What do you make at home for cheaper than store bought?

[linguistmama]

I make laundry detergent. It's super easy and works great. Here's the recipe (at the bottom of the post in the cost breakdown). http://thefamilywho.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/laundry-detergent/ My friend who gave me the recipe adds a 55oz bottle of Purex Crystals fabric softener to hers. My husband doesn't like scents so requested I not use it the second time I made a batch. I can honestly say it didn't change anything in how our clothes smell after being dried and how clean they get or how they feel by leaving it out. I've been making a tick mark on a piece of paper for every load of laundry I do. So far we are up to 175 loads and have more than half of the batch left. I spent $20.20 to make the detergent. I was paying $5-6 on sale to get a bottle of detergent that lasted 40-50 loads. I've already about broken even halfway through. (I have a high efficiency washing machine. My recipe works for standard or HE machines.)

What kind of water do you and your friend have? We have hard water and another recipe I tried didn't work well. But it had fewer ingredients and no Oxyclean so I am considering the one you posted as it looks better. :)

[Mom in High Heels]

Martinis

 

 

Hahaha!  You're my kind of person!  I have a friend who makes wine (some have even won awards).  I don't know how she's not blitzed all the time!

[Butter]

What kind of water do you and your friend have? We have hard water and another recipe I tried didn't work well. But it had fewer ingredients and no Oxyclean so I am considering the one you posted as it looks better. :)

 

I have no idea what type of water my friends have, but ours is ridiculously hard.  Most people around here have full house water softeners because of it and a drip of water in a sink ends up with crystals of stuff.  It's really annoying to deal with.  But the detergent works great!

[SamanthaCarter]

I read this whole thread just to see if someone said clothes. So that I could be green with envy. 

 

I don't have the time or talent, but I dream of being able to sew the things that I have in my head that I can never find when I want to buy them. I hate clothes shopping. 

 

Anyway...carry on. 

[LucyStoner]

Fabric to make clothing is usually quite a bit pricier than low cost to moderately priced ready made clothing. One of the oddities of the modern economic system. Cloth isn't in high enough demand here for the supply level to be large enough for an economy of scale. It's a small niche and so prices rise because supplies are limited relative to the past. The fact that ready made clothing is also made with insanely cheap labor drives cloth prices even higher. Clothing has been a shrinking line item in the family budget for 70 years, in part due to changing social norms (my dad didn't wear his play clothes to school or his school clothes to church, even as a 6 year old in the 1940s he had several distinct sets of clothes and at least 1 nice suit, now most kids wear casual clothing to school and church and don't have a suit when grandpa dies) and in part due to the super cheap labor costs for ready made clothing. The exception to this may be super fancy things. It's cheaper to make a fancy dress than pay for a designer label. But we have pretty much given up those skills and most of us can barely make a pillowcase or sew in a button, much less sew a nice dress.

[Butter]

I can sew, and did sew some things for the big two when they were little, but for day to day clothing it's just plain cheaper to buy it rather than make it.  I did make my own formal dance dress when I was 17.  It was much cheaper to make it than buy it.

[Jennifer132]

I would love to make tortillas over buying them!

 

So, for those of you who make yogurt, my burning question is: can you make a thick, creamy, custardy yogurt at home, or is it always thin?

Mine is very thick and creamy (Greek style). I don't strain any whey off at all. Although the first few times I made it, I did, and I found it was because I couldn't keep the yogurt warm enough for long enough while it was culturing. The trick for me is after making it in the crockpot, I preheat my oven to 200 and then turn it off and turn the oven light on. Keeping the oven light on the entire eight hours and having heated the oven a little and let it cool some before putting the yogurt in helps keep the yogurt at just the right temp for it to thicken. Once it cools in the fridge, I stir it and it's even thicker.

[Jennifer132]

Pricing it out I don't think I could save money making yogurt. What kind of milk do you buy for it?

I buy a gallon of whole milk from SAMs (not organic). You only need a little starter, or, if you've already made yogurt, you can save some from that as your starter. So basically 1gallon of yogurt is the same as the cost of a gallon of milk. I also add maple syrup and vanilla for flavor, so my cost goes up to 5.50 ish.

[SamanthaCarter]

Fabric to make clothing is usually quite a bit pricier than low cost to moderately priced ready made clothing. One of the oddities of the modern economic system. Cloth isn't in high enough demand here for the supply level to be large enough for an economy of scale. It's a small niche and so prices rise because supplies are limited relative to the past. The fact that ready made clothing is also made with insanely cheap labor drives cloth prices even lower. Clothing has been a shrinking line item in the family budget for 70 years, in part due to changing social norms (my dad didn't wear his play clothes to school or his school clothes to church, even as a 6 year old in the 1940s he had several distinct sets of clothes and at least 1 nice suit, now most kids wear casual clothing to school and church and don't have a suit when grandpa dies) and in part due to the super cheap labor costs for ready made clothing. The exception to this may be super fancy things. It's cheaper to make a fancy dress than pay for a designer label. But we have pretty much given up those skills and most of us can barely make a pillowcase or sew in a button, much less sew a nice dress.

