Everything You Want to Know About Natural Laundry Care

Pandorea

Maybe this should read as “Most Everything I learned from my grandmother about “Old Fashioned Laundry Care”. It amazes me that the older I became, the smarter my grandmother became. One of my very first memories of my grandmother is helping her push her old wheeled Maytag Model N 'Chieftan' out the basement door onto the concrete pad of the back porch. Every Monday, rain or shine, was laundry day. If it was raining, she would wash clothes inside in the basement and carry the baskets upstairs to the side porches on each side of the house where my grandfather had placed clotheslines. If the weather was good the laundry was hung on the 4 strands of clothesline that ran from one side of the yard to the other.

I can remember the wonderful clean scent of freshly washed and dried clothing as I undid the clothspins and grasped each garment to my chest to keep them from dragging on the ground. I couldn’t understand why my mothers laundry never smelled like my grandmothers’, but my mother was a “modern” housekeeper. Her washer was almost a twin of the one I use today, plus she had a wonderful time saving electric dryer. Our clothes never saw the light of day except when we wore them. Sunlight is part of the formula for wonderfully white clothes and linens. Bleach is great but often bleach can actually cause the “graying” of your white clothes or linens. If you have a medium to high manganese content in your city or well water the bleach will interact with it and turn your clothing grey.

                                                                        Mantas Ruzveltas
Laundry-The Natural, The Environmentally Conscious Method or How My Grandma Taught Me

Pre-Treat

Simply pre-soaking with your detergent or laundry soap for ½ hour will help clean heavily soiled clothing.

Wash

1. Add your laundry soap or http://www.etsy.com/listing/44411420/nature-clean-all-natural-powdered  in 1st- Let powders dissolve or liquids dilute before adding clothes.

2. Loosely load the washer with dry, unfolded clothes. Overloading can be the cause of poor cleaning, extra wear and tear on fabric, extra lint and overworking your washer.

3. Load larger items 1st, then small items and then the medium articles.

Solutions for Stains

Ink stains- a. Moisten with vinegar, then add paste made of vinegar & cornstarch. Let dry then wash as usual.

b. Place cream of tartar on stain, then squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on top. Rub into stain for 1 minute then rinse well.

Perspiration stains- a. Saturate with equal parts vinegar & water and let set for ½ hour. Wash as usual.

b. Add 4 T. salt to 1 quart very hot water. Saturate and let sit for ½ hour.

Perspiration Odor- Add ½ cup of vinegar to wash cycle.

Stained or stinky socks- Dissolve 1/3 cup baking soda with 1 gallon of warm water and let soak for 30-45 minutes.

I Forgot the clothes were in the dryer odor or mildew odor- Run the clothes through an extra rinse cycle with either 1-2 cups of vinegar.

                                                                           Playingwithbrushs
I Use Bleach but my Whites Are Not White!


How Do I Whiten my Laundry?

First you need to find out what makes your clothes dingy. Until you find out the cause the solution may escape you. Too much detergent or improper rinsing and/or hard water are often the main causes of dingy looking whites. Using less detergent is often a simple solution. Also I find that I overload my washer if I am not paying attention. Smaller loads with higher water levels will often help as well as simply adding a ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.

The absolute best method of whitening your whites is something many people are re-discovering, Laundry Bluing. I have only used one company’s which is Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing. It is the only one I have ever found and it was a difficult search. I had to go to four different groceries before I found it. Bluing is fantastic. It whitens whites and also brightens colors—Without harsh chemical! It is not only biodegradable and non-toxic, it also prolongs the life of your clothes.

What is Bluing and How does it Work?

Bluing is a simple, very concentrated liquid made of a fine blue iron powder mixed with water or a colloidal suspension. “Mrs. Stewart's Bluing is a simple, concentrated blue liquid that optically whitens white fabric. It does not remove stains, does not "clean", but adds a microscopic blue particle to white fabric.”

