start. Makes life a whole lot easier.

These bags can be made from any cloth you may have laying around. It can be a good way to re-purpose old shirts or pretty sheets. Or, in my case, a while back I bought some remnant cloth for less than a dollar with a Christmas theme, so I started with that.

Fabric remnants for making DIY gift bags.

I ran out of the remnant cloth for the teacher’s gifts so I looked around a little more and found some old left-over fabric I used to trim some kitchen curtains I made a few years back and decided to use the rest of that.

Assembling your DIY bags

I’m not a seamstress, by any stretch of the word. I have a sewing machine my mom got me for my birthday, probably 20 years ago, but it rarely gets used. I do have, however, a good amount of ironing tape I got from my mom. This I can do.

I cut the fabric to size. I wasn’t terribly worried about the perfection of the shape so I just eyeballed it. Then I cut the ironing tape to fit the 3 sides and just ironed them together, right sides out.

Once I got them ironed, I realized I wasn’t real happy with the look of the edges. So when I finally found my pinking sheers I cut the edges making a zig zag. That made the sides look more finished.

Zig zag edges after using the pinking sheers.

Bias tape sewn with a straight stitch to finish the edges.

The left over kitchen curtain fabric was really thick and it didn’t like the ironing tape. It just wouldn’t stay stuck, so I actually had to do some sewing. Since I didn’t want the edges to be raw, I bought some bias tape to use along the sides. These bags were folded on the bottom, so I only had do deal with the sides. So I cut the bias tape to fit and sewed the edges with the tape finishing the sides.

Closing your bags

I came up with several ways of closing the bags, but in the end decided the simpler the better. I used some left over gold cord (from a Halloween costume) and Christmas ribbon to close them.

Creating the bags was easy. Think your idea through and pull all of your materials together and you’ll save yourself a ton of time.

If you know of someone who can use this idea, be sure to share this post with them. And, please let me know if you’ve made your own gift bags. I’d love to know what you used and how you put them together. You can leave pictures and share your gift bag projects in the comments below.

Talk to you again soon.

Health, Wealth & Blessings~ Tracey

December 25, 2018August 7, 2019

7 Tips To Help You Learn To Relax

Do you ever feel like you need to work at relaxation? Sounds like an oxy-moron, doesn’t it? But nonetheless, it’s true. For most of us relaxation actually is close to impossible. In our day in age, relaxation has become an art…a hard earned art and then, only if you practice it.

I have to remind myself several times a day to relax. It’s not something I remember to do naturally. If I don’t my shoulders and neck start to hurt and I can get a headache before I even realize it’s starting.

Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean we all can’t learn to relax and enjoy the season just that much more. Here are a number of different ways I’ve learned, depending on where I am and what I’m doing.

Here are 7 tips to help you learn to relax for both work and home.

If I’m at work, I have to be able to use a quick method and it has to be pretty low-key as to what I’m doing.

I . I sit at a desk all day and in some cases I can sit there for several hours at a time using a computer, so I try to stop every hour or so. I’ll put my hands in my lap, sit up straight, feet flat on the floor and take several deep breaths with my eyes closed. While doing this I visualize a white/yellow light above my head and as I exhale, that light rains down on and through my head and body. With each breath my shoulders and/or neck will feel just a little more relaxed. After about 4 or 5 breaths, I’m ready again.

2. Or, I’ll take a deep breath and lift and tighten my shoulders, hold both for a count of 4 or 5 and then release my breath and relax and roll my shoulders slowly, again to a count of 4 or 5. Repeating this for 4 or 5 times.

While I’m at home I can use longer methods that are a bit more involved and more fun.

3. Sometimes a hot bath with Epsom salts, or maybe some bubble bath always with essential oils and of course candles.

A hot bath with candles. — Sitting in a hot bath makes all the difference

4. A bit of music maybe a mask made of crushed oats, yogurt and honey.

5. Listening to music and just watching the flame dance on the candle can be magic.

A lit candle. — Candles are always helpful

6. Maybe take a walk and enjoy nature.

A nature walk. — Taking a walk in nature is a perfect way to relax

7. As the saying goes, stop and smell the roses, enjoy the view, listen to the birds and even the wind blowing through the trees.

A pond with ducks. — Enjoy the wild life too.

The End Game

The point is instead of thinking of all the things that need done, just listen to what’s around you, enjoy what you see. Look for the simple things and fill your head with paying attention to those things.

Whatever works for you, use it. We don’t do it enough and it makes all the difference in dealing with stress and strain in our full everyday lives.

If you know someone who needs to learn to relax be sure and share this post with them.

Be sure to subscribe and receive at least one new DIY every week.