 

Yes, I do realize this. :( One would have to be doing it for the love of it rather than to save money.

[Guest]

Yes, I do realize this. :( One would have to be doing it for the love of it rather than to save money.

Yes, it is true. I have made several costumes and fancy dresses for dd. I made some casual dresses when she was a baby. For Christmas, I made dressy vests for ds that matched dd's dress. I also made a lot of home goods in the past, such as curtains and baby room accessories. All of these tasks are expensive, but not as expensive as buying those things in a comparable quality. My mom helped me make dd's homecoming dress in 9th grade. It was gorgeous and the materials were only about $55. But generally speaking, it isn't this way for every-day clothing.

 

A good way to use sewing skills with clothing is to re-hab a cheap thrift store find. I have done this from time to time. It's fun and I feel like I'm "beating the system." :)

 

One of my friends is an extraordinary knitter. She makes all kinds of beautiful and functional items. This is a skill I hope to work on in the future; I don't really have time for it right now. But I hope to be knitting things for my grandkids one day.

[LucyStoner]

A good way to use sewing skills with clothing is to re-hab a cheap thrift store find. I have done this from time to time. It's fun and I feel like I'm "beating the system." :)

 

 

I agree with this and wish I was better at sewing.

 

Thrift stores are also great for finding cheap fabric to repurpose for small sewn items.

 

I've also unraveled some nice cheap thrifted sweaters for cheap good wool yarn.

[kubiac]

We've replaced all boxed cereal with homemade granola, which I'm pretty sure works out cheaper.

 

Mark Bittman has a great video on how to make granola, it's incredibly easy:

http://www.nytimes.com/video/dining/1194817105861/making-granola.html

[Ellie]

From what I can gather, tortillas require lard.  I literally keep those sticks of Crisco around just for tortilla making.   Just FYI, some people don't want to ever use lard. 

 

The recipe is:

 

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 Tablespoons shortening

warm water

 

Mix all except water until coarse crumbs form

add 3/4 warm water

knead until smooth

cover and let sit 5 minutes

divide into 8 balls, roll out until they look like a tortilla they will plump up a little when cooked, and cook on ungreased skillet 2 minutes each side(you'll see brown spots on the tortillas), keep the warm ones covered with a towel until ready to eat

 

This is one of those things where you get a feel for if the dough is right and the tortillas are cooked, a recipe doesn't really entirely work.   Kind of like bread, you get a feel for it.  And, if you put the hot tortillas in a bag in the fridge they stay soft, as opposed to cooling them first.

 

So, lard and putting hot items in plastic... :lol:  

 

There must also be a recipe for corn tortillas, since you use corn tortillas for different things than you do flour tortillas. And corn tortillas don't use lard. :-)

 

This one looks good.

[DesertBlossom]

Heat milk to 180 degrees.

 

Cool to 110 degrees.

 

Stir in starter (I use 1 container yobaby organic vanilla for 1/2 gallon of milk).

 

I also prefer vanilla to plain, so I add 3 tbsp. vanilla + 3/4 c. Sugar. If you want plain, make sure your starter is also plain.

 

Pour into jars, put on lid, place into cooler, add a couple inches of hot water (from tap is fine) to bottom of cooler, close lid. I make mine at night so that the cooler isn't being bumped into throughout the day, in the morning I put the jars into the fridge.

 

This is what I do, but I do it in the crock pot. I put 1/2 gallon of milk in the crock pot with my kitchen thermometer in it. It takes about 3 hours to heat up and not nearly as long to cool back down. For starter, I buy a quart of plain yogurt and use 1/2 cup.  Then I place the crock in the oven with the just the oven light on for 8-9 hours. And it's done.

 

I add 3/4 cup of sugar and then blended fruit, usually strawberry or the "triple berry" from the bag I get at Costco. 

[Deb in NZ]

You can find the recipe to make almost anything on Pinterest.  Of course I usually spend more time pinning that making though.  I have gotten some great recipes, including the taco seasoning and dry ranch.  I also found several good recipes for laundry soap.  My favorite one though is a bit time consuming, but really no more than grating bars.

 

2c washing soda

2c borax (this can be left out)

1/2c Dr Bronner's liquid soap (I use the non-scented)

10-12 drops essential oil (I use lemon or lemon grass)

 

Mix the washing soda and borax well, then pour the liquid over it.  Let it sit for a while, until the soap has soaked into the dry ingredients.  This takes about 15-20mins.  After that, use a potato masher to mash the lumps down in the powder, so it's fine, which can take time, then stir to mix well.  Add oils if you want.

 

 

This looks better & easier than other recipes I've previously tried.  How well does it dissolve in cold water washes?  Do you need the essential oils if you used the scented Dr. Bronner's liquid soap?  I have the tea tree Dr. Bronner's that would make a good germ-fighting laundry soap.

