Answers to Some of Your Questions :-)

Home and the keeping of home are dear subjects to me.

(Internet pix - no source :-( but such a darling cottage.)
Angela asked in this post if I could expand a bit on 
what I do for soap and shampoo.
First, I will share what I do,
 then I will share the recipe and process I use.
For shampoo, I use my bar of soap and lather near the scalp.
Then I rinse it well.
About once per week, I use a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
in a little teacup and fill it with water and use it as a rinse.
The comb will slide right through your hair.
I have a lot of very thick, curly, at times fluffy dark brown hair.
For the first week of using this process, I questioned my own sanity.
My hair was "weird."
There's not a better word.
It was soft and clean, but wasn't really curly and wasn't straight - 
kinda straggly looking.
What it was, I figured out after a few weeks, was that the natural oils
were no longer being stripped from the hair.
After that first week or so, my hair became increasingly healthy
both in the feeling of it and in appearance.
If I do need a bit of product, I use aloe vera gel.
Be sure it's the gel and not the liquid gel.
One of the main things I like about it is it's fragrance free.
Many (dare I say most) folks are nose blind anymore

especially to fabric softener for some reason.
The scents used in many hygiene products make me sneeze.

For laundry, I use 1 part each:
borax, washing soda, and my soap grated.

When I make soap for laundry, I use rosemary and lemongrass

to scent it.  Nice fresh scent for laundry.
This isn't "detergent" so won't brighten your colors.
If an article of clothing is really dirty (we have lots of those)
it's best to soak it for a while in the soapy water before continuing the wash.

One more tid-bit before I get to recipes.
I have a theory based on nothing more than my own thoughts.
I use vegetable oil soaps in the summer
and lard or tallow in the winter.
If you've made soaps or read about them,
you probably already know this,
but it's something that was off offhandedly mentioned that stuck with me. 
Vegetable oils let your skin breathe
and animal fats seal the skin.
So my theory is to use veg. oils for soaps in summertime
when you might perspire and want your skin to breathe.
In wintertime, use lard/tallow based soaps to help seal your skin
and keep it from drying out.
It makes sense to me from a traditional aspect as well -
animals were generally butchered in autumn - heading into winter.
In spring plant life is emerging everywhere.
So that's what I do :-)

Most of the supplies I keep on hand for soap and lotion making
are also edible - fancy that.
I really like this feature since many of the things I am washing
are either put on my skin or washing something that might end up
in the kitchen, like dish towels.

I like multipurpose items so the more uses an item has,

the more I like it.

And the fewer items I have to remember to keep track of, the better.

Olive oil (grade B or pumice)
Coconut oil (love halibut fried in it:-)
Lard or tallow (makes the best biscuits)
Essential oils (use medicinally also)
Bee's wax (I also dip my own candles)
   AloeVera gel
Vinegar (so many uses!)
Baking soda (again so many uses)
Washing soda
Borax


Also, there was a question about garbage bags.

This is our garbage can.

It's meant to be a bathroom can.

I did do a post about garbage here.

For some reason that sounds funny to me -

a post dedicated to garbage, riveting topic - heehee.

For garbage bags, we use whatever packaging that comes into our house.

Bread bags, frozen veggie bags, potato bags etc.

Everything seems to come packaged in plastic bags

so I try to get another use out of them.

We make about 1 of these little cans per week.

It has increased a little since our area no longer accepts plastic for recycling.

Disclaimer (sorry to have to say this.)
Before I share how I make soap,

I just want to tell you that I have been criticized at times

for my soap making supplies and techniques.

I will share what I use and do and have done for years.

You do what you are comfortable with.

I am not responsible for your decisions.

Okay, now onward.

This is the soap recipe I use.

It is "hot process" so I can use it within a day or two

and don't have to wait weeks and weeks for it to be ready to use.

I've taught several people to make this, and

to my knowledge all those I've taught are still making their own soap today.

Some tips:

*Do not use metal bowls or spoons when making soap.

* I do not wear gloves or goggles but am very careful.  You might choose to wear both - up to you.

*Measure accurately - good results depend on it.

My $2 thrift shop crock pot has low or high only - use low.

Soap:

12.8 olive oil

3.2 coconut oil

2.2 lye

6 oz water

Optional: 5 drops grapefruit seed extract & 1/4 - 1/2 tsp essential oil

Put water in a heat-proof container.  I use a salsa jar because the shape 

makes it easy to hang onto.  I have used this same jar for years so I have the water line drawn on the jar to save me time.

I take it outside and set it on the BBQ.

Add lye to water and stir with a stick (I use a paint stick.)

*Important - be sure to add lye to water and not the other way around.*

This creates a chemical reaction that creates heat so don't try to pick it up.

Go back inside and measure coconut oil and get it melting on low in crock pot.

Then measure olive oil.

Once coconut oil is melted, add olive oil.

Go get lye mixture.  By this time, it should be cool enough to hold the jar.

Add to oil mixture - this will make your clear oils look cloudy.

With blending wand, blend to "trace" which is when you can see the lines

left as you move the wand - see photo.

It's about the consistency of pudding.

Cover and set the timer for one hour.

I do up the dishes while it's cooking.

When the timer goes off, stir in grapefruit seed ext. and essential oils if desired.

Pour into mold of choice.

My favorite mold is a 1 qt. milk carton, but I didn't have one when I made mine.

Cover with a towel and let it sit over night.

In winter, I place it on a doubled towel and  cover with another doubled towel.

You don't want it to cool off too quickly.

After about 24 hours, you can un-mold your soap.

If you have a milk carton, simply peel it away.

If you have a plastic mold like what I've shown, 

place the soap in the freezer for a little bit,

then it should pop out easier.

Slice it into bars unless you've used a mold that has individual cavities.

I let these sit for a day or two before using so they have a chance to harden a bit, but they are safe to use at this point.

I had a request for some lotion bars so they are shown to the left.

Also, you might have noticed that my olive oil is in jars

rather than the jug it comes in.

I like to infuse my oil with certain things.

Hubby likes pine or cedar and I like lavender or rosemary.

This can alter the color of the soap slightly

which is seen above.

If I had one bit of advice to offer as far as making soap,

it would be: Don't be afraid.  It's like following any other recipe.

Just go ahead and do it :-)

This has been sort of a catch-up post,

but that seems to be necessary sometimes.

PS~ edited to add

I think our triple digit weather has melted my brain.

If you've not ever tried "real soap" and would like to try some

prior to making your own,

Stephanie makes some lovely soaps.

Here is a link to her etsy shop.

There are tons of recipes out there,

but if you would like more recipes,

you might enjoy Heidi's blog.

I've used her soaps and a few of her recipes and they are wonderful.

I don't receive any compensation from either of them,

but they are two sources I trust.

PPS~

It appears the new blogger is having fun with my font.

I keep "fixing it," and it keeps un-fixing it!