Hillbilly Farm... It's Wash Day

 Here is the washing machine... It's connected to power

but not to the water... So it gets filled with the hose.

That works well except I have to turn the hose on and

fill it, turn the hose off then on again to fill it to rinse.

So it's not a process I can turn my back on and come back

in an hour and it's all done.

However, I'm not complaining as it's just outside my

bus and having a washing machine to use as much

as I like is wonderful... For a while.

All my bed linen is white and it is my considered

opinion that laundromats are too quick and

do not keep it a good colour. So to be able to

soak for hours and wash several times was great. 

 I needed to make some more laundry powder... Equal quantities

of baking soda and soda ash (washing soda), in this case a cup of each...

And one block of finely grated 'Sunlight' Soap. You can use Dr Bonners

Castile soap... Purer and greener but much more expensive.

 Mixed together and ready to use.

I use one small scoop and dissolve it in boiling water in 

a bucket and add it to the cold water in the washing machine.

To the whites I add a scoop of Sodium Percarbonate which

is an eco friendly pure oxygen cleaner... Chlorine free

non toxic and biodegradable... Important when I sometimes 

want to tip my laundry water on the ground and here

at this outdoor 'Hillbilly Laundry' there is no plumbing!

All these ingredients are cheap at Bin Inn.

This mix is also good for blacks and colours - no bleach of course!

 

 And here's my 'whiter than white' laundry... Or the beginning of it.

And while I was making things I made some

new mouth wash for cleaning my teeth.

The recipe is from Wendyl Nissan's book

'A Home Companion'

Commercial mouth washes contain ethanol,

there has been concerns raised about oral

cancer and product recalls because of safety...

So make your own... The recipe is-

30ml water, 1 teaspoon lemon juice,

1 teaspoon brandy, 1 drop pepperment

essential oil. Multiply this amount to fill a

small bottle.

I used what I had - Vodka - it's the base

for homemade perfume and I have

run out of lemons till I go shopping again

and none in the garden here!

I also put extra peppermint oil but not

too much or its bitter. If you put lemon juice

it won't keep so long. 

AND - don't drink all the vodka!