Mother Earth News published my soft soap article on p40-42, Dec 2016 issue

Make Soap the Old-Fashioned Way, published in the December 2016 issue of Mother Earth News (and available on newsstands shortly...):

 

 

For the complete article, with one errata, you can visit my blog at http://bookeofsecretes.blogspot.com/
or view the article on my blog at
http://bookeofsecretes.blogspot.com/2016/11/make-soap-old-fashioned-way.html

For a more complete picture of the process and chemistry involved, you can also download my class handouts and research papers at
https://independent.academia.edu/susanverberg .

Thank you all for your interest and continued support!

Drip Lye Soap information

For those homesteaders, survivalists and medieval reenactors, here you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about making drip lye soap from scratch!

For Class Handouts and Research Papers, please visit:
https://independent.academia.edu/susanverberg

For soap history, more background info and my other myriad projects, please visit:
http://bookeofsecretes.blogspot.com/

Enjoy and Have Fun!

homemade baby & goat wipes recipe

I think I might finally have found my goat wipes! And of course the winner is the recipe from Fias Co Farm of course: I'll have to stop by Greenstar for essential oils and Wegmans for the off the shelf items - and keep my eyes open for a good food storage container (can always feed the contents to the chickens, if we or the kid won't eat it LOL).

From the Fias Co Farm website:
I like to keep homemade "goat wipes" on hand in the barn for cleaning up goat baby butts, or does during that "leaking time" after they've given birth, or just to wipe my hands. You can also use these as udder wipes since the essential oils give it an antibacterial quality.

To make your own goat wipes, find a food storage container (a coffee can will rust) that will hold a roll of paper towels that have been cut in half. Use only Bounty paper towels, anything else will just become a mushy mess. Cut a roll in half with a bread knife. Remove the cardboard tube. In the container mix:

* 1 Tbs. baby oil (or Calendula oil)
* 2 tsp. Dawn dish washing detergent
* 2 C water
* 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil
* 5 drops Lavender essential oil

(I used to add commercial teat dip in the hope that it would give it an antibacterial quality, but when mixed, the dip's strength dissipates quickly so it's really just a waste of money.)

Place the half paper towel roll into the container, remove it, turn it over, and place it back in. To use your wipes, remove them from the center of the roll.


Another baby wipes recipe, though not recommended for goat wipes as it is not antibacterial. From Backyard Chickens Forum

Strong paper towels work the best.
Cut one roll of paper towels in half.
Take out the core so wipes pull out of the center.

Make solution of 2 cups water, 1/2 cup of baby oil, 1/2 cup baby magic baby bath

Place 1/2 roll of paper towels in container. Pour solution over towels. Store in container. Makes 2 1/2 rolls.

From Countryside Magazine, volume 94 page 76.
Use a roll of absorbent paper towels and cut in half (so not use a serrated knife). Remove the inner cardboard core. Find a container with a lid for the roll to fit snuggly into. Cut an X or very small opening in the center of the lid. This is to pull the paper towels from the center of the roll through.

2 tablespoons Kosher V-6 Oil or (organic) olive oil
1 tablespoon unscented bath gel base
2-6 drops lavender essential oil
2 cups warm water

homemade laundry detergent

2 oz lye soap
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax powder
1 tsp essential oil (optional)
2 one gallon jugs with screw lid (vinegar or window washing fluids)

Grate soap and put in large saucepan with 6 cups of water over medium heat. Heat the mixture until the soap melts. Add the washing soda, borax and essential oils (if desired), stirring constantly until all has dissolved. Let it sit for 5 minutes over heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit for another 5 minutes.

Using a funnel put half the mixture in each gallon jug (mark the fluid level with a permanent marker for next time). Fill each jug with hot water and shake well. Continue to fill the jug to the top with hot water. Shake again, then put aside for 24 hours. This gels up and looks like egg whites.

Use about 1/2 to 2/3 cup per load. It will not sud up like most detergents (that's an added ingredient) but the clothes do clean up and smell wonderfully. You can also add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to soften the clothes.

To make dry soap powder; grate the soap, add the soda & borax and shake well.