This is the explanation the Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing gives for why it works. “Because blue-white is the most intense white, most artists, when painting a snow scene, will use blue color to intensify the whiteness. As color experts would explain it, the proof comes when two pieces of fabric are placed under a spectrograph - the one with blue added will reflect more light, making the fabric appear its whitest.
Other great uses for Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing:

My absolute favorite use of bluing is one that I learned when I was 6 years old. My constant companion and very best friend was a parti colored Black and White Cocker Spaniel. Our “playground” was 120 acres of tilled earth that was planted with corn one year and soybeans the following year. It consisted mostly of a yellow clay that was impossible to wash out of my long haired dog. The solution for making “Tammy’s” white hair bright white and her black hair beautifully shine was a simple solution of ¼ teaspoon of bluing to 1 gallon of warm water.

According to MSB farmers use it in stock tanks and homeowners use it in bird baths, fish ponds and fountains to retard algae growth.

I have learned another great use for bluing. Are you tired of all your white flowers? Stick your freshly cut flowers in a container filled with a fairly strong bluing solution in warm water. Ever seen a blue rose?

                                                                       Bluenight72

No Admittance

It is now 8:07 p.m. and I have been sitting at my desk for the last three hours doing one of my very least favorite jobs, working on our yearly taxes. I had to take a break before my eyes literally crossed from looking at all those figures on the lines and tiny little boxes.

My husband is in his room working on a friends computer so the television in the great room is off. I have already listened to all of the day's news on NPR and the house is silent for a change. Usually it is not this quiet until after midnight but tonight I am doubly blessed. We are having an early spring this year so I have my window in the office open. Normally I hear one of my favorite sounds long into the wee morning hours. Across the road and midway across an open field the county built a lake on this property. The county owns, I would guess about 80-90 acres of land surrounding one of it's newest buildings built on the edge of town. I find myself, a long advocate of the "Early to bed, Early to rise theory, staying up later and later working in my office with the window open listening to the lonely, haunting calls of the Canadian Geese flying in and landing on the lake on the property. Tonight, I hear an owl for the first time since selling our house and moving to "the city".

Several days ago just before the sun dipped completely below the tree lined drive I happened to hear a sound that I was unfamiliar with. Similar, but different to the honking of the Canadian Geese. I looked out my window just in time to see a pair of huge white birds fly in below the tree line onto the lake. That was the last I had seen of them until yesterday morning. A pair of big white birds drifting across the end of the lake dwarfing the geese in size. A pair of Trumpeter Swan? A rare event anymore. Their nesting grounds have all disappeared and like many of America's natural beauties, an almost dying breed.

Strangely, I want to walk down this gently curving drive and follow it to the lake that seems to beacon to me with its water's that ripple and reflect the morning's light sending little pricks of sunlight that are there and then almost instantly vanish to be captured and sent in another ripple and off in an other direction. I want to stand and admire the raucous Canadian Geese who fly through the night honking and calling as if they were coming in from a boozy night on the town. I want to search to see if that is truly a pair of Trumpeter Swan that I have seen.

The land is gently contoured with a slope falling gradually to the edge of the water. There is an back entry drive that curves round about from the road beside my house and passes around the far edge of the lake and leads up to the building with a line of trees that obscures most of the lake. Across this drive is a barricade forbidding entry to this property save for those that have a pass and a valid reason for entry.

Still, I want to enter the property. I want to share in the beauty the county has provided with a small pocket of green grass and still waters with homes for the ubiquitous Canadian Geese, the lonely noctural owl and the rare Trumpeter Swans. But, I have no valid reason- unless I do walk down that drive to the lake. That would give me a valid reason! Yes, I could become a resident of that county building by walking onto the property since the property is the new City/County Jail.

With My Deepest Gratitude

Today I was very honored to have my products and myself mentioned by one of Etsy's most creative and inspired crafter/artists, Mikiye of Mikiye's Creations at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Mikiye  To give you an idea of the diverse skills and beautiful work she does here are some photos from her shop.

Be sure to check out her shop  (especially you brides to be) at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Mikiye

and take a peek at her blog (It is one of the prettiest I have ever seen) at http://mikiyecreations.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-favorite-bath-and-body-shops-joyful.html

I am in LOVE!

