Saving money with ginger and laundry soap

I'm all about saving money, especially as I have none. I thought for today's post I would share a couple tips that I use to save some $$$. If you have tips, please share them with me. Together we can save the world.

Well, at least we can save a couple bucks.

Tip #1: Make your own laundry soap. I do this and I spend about 2 cents per load because we have a large capacity washer and dryer. If you have a normal washer you will spend about 1 cent per load. In England that translates to 1/2 pence. That's a good deal, is it not?
The difference between laundry soap and laundry detergent is this: during WWII when there was a lot of rationing of soap and other things, companies came up with a synthetic way of making detergent and it became the norm pretty quickly. Detergent has a lot of chemicals in it, so though it does clean your clothes, it's not that great for the water supply and isn't very biodegradable. Laundry soap, on the other hand, is natural and biodegradable, plus it cleans your clothes just fine. I love it. It's easy to make and only takes about 10 minutes. You can even scent it if you want to, but it smells really clean on its own. Plus, it is good for people who have sensitive skin and can't use detergent without getting rashes. What's not to like?
One thing, though; don't just start washing all your clothes in laundry soap without a little preparation, especially whites. Detergent leaves a film on your clothes and they will turn yellow if you don't get rid of the film. So...
Wash your clothes in 1/2 cup washing soda before you start using laundry soap. You don't have to do it again as long as you keep using the soap. Once is enough. But if you switch to detergent and then back to laundry soap, you have to prep your clothes again. Trust me! Your whites will never look so yellow if you don't follow this step! (Update 9/8/2008: I accidentally ran a load of whites without treating them first and they didn't yellow. I had included white vinegar in the load and maybe that took care of the problem.)

Laundry Soap Recipe
1/3 to a whole bar Fels Naptha or Ivory soap, grated finely. The Pampered Chef Deluxe Cheese Grater is excellent for grating soap. Otherwise, you can use another small-hole cheese grater.

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (find this in a box in the laundry section of your local grocery store. This is NOT the same as baking soda!)

1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (also in the laundry section of your local grocery store. If they don't have it, ask a manager or order it from Amazon.com)

In a large pot, pour 6 cups hot water and add the grated Fels Naptha or Ivory soap. Heat until the soap dissolves.
Add the Washing Soda and the Borax, stir, and let them dissolve.
When the powders are dissolved, put 4 cups hot water into a small bucket that will hold 2 gallons. Add the soap mixture and stir. Now add another 1 gallon and 6 cups more of water. Stir. Add the scent now if you like. Cool and pour the soap into containers (you can use old detergent containers or even juice bottles. Just label clearly.) Add 1/2 cup to each load.

See? Easy as pie. The texture of the finished, cooled laundry soap will be strange, kind of half-gelled and liquidy. That's normal. I've seen it described as Egg Soup texture. Don't worry that it's not thick and smooth like detergent. It cleans your clothes just fine, and think of the money you're saving.

Use white vinegar in your fabric softener compartment and you're good to go. Some time I will devote a whole post to the wonderful uses of vinegar, but not today. Don't cry, gentle reader.

I have read of making laundry soap with castile soap, which is a natural soap made from vegetable oils. I haven't tried it yet, though I'm eager to start because it seems to have many uses beyond laundry. According to some people, you can use it as a shampoo as well as a general house cleaner. Let me know if you've used castile soap and how it's worked for you.

Tip #2: Make your own flavored milk. Husband loooooves flavored milk, but milk has become a bit of a luxury for us. Fortunately, we don't use a lot of milk anyway -- maybe 2 gallons a week if I don't buy cold cereal (which I only buy for $1 or less on clearance at a grocery outlet. I love that place.) My favorite is ginger milk. This is kind of nice at bedtime because you can heat the milk. You get the sleepy-soothing effects of warm milk with the stomach-soothing effects of ginger.
First make a ginger syrup:

Ginger Syrup
2 cups ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cups water
2 cups sugar or honey

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Simmer for five minutes. Take off the heat and let it steep until the syrup is completely cooled. Remove the sliced ginger and save for making candied ginger.
Use about 1 Tbsp or more or less in a cup of warm or cold milk, to taste. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine you could use the syrup when making homemade ice-cream or flavoring whipping cream. Make your own ginger ale by putting the syrup in club soda and adding a dash of lemon juice (I like that better than adding the traditional dash of apple cider vinegar).

Candied Ginger
Leftover ginger slices from making ginger syrup
Granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 deg. F.
Pour some sugar on a cookie sheet and roll the ginger slices in it until they are completely covered. Make sure the ginger is in a single layer and put the cookie sheet into the preheated oven.
Turn the oven off and leave the ginger in there with the door closed overnight, or about eight hours.
Store the candied ginger in an airtight container. It's great for upset tummys. I just like the ginger kick, but candied ginger got me through the morning sickness of my fifth pregnancy.