Candle By Night

I finally made my own vanilla! I had the supplies for a couple of weeks, but I had a hard time getting the pickle smell out of the jar lid. But I finally figured it out. I boiled the lid with some baking soda for a little bit. Then added lemon juice. After boiling it for a while I but it into a plastic bag with some activated charcoal. The next day...no pickle smell! So I could finally get started on making the vanilla. I used the instructions from Heavenly Homemakers . I purchased a pound of vanilla beans from Olive Nation with the discount code from Heavenly Homemakers.   I cut 80 beans to put into the gallon jar . Then I poured a gallon of vodka into the jar. After 6 months I will have a gallon and a half of pure vanilla! I didn't have a half gallon jar so I just used the vodka bottle. I had poured a little of it into the gallon jar and had room to add 40 beans. I had 120 beans. The exact amount called for ...for a gallon and a half. Not that it would matter if I was...

I make my own laundry detergent. Yes, you read that right. I make my own laundry detergent. I used to purchase a large bucket of laundry detergent from Sam's Club. Since we don't have a membership there anymore and I don't like spending money on name brand detergents I started making my own. It's so easy and so cheap! All you need is some water, washing soda, Borax, and a bar of Fels-Naptha soap. That's it! Easy right? First you just need to grate your soap. I grate it right into the pot I am going to use. I have a pot, plastic spoon, and grater that I purchased from the Dollar General just for this project. Once you have the bar shredded just add 4 cups of hot water and put it on the stove at a medium-low heat. Keep stirring until it's all melted. It will go from this..... to this. Oh, I should also add that you need a 5 gallon bucket. You can find one pretty cheap in the paint department of most home improvement stores. Fill the bucket up half way with hot wat...