Turning Granola???

     So for those of you...ahemm like my mom :) who don't know what granola means, here is the definition from urban dictionary:
          An adjective used to describe people who are environmentally aware (flower child, tree-hugger), open-minded, left-winged, socially aware and active, anti-oppressive/discriminatory (racial, sexual, gender, class, age, etc.) with an organic and natural emphasis on living, who will usually refrain from consuming or using anything containing animals and animal by-products (for health and/or environmental reasons), as well as limit consumption of what he or she does consume, as granola people are usually concerned about wasting resources. Usually buy only fair-trade goods and refrain from buying from large corporations, as most exploit the environment as well as their workers, which goes against granola core values. The choice of not removing body hair and drug use are not characteristics that define granola people, and people, regardless of granola status, may or may not partake in said activities.

    Well I made the laundry detergent yesterday, but um I don't plan on not shaving the legs or pits anytime soon!  ha.  With that said, lets talk about the detergent.  It's EASY, SAFE, and CHEAP.  It only takes three ingredients.  Yes, I said three!  One bar of Ivory Soap ($1.18 for three bars), Washing Soda ($2.37 for a box of Arm & Hammer), and Borax ($3.19 for a box). 


Here is the recipe I used:

• one bar of Ivory (can use Zote or Fels Naptha)
• 1 cup of washing soda
• 1 cup of Borax

     Take the bar of soap and grate it.  I used a potato peeler and it was easy.  After you grate it, just put it in a saucepan with 4 cups of water and let it melt.  After it melts, add the wasing soda and borax.  Stir.  Take the mixture and pour it in a five gallon bucket.  Add one gallon of water to the mixture and stir.

TA DA!  And it makes about one and a half gallons.  Put 1/2 a cup in your load of laudry.   I can't give an exact price per load because I haven't used up all the products yet, but the website I read said it comes out to like .06 cents per load.  Compare that to Tide, which comes out to roughly .30 per load.  That's huge, but what is more important to me is that I know exactly what goes into it. 

Actually it is just kind of fun knowing that you can make it yourself.  I never thought about it before until a dear "granola" friend of mine told me about it. (Love ya Mack) 

The following verse encouraged me to get started with the health stuff and keeps me encouraged when I start to get lazy and want to slack:

      1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit with in you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God with your body.

Just let that soak it.  If it doesn't convict you, well that is a whole other blog post!