I was thumbing through Etsy again yesterday and I think I have fallen in love, that is if one can fall in love with inanimate objects. I have always admired the work of many potters. In fact, I have always had a secret desire to play with clay or mud but never had the funds nor room to own a kiln or the space to put one. I did take a class about a hundred years ago in my freshman year of college. All that did was whet my appetite for more but the opportunity never presented itself. Now all I can do is admire the work of others and I definately admire the work of Tara of AugustMoonArt. You can find her shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/augustmoonart

Her work is beautiful and unusual. I have been trying to pick my favorite piece to lead this this off this article but that is impossible. I will just take them in line as I find them.

Blue Sponge/Soap Holder

You can use this beauty in your bath or your kitchen to hold either your bath sponge or kitchen sponge plus a bar of soap. This sponge "cosy" is wheelthrown, then altered with slots on the side to hold the sponge. She also adds drainage holes on the bottom but she isn't satisfied with plain old circular drainage holes she adds lovely teardrops.

     Agate Butterfly Pump Soap/Lotion Dispenser

Of all of her Soap/Lotion Dispensers I love this the most. Probably because I am a butterfly nut. Of all of God's creatures on earth I think the butterfly from egg to caterpillar to butterfly are each miracles. As Tara's description reads, "This wheelthrown bottle is glazed in a wonderful Agate green glaze, and adorned with a leathery looking ring of butterflys. A natural bark top cork adds an organic element that holds this dispenser a head above the rest. "

White Crackle Teapot

Now I have to admit that I am an addict, teapot addict that is. I am only moderately addicted though, since I only own 6 of them. I inherited two of them and back during the time when I used to have money (pre-disability) I bought the other four. And before you ask, yes I do drink tea although my primary drink is coffee. This teapot is a beauty. I love the crackle finish on it. Here is Tara's description.

"This teapot is wheelthrown with Speckled Brownstone clay, and glazed white, with a white crackled accent glaze, and a deep dark chocolate brown interior. The handle is hand-pulled and has a comfortable feel. Enjoy your tea!

Approximate dimensions 10" wide x 5 1/2" tall.

Holds 5 cups or 40 oz.

Microwave, dishwasher, & food safe.

Pierced Agate Jar

The stoneware jar in the above pictures has a hundred potential uses besides just sitting and being beautiful. I grow elephant garlic and this would be a perfect vessel for it!

Wheeltrown and pierced with teardrop and round piercings, and glazed in a wonderful Agate with a dark rich Temmoku inside. This stoneware jar is no lighweight; it is quite substantial and weighty.

Useful in many ways.... I love it with a candle lit in it in the evening, wish I could capture a pic of that but I'm not so camera savy and can't turn off the flash! It can also be used in the kitchen as a garlic keeper, in the living room as decoration, to keep knick knacks in, or in the bathroom for cotton balls etc...
Approximate dimensions are 7" x 7".
Food safe.

Remember her shop is here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/augustmoonart  She has many more beautiful and different pieces. Check them out!

Good News/Bad News

I’ll start this off with the good news. I had tried for several years to get into the Women’s Club of Newburgh Arts and Crafts Show. I was either too early, too late or they already had too many soapmakers. After several years I finally gave up on it which was too bad since this was one of the prime shows of our area. I suppose that was all I had to do was give up because this past summer I was approached by 2 different members of the Womens Club and asked to apply to the show, which I did naturally.


The show was on Feb. 27 and it was fantastic. Not only did I do well, but I had a great time and met some very talented and nice people. And of course I came home with a lot of goodies!

Unfortunately, I will have to tell you the bad news now. I have been so excited and hyped about the new Zibbet shop that I opened for Pigeon Creek Soaps. It was supposed to have all the bells and whistles for the shopowners that Etsy lacked. Plus, I had gotten in early and the rate for a Premium shop was extremely reasonable.

Sadly, after spending hours and hours building the shop and creating the marketing, plus the money for the ads and new labels, it turned out to be a disaster. A number of people told me that they could not join in order to purchase and of the actual purchases each one had something major wrong with it. I have decided to close my Zibbet shop when this payment period is over which is in just a couple of days. In the future I may consider opening a shop on ArtFire, but I am going to put a great deal of thought into it before I make the leap.