Health, Wealth & Blessings~ Tracey

December 18, 2018August 8, 2019

Loving the Canned Meat

Canned meat can make your life so much easier, especially in the winter.

I don’t know about you but I seem to be getting extremely lazy this last month of the year. Maybe it’s because it’s dark so much.

I’ve not been on the treadmill for a month now and don’t see it happening till next year. It’s so wrong for that kind of mindset, I know, but I do know I’ll get back on it, just not now.

Coming home from work in the dark makes me feel like I want to go straight to bed, so fixing supper is definitely not first on my mind. And I’m terrible at planning ahead enough to thaw meat the day before.

So I’m really grateful that I canned so much ground deer. Now I can grab a few quarts of that, some of my canned stewed tomatoes, and depending on the spices I want to use I can have supper in about an hour and there’s no thaw time.

Canned meat seemed pretty scary at first, but turned out to be no harder than anything else. You just leave it in the canner for 90 minutes.

I did cook mine a little first and then rinsed it to get as much fat out as possible. My husband used to have our deer processed at a commercial meat locker and had 10% tallow fat added. We don’t do that anymore, I don’t see the need.

Next time, I don’t think I’ll cook it, I’ll just crumble it. I’ve also cubed up the roast parts and cut the fat off the scrap pieces and canned those as small cubes. This give a little more flexibility in what you want to use them for.

I’ve also done this with chicken. It’s usually cooked first just because it’s much easier than trying to cut chunks of raw chicken. That makes for an easy chicken and noodle supper.

Other things you can try are ham and beans. Canning them makes them taste like it’s a day or two reheated. I don’t know about you, but I always think ham and beans are better the 2nd or 3rd day anyway.

You can always add spices to the meat. Preferably something that won’t be hurt by the heat, maybe some Worchestershire sauce or something of that nature. The canning process pulls the fibers of the meat apart to some degree. This allows any spices you may add to really get into the meat, so it taste spectacular when it’s time to eat it. Some meats don’t need anything and are awesome just the way they are.

This gives me a ton more freezer space and like I said, when it’s time for supper there’s no thaw time. YAY!

Next time you need to make room in the freezer and if you like to can, give it a try. Just make sure all your meat chunks are an inch or so in size or smaller. This allows enough heat to get through the meat to stop any bacteria from growing.

Leave it in the pressure cooker for 90 minutes at pressure. And there you have it, canned meat ready for those nights you don’t have time to thaw meat.

If you’d like me to do a DIY How-To on canned meat, please let me know in the comments below.

If you have any other ideas of canned supper or supper fixings, please share them. I’d love to hear from you.

Health, Wealth & Blessings~

Tracey

December 11, 2018August 10, 2019

Essential Oils

Do you have any idea how awesome essential oils really are?

I know it took me a long time before I really understood the potential of real, high quality essential oils.

Bottles of essential oil. — Essential oils

Since our grand-daughter was born our lifestyle has moved to a more and more organic and natural one, making most of our household products and using less and less store bought cleaning supplies and personal products.

The use of essential oils just fit with that perfectly.

I began seeing DoTerra Oils a lot. I’d used a few and knew their scents were top notch.

I did some of my own research and found they were of high quality.

I really liked that they are delivered through the mail because I really hate shopping. Then I found out how to get discounted oils.

DoTerra allows you to pay a fee (kind of like Costco) and you get wholesale pricing.

Nothing minimum to buy, just buy what you use, if you want. You can go on to sell them if you want, but it’s not necessary.

There are several of the blends I’m really happy with. And for what I use and how much I use them, that fee was minimal.

If I go on to sell some, that’s a bonus.

I continue to learn more and more. I’m really happy with what I’ve learned and experienced so far and I can’t wait to try new and different things.

Essential oils are the easiest “help yourself” I’ve ever run across. They can work miracles just as the actual herbs can.

They can change a mood, change an appetite, they can help you focus or help you sleep. The range of the uses of essential oils is almost endless.

I’ve used them in baths, in body sprays, in puppy sprays, room and upholstery sprays and personal care products like lotions, shampoos and body oils. You just can’t go wrong because, they smell awesome, and make the house smell great.

The scent of the actual herb is generally the same scent of the essential oils. The strength of the essential oils makes the herb so much more diverse.

In some of my other posts, you can read the different uses of different scents from various herbs. Whatever an her does in a tea, you will generally get the same affect in a scent.

There are a ton of choices for whatever you may be looking for. Try them each separately to determine what you truly like and then mix and match and create your own favorite blends.

If you’d like to look at more information, you can visit here. There’s a ton of information on this site for whatever you’re looking for.

A diffuser and essential oils. — Oils, a diffuser and candle.

I’d love to know what you’ve discovered about essential oils from your experiences. Leave me a note and let me know how you use them.

Until next time-

Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey