We don't need no stinking named brand detergent.

So are you tired of forking down lots of $$ to buy all those named brand detergents that line the supermarket shelves?

They are quite pricy these days, but fear not fellow readers. There is indeed a solution!

Andi makes our own detergent for us!

Yes, every once in a while I see her doing her mad scientist routine, cooking up our own homemade, non-toxic, earth friendly laundry detergent.

So first off, save that last giant jug of detergent you have.

Once you've used up that corporate sludge, clean it out. See, you can put the new stuff in there!

You'll need:

BORAX
WASHING SODA
CASTILE SOAP
5 GALLON CONTAINER

Bring 4 cups of water to just below a boil.

Shave off a bar of castile soap into the water. You can use something like a cheese grater to do this.

Once the soap has melted, remove it from the heat and pour it into your 5 gallon container.

Add 3 gallons of HOT water. Stir together until well mixed.

Add a cup of washing soda. Still well.

Add 1/2 cup of borax. Mix all of it well, cover with a lid, and let sit overnight.

It will become a sort of strange gelatin like substance. We then fill our re-usable named brand jug with our new detergent.

Each load calls for about 1/2 a cup or I guess, really, just fill the cap like you normally would.

Just remember to shake the bottle up each time before you use it.

Now, I can tell you that we have not been let down by this. Our clothes get clean, we save money, and we don't destroy the planet in the process.

It's good stuff.

How much was that power bill again?

I hate the heat.

I really do.

Humid heat, dry heat, it all sucks.

I should probably live in a hockey rink.

So as the temperature rises outside, I want to lower the temp inside, thus raising our power bill.

One thing I hate more than the heat is an astronomically high utility bill.

So let's talk about cooling your house.

First, let's check for energy leaks. Any cracks under the doors? How about your windows? When you take the trash out do you leave the door open the whole time forcing someone to yell something stupid like, "Hey! We're not cooling the whole neighborhood, ya know!"

Get a compass. Which of your windows face south? In the summer, the sun rises in the northeast, passes almost overhead at midday, and sets in the northwest. Make sure these windows are covered or shaded to help cooling and vice versa in the winter for heating.

Fans. Fans are nice. Ceiling fans are even better, if you have them. It's ok to run your fans along with your air conditioner, IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN THAT ROOM. Fans don't actually cool the air, they just circulate it. What makes a fan feel like it's cooling you is that it just blows the warm air surrounding you, away.

It's the same trick as blowing on your food. Your breath isn't cold like Superman can make his. You're just blowing the heat away.

Using various fans while you are actually in the room can allow you to raise the thermostat a bit and save on that AC price. Just remember to turn them off when you leave the room.

I really suggest ceiling fans. They aren't super expensive. You can find plenty of ceiling fans for under a $100 and with all home items, they are investments. They usually cost less than a penny per hour to run vs. central AC which cost somewhere close to 70 times that much. Plus, they aren't hard to install.

Catch a break during the summer and have a cooler than average day? Turn off the AC and open the windows and turn the fans on.

If you have a central AC unit make sure it's shaded if possible. The unit has to work harder if it just sits there in the sun.

Always look for the energy star symbol on products, whether it's a fan, a window unit or even a thermostat. Also, look into upgrading your thermostat if possible. We upgraded ours and when I took the old one down, there was actual mercury still inside it! A new, programmable thermostat will allow you to specifically set the temp to where you like it and many you can program to run at certain times. So say, you are going away for the entire day. You could set it to turn on a half hour before you return!

Anyway, these are just some thing to think about when trying to cool your house with less energy and less energy use is good for the earth and your wallet.

Home again, Home again.

Finally re-adjusting after our Las Vegas vacation. Getting ready to begin work on our next blog, making your own laundry detergent.