Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Recycling Update

A few weeks ago, we started on the endeavor to recycle 100% of our trash.  So far, it is going really well.  At the time we made the decision to recycle, we still had 2 weeks of trash service paid for.  We spent that time making the changes that we would need to do to prepare for the recycling.  We quickly sorted through the items that we have had in storage.  Anything that could not be recycled, Freecycled, or donated was put in the trash.  We set up our recycling bins and began putting the items in them so we could get a good idea of what we were getting ourselves into.  We also needed to prove to ourselves before our trash service ended that we would be able to recycle everything.

One of the lessons I have learned is to be very aware of the trash coming into the home.  Look at the packaging of your foods and other purchases.  What you bring in has to be packaged in something that you can recycle.  I also look at the wasteful/surplus packaging.  One example is my tofu.  The store sells 2 brands.  Both brands are good and are priced the same amount.  The difference is that one is vacuum-packaged in a plastic wrap material similar to the type used for packaging bricks of cheese.  The other brand is in a plastic tray with a plastic "lid" that you cut off.  I had been buying the one in the plastic tray, but now buy the one packaged without the tray.  If I had a need for the little trays, I would get that brand again.  For now though, I have no need of the trays and they are just more bulk going into our recycle bin.

Recycling food packaging requires a simple rinsing out of the containers.  Common sense here, but maybe some don't think about it.  If you leave the food residue in the containers, it can cause your recycle bins to stink, draw insects, and possible rodents. 

Our recycle bins are kept in the kitchen for convenience.  We are using 18 gallon sized plastic totes.  We leave the lids off so that it is convenient to just toss the items into them.  For now, we have bins for paper, plastic, tin, and glass.  Large items such as milk jugs are crushed before putting them into the bin to help save on space.   

All in all, this has been a great experience.  We've learned that there is very little that we may not be able to recycle.  The only things coming to mind are light bulbs & toothbrushes.  We are checking into it, but there is such a small amount that if the recycling center doesn't take them we can toss the small baggie into their dumpster

Homemade Laundry Soap Powder

It seems that there is about as many variations to homemade laundry soap recieps as there are people making them.  I have found in the time I have been making my own laundry soap that there are alot of reasons why a recipe that works for one may fail for another.  Fabric content is a consideration as cottons and polyesters react differently in the way they hold on to stains and odors.  How soiled are you clothing? Here, our laundry can get pretty soiled from working outdoors and around the animals, not to mention the cloth diapers that can have their own laudering issues. The third consideration is your water.  The hardness or mineral content of your water can cause laundry soaps to not clean as well. In the case of hard water you need to add extra borax to your soap to soften the water.  Lastly, the performance of your washing machine's agitation in the wash cycle has a tremendous effect on how clean your laundry becomes.

One common complaint that I hear from people not used to making their own laundry soap is that the soap does not produce alot of suds.  They are under the assumption that the more soap bubbles, the cleaner your clothes become.  The amount of soap suds has little affect on how clean your clothes become.  From my experience, I have found that a soap that produces alot of suds is most likely to leave alot of soap residue in your clothing.  A good way to see how much soap is still in your laundry when they are being rinsed is to look at the rinse water when it has been agitated.  If you see alot of suds on top, you can bet your clothing has alot of soap still in them even after the rinse cycle is finished.  The suds, since they float on the water surface, are the last thing to touch your clothing when the water drains out and ends up laying right on the clothing.  During the spin cycle, the sids are drawn into the fibers of your clothing as the water is drawn out.

That said, here is the ratio of ingredients that through experimenting, I have found gives the best results for our laundry: 1 part soap, 2 parts borax, 2 parts washing soda.

I kept the ingredients in powder form as it is more convenient, takes less storage space, and it is easy to adjust the ingredients if needed if I see that the recipe needs adjusting.  I start by grating Ivory soap (I like the scent of it) on a fine grater.  I like the grated soap to be as small as possible as I find it mixes into the other ingredients more evenly and it will dissolve faster in the wash.  I use white vinegar as a rinse instead of fabric softener.  The white vinegar in your rinse cycle will remove any soap residue that may be left in your laundry.

Last night, I made a batch using 3 bars of Ivory soap.  The batch made enough soap powder to fill 2 large baby formula powder cans.  When presoaking diapers, I use 1 scoop (1 tablespoon) of the soap in the diaper bucket.  It works great to help prevent stains in the soiled diapers and the Ivory soap scent prevents the "diaper pail" odor.  For a large load of laundry, I use 4 scoops of the powder.  This amount even cleans the grubby looking jeans.

One of the advantages that I am finding with the powdered soap recipe is that if I find that my laundry is needing more washing soda or any of the other ingredients, I can easily stir the added amount into the soap without having to add the additional ingredients separately to each load. 

