Saturday 28 April 2012

Washday blues

The rain still keeps coming and I finally had to do some washing today, so it is now hanging in the verandah, and spread across airers in front of the fire - it Has Got to get dry by tomorrow evening so I can iron the uniforms for Monday morning.  All the shirts and t shirts are on hangers so that they take up less space.

Today I went to the hardware shop in town to try to buy some borax substitute in order to make my first batch of Rhonda Jean's recipe for home made laundry powder.  I can't make the laundry gloop until I save enough containers to put 10 litres of it in, so I am just aiming to make the mix of grated soap, washing soda and borax. I bought some, so I am going to make that tomorrow - I am using the last of a bottle of Surf Small and Mighty which I bought months ago when one of the supermarkets had an offer on it.  I will have some washing left to do tomorrow and can try it out - I am quite excited in a homemaker's way!  I know it is not rocket science, but if I can wash the laundry with such cheap ingredients, I will be very happy.  Fingers crossed it works.  I know that there is not much fragrance to it, so I bought a small bottle of lavender oil in Boots today so that I can have slightly scented linen for a few pennies.

The chickens have had the run of the garden today as I nearly lost a welly in the run as the mud is so gloopy and deep.  They have been very very happy out on the grass and scratching up the bugs in the gravel as well as turning over the veg beds once more to find tasty worms.

I hope you are all coping with the rain - I am thinking particularly of friends in Dorset who seem to have a lot of flood water rather close to home.

3 comments:

Angela said...

Please let us know how the DIY landry soap works out - and what it costs as opposed to Small'n'Mighty!

weekend blessings x

Morgan said...

I will do, Angela.

As far as costs go, the borax was £1.39 and the washing soda was 99p some time back from Tesco. I have to grate some soap, and have bought a pack of Palmolive because I remembered the smell with fondness from Granny's house as she always bought that kind and it hasn't changed at all!

However, although those are the costs of the ingredients, I will try to refine how much this batch is actually costing when I am making it because the prices are relevant to the weights of the packs, whereas the recipe is in cups, so I will have to weigh the amounts as I make it, and then record that to work out the true costs.

I am sure that I have spent less than the £6 that the Small'n'Mighty cost, anyway!

lynda said...

A lot of people use the mix in a dry mix- not the "gloopy" mixture. I think it would be easier to store and stir!