Travelling On

greenbee

I use Epsom salts in the bath Cheery. About 5 cups, so I get through a lot, but LC has caused sleep issues (insomnia and exploding head syndrome mainly)

Karmacat

Lots of information!  Greenbee, can I ask again about your recipe for laundry gloop?  You've stopped using borax, so what proportion of soap and washing soda do you use?  It would really help to know.

Cheery_Daff

Yes, you've clearly got everyone's brains whirring KC! 

I was putting a sprinkling in the bath, and thinking I didn't notice a difference - maybe i just need to add more!

Karmacat

Cheery_Daff said:

Yes, you've clearly got everyone's brains whirring KC! 
It's true!  And we're all on the same page with it, I think - fascinated, wanting to know more, but unsure of the basics.  Any experience helps  

I was putting a sprinkling in the bath, and thinking I didn't notice a difference - maybe i just need to add more!

Could well be the case, since greenbee's putting 5 cups in.  Enjoy the bath, nice and soothing sounds really good.

I actually got round to bringing out my walnuts, brazils etc, to make the nut loaf finally - but then I remembered just in time that actually, the nuts in the glass jars are at least 2 years out of their best before date.  Rancid nuts not a happy thing, digestively or free radical-wise.  So they've gone in the bin.  The stuff I'm now using has a best before date of January 2021, which I'm prepared to live with.  But it's a lesson - don't buy nuts to store, buy them to use!  Even if they've been in the fridge.

Off now to do more.  

themadvix

Karmacat said:

I actually got round to bringing out my walnuts, brazils etc, to make the nut loaf finally - but then I remembered just in time that actually, the nuts in the glass jars are at least 2 years out of their best before date.  Rancid nuts not a happy thing, digestively or free radical-wise.  So they've gone in the bin.  The stuff I'm now using has a best before date of January 2021, which I'm prepared to live with.  But it's a lesson - don't buy nuts to store, buy them to use!  Even if they've been in the fridge.

Off now to do more.  

This is definitely a benefit of zero waste shops, when you get back out to shopping Karma. You can but just what you need for a recipe and not a nut more!

 Another Ethical Consumer subscriber here. I find it’s not very compatible with being MSE though and the ethics usually win! 🙄

greenbee

It was @greent who was making laundry gloop, not me.

@Cheery_Daff - start your bath off with one cup of epsom salts and work your way up. You should be totally relaxed and limp and ready to sleep afterwards. DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL before/during/after an epsom salt bath. I also add lavender, petitgrain and orange essential oils. Mostly because they need using up. I've been using them (and occasionally other stuff) for most of the last year and they're STILL not finished!

greent

Karmacat said:

greent said:

I make laundry gloop from soap and washing soda - I found borax substitute isn't necessary - I used to use it but found it doesn't really add to it, so skip it out. I'm going to make some liquid with conkers I collected last Autumn - apparently they can have a slightly bleaching effect, so I'm going to try it on white school shirts  

Good to know can I ask you what proportions you use, greenbee, of the soap and washing soda?

Fascinating about the conkers, isn't it!

beanielou said:

Ahem.
Table still not done.
Tomorrow maybe!

Maybe ... you absolutely know how often I've come on here and said "I didn't get round to X, Y and Z", yeah?  It is what it is.  I mean, yes, I'm happy with what I've done, but there's *so* much more to do!  Again, it is what it is 😎

For roughly 100 -125g of soap I add about a cup of soda crystals. I used to add more but again cut back. Grate the soap/ chop it with a knife/ put in a food processor, add loads of water, boil it up to melt soap and then whisk the soda in - and let it cool and it then makes a semi solid gloop - sort of what it's like under a bar of soap if it's not drained properly. I then usually dilute it further and store in 4pt milk bottles. Or keep it in its semi solid state, scoop a blob out and pour hot water in it before adding to machine - probably kitchen necessary, but I like to make sure it's dissolved if washing at 30 degrees. And use white vinegar as softener with it (sometimes)