I remember my Grandma using powdered laundry soap for everything.  She used it for all of her cleaning, including washing dishes and wiping things down each day.  She also used the powder laundry soap in her mop bucket with abit of bleach added to clean her linoleum floors in the kitchen and bath. 

There are several advantages to making your own laundry soap.  The first being the cost.  The cost of homemade is less than half the cost of buying the cheap brands of laundry soap.  Another advantage is that you know exactly what is in the soap.  If you have a family member who has a sensitivity to the fragrances or another ingredient in the soap, you can leave it out.  I am able to use this soap on the baby's laundry without any concerns of the soap being too harsh for his tender skin.  You can easily customize the recipe to suit the needs of your own family. 

Laundry soap is one of the easiest soaps to make if you are new to soapmaking.  If you give it a try, or use homemade laundry soap, I would love to hear how you like it and what your experiences have been.

Paper, Plastic, or Cloth?

"Do you want paper or plastic?" was once a common phrase heard in grocery checkout isles.  Today, most stores now have fully converted over to using the plastic bags.  There are 2 stores that I know of in the city that still uses paper bags.  I remember when plastic bags were first being used.  A local news station talked about the number of trees that were used each year to make the paper bags and how the plastic would save a large percentage of the trees.  Years later, when plastic was being used in the greater percentage of stores, there began reports of the impact the plastic bags have on the enviroment. 

A new trend is beginning to take place.  There are those who are now using canvas bags for their shopping.  These bags are easily found in any craft store and in many grocery stores.  Along with the canvas bags, grocery stores also sell the bags made for hot/cold use. 

Making the change to using the canvas shopping bags can take time.  It is a major change in habit.  The hardest obstacle for many being to remember to take them in the store.  Sounds silly, but it is true.  Another obstacle that some have spoken of on various forums has been the reaction they receive from the store's employees.  Some are very good about it, wile there are a few that see having to pack the groceries in a canvas bag is a nuisance.  To estimate how many canvas bags you will need, just count how many plastic bags you use.  Because the canvas bags are larger than a plastic grocery bag, you can fit more in them.    Keep the weight of the groceries in mind though if you buy alot of canned goods or other heavy items when bagging your groceries.

I have been working on taking the canvas shopping bags a step further.  At the dollar stores and discount stores it is easy to find the mesh fabric laundry bags.  The bags ae large enough that you can make 6 produce bags from one laundry bag!  I make a simple bag with a ribbon drawstring.  The bags are light weight enough that they don't add weight to my purchase. 

Another way to use less plastic is to make your produce bags from the very soft bridal veiling fabric.  These are great for buying products from the bulk bins such as grains, rice, or any other non-powder items.  The health food store has long twist ties for their plastic bags at the bulk bins.  The twist ties have a paper strip on them for writing the bin number.  I attach one of these to the bag to close it, just as I would if I were using their bags. 

For the powdery bulk items such as Stevia, sea salt, etc. you can recycle the plastic deli bowl with lids.  These are the clear plastic bowls that the salads and other deli foods are sold in.  The containers have almos no weight to them.  I have found though that it is best that you ask the store first if you can use them instead of their plastic bags.  For some reason, some stores are more receptive to it than others.  To label the bin numbers, you can tape a piece of paper to the lids to write the number and information on.  Another option would be to have a container for each item.  This is an easy thing.  Just keep track of what powder/granular items you purchase in bulk and have a container for each one.  To label the containers, I use a Sharpie type marker and write the item name on the containers.  You can use a dry erase marker then to write the bin numbers.  When I get home, I transfer the bulk bin items into other containers.

It may sound like alot of work to do this, but actually the bulk of the work is in the setting it up.  Once you have everything together, you can store them all in a tote ready to grab and take on your next shopping trip!  Using the re-usable shopping bags and bulk food containers helps so much in eliminating the amount of trash we bring into the home.

Clothes Drying questions

I am trying to keep from using the electric clothes dryer to cut down our expenses further and have a couple of questions.

When I dry the clothing on the clothesline, some of the clothes (jeans for instance) come off the line very stiff and rough feeling.  I notice that it happens the most with the clothes that have a high percentage of cotton content.  Unfortunately, nearly everything we wear is cotton.  How do you avoid this problem?  I am having to put the line-dried clothing in the electric dryer for a few minutes to soften them, which completely defeats the purpose.

My other question is for the cold months.  Do you know of any way to dry the laundry without using the electric dryer during the fall & winter?  If I put them out on the line in the winter, they will simply freeze.  Our house has small rooms which prevents using a clothing rack to hang the clothes on. 

Recycling

Recently, I read a blog by Susan called “Reducing How Much Trash We Produce”.  In her blog she talked about how her family recycles instead of using a trash service.  This blog was very inspiring to me.  We live in a rural area also where you have to pay for your trash pick-up service.  The service in our area has raised their fees twice since last summer. 

