Fun with goo

Take control.
Of all the optimism advice tidbits I've seen the past 10 months, "Take control" has been, without doubt, the most useful. Some sort of action--even if it isn't guaranteed to be successful--is miles better than sitting around and waiting for the next bad thing to happen.
There isn't much I can do about the economy as a whole. I can't wave a wand and make more people sign up for piano lessons.
So my form of taking control is all about our budget, specifically how much we spend. For me, it means reaching back into the skills I learned in 4-H Club and finding ways to meet our basic needs. Cooking, canning, furniture refinishing, sewing. These often-sneered-at life skills are all things I thank 4-H for teaching me, even though I resisted the compulsory nature of them for girl members at the time.
So yeah. Our chest freezer is almost full to the brim, and the garden isn't even thinking about being done. We'll always have something to eat--as long as we can pay our electric bill. All that slaving away this summer was worth it.
But with conditions the way they are, I'm always looking for ways to soar up above the clouds and into the stratosphere of cheapness. This year I think I may have found it with a recipe to make my own liquid laundry detergent.
I found it on the Simple Dollar, a website worth checking out if you're interested in tightwad money management styles.
The recipe gives you a slimy goo that separates and must be shaken or stirred. But it definitely works. In fact, it made our clothes cleaner than Method, the brand I'd switched to out of concern for the environment. It's easy to make and costs only pennies compared to the same amount of a Tide or Gain, which will be over $10.
As I worked with it, though, I made some changes in the mixing technique and storage that, in my humble opinion, improve on the original. So here, with a nod to the Simple Dollar, is my version of liquid laundry detergent:

You'll need
A 5-gallon pail with a lid (a restaurant pickle pail works. We use a cleaned out plastic pail that formerly held kitty litter)
A long paint stirring stick, brand new
A brand new, never used, plastic gasoline container with childproof cap and funnel (knock the wire mesh out of the end of the funnel before using)
One box washing soda
One box borax
One-half bar any kind of hand soap (I use Fels Naptha)

Put 4 cups water into a pan on the stove and light the burner. As it heats, cut your bar of soap in half and begin to grate. I find the grater attachment of a food processor works nicely, as long as you're patient and don't push down too hard. Gradually add the grated soap to the hot water, stirring as you sprinkle it in and waiting a little for each addition to dissolve. Don't allow the water to boil. It will suds over.
After the bar soap is completely dissolved, turn off the heat. Put 5 quarts plus 2 cups tap water--as hot as you can get it--into the big plastic pail. Mix in the hot soapy water from the pan, stirring with the paint stick.
Add one half cup of the washing soda and continue to stir for another minute or two. Then add a fourth of a cup of the borax and stir in.
Put on the lid and put the pail in a safe place to sit overnight. Since borax is poisonous, it is essential to keep the pail out of reach of children.
The next day, your detergent should be separated into a thick goo on top and water underneath. Take the stick and slice and stir one more time. Then put the funnel into the gasoline container and gradually pour in the detergent. Put on the childproof top, rinse your materials and you're good to go. Always shake the container well before using.