Sustainably
Sadie
Laundry: Part Two
Last week I discussed felted
wool dryer balls as a sustainable laundry tool—sustainable because reusable,
chemical-free, and created from a renewable resource. I have continued using the dryer balls and
have been overall happy with the results.
Still a little bit of static (the wool blend socks stick to the
microfiber rags), but if they work for 3 out of 4 loads, then I’ve still saved
money in the long run.
And I am so proud of myself
for trying to make my own laundry liquid detergent this last week. I was inspired by Pinterest.com—the picture
of the greenish liquid in gallon milk jugs linked to www.whynotsew.blogspot.com (August
1, 2010) that referenced Little House in
the Big Woods and “wash on Monday” then gave a recipe for homemade liquid
detergent: “1 bar soap (any kind you
want), 1 cup Borax, 1 cup washing soda, a large pot (holds more than 2 gallons,
a grater, a funnel, a long spoon, 2 empty jugs/ containers.” The author suggests using the utensils only
for this purpose. I purchased utensils
from Ruby Valley ReRuns, for pennies. I
used Dove soap like the Why Not Sew? blog had, and even though I do prefer
light, natural fragrances, the Cucumber Green Tea soap was overwhelming, until
it cooked up with the Borax, washing soda and 2 gallons of water. As the mixture cooled it definitely
coagulated—our 3 year old son loved helping to “glop” the soap into the jugs
via funnel.
It doesn’t produce suds like
commercial detergents. I’m used to lack
of suds with the natural detergents we use in our home. Our clothes smell fresh and are clean, and I
have 2 and ½ gallon bottles of detergent that cost less $4.00 to produce. I’m interested to see how other bars of soap
work…I would like to use as few ingredients as possible and am interested in
using natural bars of soap, but wonder if a brown bar of soap will produce
brown detergent…not so appealing to the eyes, but may work the same? I found the Borax and Washing Soda both in
the laundry aisle in Wal*Mart in Butte. Large boxes cost approx. $3.50 each. If saving money and reducing containers
brought into the home isn’t incentive enough…try making your own laundry soap
as a fun science experiment with the kids.
Share your own sustainable
successes at www.sustainablysadie.blogspot.com
or sustainablysadie@hotmail.com.
Twin Bits
It is harvest time! Check out your local Farmer’s Markets. Sheridan Farmer’s Market is Thursday evening,
5 pm to 7 pm at the Main
Street Park,
corner of Main Street
and Mill.
Check
out Jackson’s
Garden online, https://sites.google.com/site/jacksonsgardeninc/home
and *Like* them on Facebook. Volunteer
work days are Tuesdays and Saturdays, 8 am to 1 pm. Please contact Janet Marsh at 842-5888 for
more information.
The
Twin Bridges Farmer’s Market is every Saturday 9 am to Noon, through
September.
The
Twin Bridges Community Association is looking for an interim Market Master for
the Twin Bridges Farmer’s Market for the last three Saturdays of September (15,
22, 29). The TBCA needs a Market Master
for 2013; if you are considering taking on the task next year, spending a day
as Market Master in September would be a great experience to help inform the
decision. Contact Paula Kinoshita, if
you are interested, at The Old Hotel (684-5959) ASAP. Duties would include: putting out signage on
Friday afternoon, being at Main Street Park at 8 am, on Saturday, to greet
vendors, help with set up, document vendors, collect fees, & to help with
break down at noon.
The
first meeting of the Twin Bridges Book Club will be Thursday, September 20th
7 pm at The Weaver’s Studio. The first
book being discussed is The Bonfire of
the Vanities by Thomas Wolfe. The
Book Club is looking for suggestions for the rest of the year. Contact Didi Murray with questions at dmmontana@3rivers.net.
From TBS calendar:
Ruby Valley schools are in session!
Friday August 24: Cross Country Meet @ Livingston
Saturday August 24: Varsity VB @ Drummond Tourney; JV VB @ Sheridan Tourney
Tuesday August 28: Cross Country Meet @ Fairmont
Friday August 31: VB @ Harrison;
FB @ Harlowtown
Saturday September 1: JrHi/ HS Cross Country Meet @ Pony; VB w/ Shields Valley @ Home
Monday September 3: No School, Labor Day
I’m here to help promote Ruby Valley
events and spread community information.
Post comments at www.sustainablysadie.blogspot.com,
email sustainablysadie@hotmail.com,
call 406-531-1422 and send snail mail to P.O. Box 491, TB 59754. Thanks for reading and sharing, Sarah
Miller.