I began thinking about the types of trash we toss out.  After talking with my husband about the blog and her ideas, we have decided to recycle our trash.  In making the decision, the first step was to find out if there was a recycling center in our area.  The only one that we have in a nearby town is a feed store that collects aluminum cans for recycling.  We needed something that would take a larger range of items.  I did a search online and found Earth911.  This website not only has great ideas and blogs about recycling and conservation, but also a searchable directory of recycling centers.  You type in your zip code and then choose the distance you are willing to travel.  The search will give you a list of centers within your mileage range complete with details on the types of materials they accept for recycling.  We were able to find a center approximately 35 miles from home.  The center accepts aluminum cans, paper, several types of plastics, tin/steel cans like the ones canned foods come in, and glass.  There are other things that they accept, but these are the ones most trash consists of.  The only downside that we found is that the center pays only for the aluminum cans.  They do not pay for the other materials that you bring in.  They do ask that the food containers be rinsed out before recycling, something that we planned on doing anyways.  Beginning this month, we are canceling our trash service.  We will be able to make a trip once a month to the recycling center for less than the cost of the monthly trash service.  We have contacted others to let them know what we are doing & to offer to haul their recycle materials for them when we go.

We have been a part of Freecycle for a few years now.  Any usable items that we have no need for is offered on Freecycle.  If no one wants the items, we donate them to a charity.  This is a great way to pass on clothing, furniture, electronics and any other number of things that you may no longer have need of. 

Between Freecycling or donating the usable items and recycling our trash, we will have eliminated completely the need for trash service.  It will take a little more work than simply tossing things into a trash can to be hauled away.  The work though is a small thing.  The hardest part is developing the habit of rinsing out the food containers and sorting the trash.  We are setting up trash bins for each type of material to be recycled.  At the end of the month, we will only need to gather up each bin and haul it to the center.

I am so grateful that I found Susan’s blog.  She has so many great ideas and information that she shares through her writings.  What a blessing her blog has become to our family as it inspires us to make changes that will benefit our family both financially and in matters of our health.  I strongly encourage you to check her blog out if you have never done so before.  Susan, thank you for being so generous in your ideas and sharing of your knowledge.  I pray that the Lord blesses you and your family greatly as you continue to live the simple life.

Green Living Tuesday

I am beginning a new weekly topic of ideas and tips for "Green Living".  It is a topic close to my heart.  Our family is very conservation minded.  Not only is it vital due to our homesteading and wanting to conserve the resources we have on our land, but it economically makes sense.  When you consider the Proverbs 31 woman, she was very good at conserving her resources and exercised careful stewardship over them. 

A couple of years ago, I read a blog about cloth pads.  My first reaction was "ewwww, ick, and yuck"!  After that initial knee-jerk reaction, I thought about it.  I read on a couple of website where the cloth pads were sold and learned about how women use the the pads dealt with the main issue I wondered about: using them when away from home did they have to worry about leakage.  I found that they are just as reliable as the store bought.

One problem that I have always had with store bought was the soreness they caused.  Something in the materials used always caused me problems.  So, I decided to try out the idea of using cloth.  I traced around one of my store bought pads and made a couple from material that I had on hand.  I used 2 different colors of flannel so that I could tell the top from the bottom.  Inside, I used cotton batting and a piece of water barrier fabric that I had left over from previous sewing projects.  With abit of skepticism, I tried the pads out.  The first thing that I noticed was the pads are not bulky feeling like the store bought ones tend to be.  They were very comfortable.  They were every bit as absorbant. I was even able to use them post-partum without any problems.  During my pregnancy, they were effective also when the baby was playing soccer with my bladder.  Caring for the pads is easy.  I have a container of cold soapy water that I soak them in.  I usually rinse them in cold water first, but you wouldn't have to if you didn't want to.  The main rule is to never use bleach as it will cause staining. 

I have been using cloth now for a couple of years and love it.  For me, it is no different than using the cloth diapers on our little ones.  You simply carry a "wet bag" to put the soiled pads into when you are away from home.  When you get home, put them in the soak container.

If you are interested in trying these out, there are websites that teach you how to make your own.  You can also buy them online from Belle.  She uses some really cute fabric for the ones that she makes.  There are also a few other items that she has on the site that may be of interest.

When I think of the waste of money spent each year (on average $5 per month or $60 per year for one person) to buy the disposible pads, I cringe.  To some, that may not be alot of money but think about how many years a woman buys pads.  From teenager through her 50's, a span of about 40 years, that $60 a year becomes $2,400.00 that is spent over that woman's lifetime for a product that is single-use and ends up in the landfills.

When making the switch over to cloth, you will want to start out with no less than 2 dozen pads.  This will eliminate the need to launder them every day.  If you can get a wet bag, do that also.  A wet bag is simply a water-proof bag to carry the soiled pads in.  Many of the women who make the cloth papds also make the wet bags.  If you can't get one however you can use a cosmetic zippered bag or anything that is water-proof.