So - slime.
I tried to lure the husband into doing this one with "Hey hun, I'm making slime by the gallon in the kitchen." He was unfazed. J, however, was all about it. And Matt agreed to let us make our mess because it saves us so much money, especially considering how much laundry we do in our house.
This particular project turned out to be super simple, not require any special stuff, and I only had to go out and find one ingredient. Here's what you'll need:
Tools:
cheese grater
large sauce pot
long handled wooden spoon
measuring cups (1c)
a bucket - has to be at least 4 gallons (pictured) but 5 would be better
Ingredients:
1c. Washing Soda - this is NOT baking soda. It can generally be found in the laundry section of your local grocery store
1/2c. Borax
a bar of soap (I used a bar that was a gift - unscented olive oil base)
This is a bit time consuming, mostly with mixing at the stove. And it will take a day to set up before you can use it.
Alright, let's get started. Boil 4-6c. water in your large sauce pot. That bar of soap? Grate it all down in to little curls. This will make it a little easier to dissolve. You're going to slowly add the soap to the water and stir it to dissolve. If you add the soap too quickly, it'll clump up and end up taking a while to melt. Keep an eye on your heat and keep stirring. If you walk away at this point, your water will boil over.
The water will take on the color of your soap, so if it looks different, don't be alarmed. I used green soap, so my soap soup is green. Once it's all melted, turn your heat down to keep it warm, but not simmering. Add 3 gallons of water to your large bucket. Add your soap soup, washing soda, and borax to the bucket and stir. Then stir some more. Cover your bucket (I used a towel) and let it set for 24 hours.
When you come back to it, it should be a bit of a hard gel - liquid on top, but a very thick jello consistency. I imagine you could scoop from the one giant blob, but I wanted to store mine in smaller containers, and I use an HE washer, so the detergent goes into a dispenser so I needed it a little more fluid. Break out that long handled wooden spoon and start stirring again. I used the spoon to start, but to really get the glob broken up, your best bet is to reach in there with your hands and start squishing. J loved this part - it's extra gross. It took a few minutes, but mine ended up about the consistency of watery scrambled eggs. Using a cut off top of a 2 liter bottle as a funnel, I was able to pour my detergent into just over 3 - 1gal. containers (juice, milk, vinegar, etc.). And that's all there is to it! I use 3/4c to 1 1/2 c per load for clothes, blankets, diapers - everything. Adjust it as needed. It's great for my HE machine because it's virtually suds free.
Here's the really cool thing though: It cost's just a few bucks to make. The borax and washing soda are about $2.50 each and contain enough to make quite a few loads. I've got a stash of bar soap around that I use to scent drawers, so that was "free" - everything else I had around the house. As I mentioned before, I do a LOT of laundry - at least a load a day, usually 2-3. Diapers alone constitute two washes, and I wash them every other day. So, how long has my bucket o'slime lasted me? Well, it's been over 3 weeks and I've used just over half of it. Normally, I would spend $12-15 a month on Tide.
But does it work? YES! Did I mention I wash cloth diapers? A lot of diapers? Really yucky ones? I didn't adjust my wash cycle at all - cold with baking soda and detergent, hot with detergent, hot with detergent, extra rinse with vinegar - and they came out as clean and fresh smelling as they would with the off the shelf brand name detergent. If that doesn't tell you it works, I don't know what would!
Well, there you have it - slime making 101.
Enjoy!