Those of you who also have shops may understand my reasoning behind my desire for a different sales venue. I definately love Etsy, but with the price of almost all of my materials having increased, then I have to pay to list on Etsy, pay when it is sold on Etsy and then PayPal gets its' share. On a venue like ArtFire or Zibbet you pay a monthly fee and nothing else except your PayPal when sold.

If you have any thoughts on this, send them my way. Tell me how you have handled this changing economy or if you have any suggestions, let us hear them.

I would like this blog to be a place where people feel free to drop in and say hi and tell us how they are doing and what they are thinking. Tell me what you would like to see here!

All in the Family or I found Some Great New Jewelry!

If Etsy was a book, I would say that I was leafing through Etsy the other day and got very lucky. But Etsy is not a book but I still am very lucky because while looking through Etsy I found a pair of (yes, a pair) of talented jewelry makers. You can check out their shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/bythecreek and tell them where you heard about their shop.

Monika, does beautiful polymer clay cane work along with her other talents. This is the first time I had seen such fine and delicate work with the acrylics and the added Swarovski Crystals.

Then I looked further and I saw my favorite! Her husband makes beautiful and unusual copper jewelry.

Is this not a delightful piece of jewelry. Per their listing ""Naja" - Crescent shaped pendant hanging from the end of a squash blossom necklace. The crescent "Najah" is believed to go back into Moorish designs".

I would have a fight on my hands if I owned this. I would have to fight my husband over who would get to wear it. Monika's husband has a great eye and the vision to carry it through.

A very simple but beautiful piece.

The only problem I can see with this web shop is that when they are truly discovered they are going to have a very difficult time keeping items in their shop. So Monika and husband, you might want to work some more because your work is great!

Our Skin and A Simple Daily Regimen to Care For It

I was in the doctor's office the other day and had a conversation with a lady who was not quite as old as I am. In our conversation we discovered that we both had Type 2 Diabetes. She told me that she was amazed that with the diabetes my skin looked so normal. Now to be honest the word normal was not the one she used but I am trying to be humble here. Of course this was an opening to tell her what I make and sell and to extol the benefits of using handcrafted soaps. But further into the conversation I found out that she bathed twice a day in hot water and she used a commercially made deodorant soap.  After thinking about her I decided that maybe some information might help my readers. We lead such full and busy lives that we can't be expected to know everything.
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Our skin is our body’s largest organ and our protective barrier against the environment that we live in. It actually breaths and can absorb many things through it. We often take it for granted and fail to realize that it needs daily care just as brushing our teeth. If our skin is not taken care of properly it can become dry, flaky, cracked and inflamed. This can make it vulnerable to infections, fungi and even wart viruses. We should all practice a daily skin care regimen.


We all have a natural oil covering our skin. This oil, called sebum is created by tiny glands in the skin. When we remove this oil by using harsh drying agents such as most modern commercial soaps, frequent hot showers or baths, the skin becomes very dry which can lead to flaking and cracking. This can bring inflammation and itching.


Daily Skin Care

1. Each day that you take your bath or shower use warm water, not hot water. If you are sore and achy by all means have a hot bath but do not do it daily. Lukewarm or body temperature is actually best. Hot water dries out your skin. Limiting your bath or shower to 10-15 min. is best. You should only bathe once a day or risk removing your skins natural oils.

2. Avoid using harsh soaps that dry the skin. Naturally, I would recommend handcrafted soaps since all the natural glycerin is left in the bar and most are superfatted to help condition and moisturize your skin. If you must use a commercially made soap we recommend using Dove or Basis. We do NOT recommend the use of deodorant soaps as they are very harsh and drying as well as having chemical ingredients.

3. When drying off always blot or pat dry with the towel rather than rubbing the skin. It is best to leave your skin slightly damp.

4. Next, while your skin is slightly damp, apply a good moisturizer. If you have oily skin you can safely skip this step. A good commercially made moisturizer for normal skin is Lubriderm.

5. This is a very important step! All areas that are exposed to the sun, hands, neck, face, ears, arms or any exposed area of skin should have sun block with a moisturizer or a sunscreen of SPF 15 applied daily. Sun screens and sun blocks prevent UV damage to the skin. With UV damage you can have wrinkles, age spots and most importantly skin cancer.