Homemade Laundry Detergent

Since posting about making it, I have had A LOT of request for the recipe. I wish I could tell you that it is from my own making but it most definitely is not. I snagged it off the Duggars website (the people with 19 kids and counting). The recipe I got made 10 gallons, which is way more than I need right now or want to store. So here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
-2 cups of hot tap water
-1/2 bar of soap *see below for more about what kind of soap
-1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Do not use baking soda!)
-1/4 cup of Borax

*The recipe calls for the soap to be Fels-Naptha which you can find in the laundry aisle. You can also use Ivory soap, which is what I use. It is not as strong of a smell as the Fels-Naptha. Also, the Washing Soda and the Borax can be found in the laundry aisle. A box of each is like $3 and will last a really long time. The 2 boxes will end up helping you make a ridiculous amount of laundry detergent.

Directions:
- Grate the bar of soap and add to a saucepan with the 2 cups of hot tap water. Stir over medium-low heat until the soap dissolves.
-Fill a bucket up with 1 and 1/4 gallons of hot tap water. Add the melted soap, 1/2 cup of washing soda, and 1/4 cup of Borax. Stir well until everything is dissolved. Fill the bucket up with 1 and 1/4 gallons of water. Cover and let it sit overnight.

-Whatever container you use, fill it half full with your homemade detergent and will the rest up with water.

Don't fret if your laundry doesn't smell like anything. It's not suppose to. This is gentle enough for sensitive skin.


There you go. Super easy. I used old detergent, fabric softener,and juice containers. This made 5 gallons for me! Use 1/4 cup with each load of laundry.

Derek's Scan Results

The worst part about anything health related is the waiting. I pretty much hate it. Derek did a PET scan on Friday. The PET scan lights up the cancer and tells you how strong the cancer is in the various parts of the body. Derek has Lymphoma so it spreads quick and can be in many parts throughtout the body. Before his 1st transplant he had it in17 different areas! This time, however, Derek and I got through the weekend fine. We felt really good about the results. And boy were we right! Derek's cancer is "nearly in remission"!! In April a scan showed a bunch of different areas. This scan showed that almost all of it has been wiped out! This is great news because if the cancer had not done anything or even grew then that would be it for traditional methods. Derek would have to start trying trial chemos or other weird things. The doctor is hoping to do another transplant, this time with someone else's cells, so gear up to get tested! This transplant would then totally wipe out any left over cancer cells and gives Derek a better chance of being cured. CURED! So this time we are hoping for a transplant. Dr. Polowy could barely contain his happiness and that made it all the better. I can't believe that this could be over soon. 3 long years of cancer and it is almost gone. Heavenly Father has been incredibly kind, continually blessing us and this blessing is a big one! Thanks to everyone for the positive thoughts and prayers sent our way. Keep it up because we can feel them!

Yikes!

Yikes I have been busy! No pictures for this post because 1) I'm on my computer which has no pictures (my computer got wiped out!) and 2) I am WAY too lazy to get up and go to Derek's computer. Derek had to go to the ER on Tuesday, which terrified me. He had to go because when he was at the doctor's office getting chemo they got his blood results back and his platelet level was incredibly, terrifyingly, and scarily low. So they sent him to the ER where he got a platelet transfusion, which is like a blood transfusion but it only had platelets in it. So my neighbors (Josh, Jeff, and Dani) took Camden so I could go down and be with Derek. By this time it was evening and that huge dust storm set in so it was impossible to see more than 10 feet in front of me while I was driving, but I floored it anyways. There is no cure for an irrational woman. Anyways, I got there and he was basically done so we left and now he is fine.

The next day (Wednesday) Derek was driving to the doctors office and realized the car was broken. Now our other car was already broken so we had two broken cars. That same day I was cleaning the wall above the fireplace and the chair I was standing on broke! My ego was extremely bruised since the front 2 legs of the chair snapped off. This was a decently sturdy chair so perhaps this is a wake up call, lol. I hurt both ankles, a knee, elbow, and a wrist. Not the greatest thing when you are trying to train for a half marathon that is less than 2 months away.

So it is Thursday, Derek fixed the car after spending $60 on a part that was only available at the dealership and I will have to miss out on the rest of the week's training. On the bright side, my injury forced me to sit in one spot for a long time and I got my floral blog mostly fixed up and changed. Check it out www.eternityfloral.blogspot.com.

Camden gets his pictures taken today by Ashlee, I am looking forward to this since she did an incredible job last year doing his pictures. When I went to go get the pictures she took last year printed, they made me sign forms saying I had the rights to the pictures! I told them they weren't professional photos but they didn't believe me. That's how good they looked. So I will post the pics when we get them, I am sure they will be amazing.

Tomorrow Derek gets a PET scan and Tuesday we will meet with the doctor to find out the results. This scan will show us if his cancer is going down or what they heck it is doing. It better be going away because I am pretty tired of dealing with it. However, this trial has been greatly lightened by those around us who love and care for us. I know that this is Heavenly Father's doing, he really looks after us.

Also, this Sunday my brother gets the Aaronic Priesthood! How awesome is that?? It's pretty rad if you ask me.

Now stop reading this and go check out my revamped floral blog! www.eternityfloral.blogspot.com

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