Effective on most things but not brilliant on whites - I use a commercial product on my 1 white wash a week at the moment-  but will try the conkers. Clothes just smell slightly of soap at most - so just 'clean' as opposed to chemically fragranced.  I use fairy liquid as a stain remover on clothes. (Have tried several eco wul and most make my hands flare up with dermatitis- Fairy doesn't and is bloomin good at both washing dishes and getting stains off clothes, so I have no plans to change - I dislike washing-up with gloves on)

I'm a hopeless person to ask for virtually any form of recipe/ how long things take etc - I throw things in by eye most of the time, whether that's food or other stuff! (But not when making soap from scratch - there I followed a recipe all the time and usually superfatted it - need to ensure it's  safe for skin!) X

beanielou

First clean of outside table done, thanks to you 

Karmacat

greenbee said:

It was @greent who was making laundry gloop, not me.
D'oh, thanks for that. 

@Cheery_Daff - start your bath off with one cup of epsom salts and work your way up. You should be totally relaxed and limp and ready to sleep afterwards. DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL before/during/after an epsom salt bath. I also add lavender, petitgrain and orange essential oils. Mostly because they need using up. I've been using them (and occasionally other stuff) for most of the last year and they're STILL not finished!

That sounds amazing, love it.  I wonder how I can use epsom salts, with only taking showers?  Very interesting.

greent said:

For roughly 100 -125g of soap I add about a cup of soda crystals. I used to add more but again cut back. Grate the soap/ chop it with a knife/ put in a food processor, add loads of water, boil it up to melt soap and then whisk the soda in - and let it cool and it then makes a semi solid gloop - sort of what it's like under a bar of soap if it's not drained properly. I then usually dilute it further and store in 4pt milk bottles. Or keep it in its semi solid state, scoop a blob out and pour hot water in it before adding to machine - probably kitchen necessary, but I like to make sure it's dissolved if washing at 30 degrees. And use white vinegar as softener with it (sometimes)

Effective on most things but not brilliant on whites - I use a commercial product on my 1 white wash a week at the moment-  but will try the conkers. Clothes just smell slightly of soap at most - so just 'clean' as opposed to chemically fragranced.  I use fairy liquid as a stain remover on clothes. (Have tried several eco wul and most make my hands flare up with dermatitis- Fairy doesn't and is bloomin good at both washing dishes and getting stains off clothes, so I have no plans to change - I dislike washing-up with gloves on)

I'm a hopeless person to ask for virtually any form of recipe/ how long things take etc - I throw things in by eye most of the time, whether that's food or other stuff! (But not when making soap from scratch - there I followed a recipe all the time and usually superfatted it - need to ensure it's  safe for skin!) X

That's absolutely fine, greent, really it is, there's lots of information and practical experience in that - I don't think I'm at the stage where I can do that yet - but I'll carry on researching in the background, and aim to start doing it over the summer.  

I've just been watching Ade Adepitan on BBC2 in Bangladesh and Bhutan.  My word.  Some fantastic individual initiatives are going on, but Bangladesh is in such trouble every single little initiative we can do is worthwhile, I think.  

Karmacat

themadvix said:

Karmacat said:

But it's a lesson - don't buy nuts to store, buy them to use!  Even if they've been in the fridge.

This is definitely a benefit of zero waste shops, when you get back out to shopping Karma. You can but just what you need for a recipe and not a nut more!

 Another Ethical Consumer subscriber here. I find it’s not very compatible with being MSE though and the ethics usually win! 🙄

Sadly, I don't think I'll be doing that - there *is* a zero waste shop within walking distance, but if I walk there, that could be the only thing I do that day - deliveries aren't only because of covid, the chronic fatigue (and frankly, the age) are both there in the background.  The quantities I buy from Healthy Supplies would be fine if I cooked a nut roast once a week, no problem at all.  It's just paying attention, and planning my food - I tend to think about my evening meal when I'm already hungry and I can guarantee this doesn't tend to give me the time to make nut roasts