[Amira]

Corn tortillas don't require lard, but they really do need a tortilla press or a lot of practice to slap them out by hand. They're pretty easy to make with masa harina although that's a sorry substitute for fresh masa. If you live near a Mexican grocery, ask for fresh masa (it'll look like yellow dough) and use that because they're really quick and easy to make with fresh masa. You can probably pick up a tortilla press at one too.

 

If you can find fresh masa, there are about a million different things you can do with it. One of our favorites has been to mix it with potatoes and make something like latkes.

[SamanthaCarter]

You can find the recipe to make almost anything on Pinterest.  Of course I usually spend more time pinning that making though.  I have gotten some great recipes, including the taco seasoning and dry ranch.  I also found several good recipes for laundry soap.  My favorite one though is a bit time consuming, but really no more than grating bars.

 

2c washing soda

2c borax (this can be left out)

1/2c Dr Bronner's liquid soap (I use the non-scented)

10-12 drops essential oil (I use lemon or lemon grass)

 

Mix the washing soda and borax well, then pour the liquid over it.  Let it sit for a while, until the soap has soaked into the dry ingredients.  This takes about 15-20mins.  After that, use a potato masher to mash the lumps down in the powder, so it's fine, which can take time, then stir to mix well.  Add oils if you want.

 

This might be a crazy question, but do you think I could mix this in my food processor (probably a half batch)? I'm pretty much an All Free and Clear + borax girl, but if making my own was super easy. I'd try it at least once. 

[Angie in VA]

Coconut milk and flour. 

 

.Oh, ice cream. 

 

Talk to me of your coconut milk and flour, please!

[Angie in VA]

I haven't gone crazy yet, but I'm working on doing more homemade stuff.  Currently I make:

 

Laundry Detergent

Glass Cleaner

Breads for dinner, not loaf sandwich bread

Hot Pockets-these are a little time consuming, but everyone loves them

Pancakes

Muffins

Dry "ranch" dressing

Taco seasoning

Pop Tarts

Dry 'cream of soup' mix

 

Yes, I should go look on Pinterest, but I'd like your expertise on the poptarts, dry ranch dressing and the hot pockets! 

[Angie in VA]

I need to get back to my bread baking. I love my homemade pizza dough, especially during baseball season, when I can just pull it out of the fridge and it rises during practice or a game, then we make pizza when we get home.

 

I make the following cleaners:

 

Clean Shower (I add a drop or two of lemon essential oil)

 

Clorox Clean Up (rarely used)

 

Windex (I add white vinegar b/c I want to, lol)

 

We are Chipotle die hards here, but we make a mean chicken fajita burrito at home. Cheap, easy, and yummy. Not as good at the real thing, but good enough.

 

I have only colored my hair myself and for the past 13 months I have cut my own hair. I'm sure it looks like I do it myself, lol, but I don't see too much difference and my hair grows so fast, I have saved a good bit of money. I just need to remember to tip myself. ;)

 

I love these threads. 

 

[Prairie~Phlox]

Lard is awesome, it's natural, unlike shortening, which is processed.  I used to buy shortening, until dh did some reading on it and told me not to buy it anymore.

 

I make a bunch of stuff, can, freeze, preserve.  Some of it's not cheaper, but it tastes a lot better and is better for us.

We don't eat organic, but I do the best I can with what we have and I love to cook & bake.

[Desert Strawberry]

I read this whole thread just to see if someone said clothes. So that I could be green with envy. 

 

I don't have the time or talent, but I dream of being able to sew the things that I have in my head that I can never find when I want to buy them. I hate clothes shopping. 

 

Anyway...carry on. 

 

I didn't include it, but yeah. I do.The price of fabric sort of cancels out the cost savings of sewing one's own, but there are factors at play. 

 

The quality of what I sew is MUCH higher than anything I find at the store. I'm a low budget shopper, sticking to discount stores and the like. I did a fact-finding mission to the mall to see what higher quality clothing looks and feels like. I was STUNNED by the poor quality of both fabrics and sewing. Truly. It was awful. I want my clothes to last for years, not until they go out of style next season. I think in order to match the quality of what I make, I'd have to hire a custom seamstress, and, well, that would be me. 

 

I use recycled fabrics. The dress I'm wearing now is made from a bed sheet that was donated to the charity that D's GMA volunteers for. She keeps me well supplied with free fabrics. The skirt that I'm wearing in my avatar is made from one of my husband's swag t shirts. So, pretty much, everything I sew is free. 

 

I choose my own style and fit. I like simpler styles than is typically available. I dress in plain, classic, simple, flowy clothes. If that happens to be style that season, I'm in luck. But if it's not, I get nothing. It's easier for me to choose what I like and make it myself. 

[Desert Strawberry]

There must also be a recipe for corn tortillas, since you use corn tortillas for different things than you do flour tortillas. And corn tortillas don't use lard. :-)

 

This one looks good.

Corn tortillas are just masa and water ( of fresh masa, if you are lucky enough to have access to it). The press is the thing. 

 

I like to make pupusas, which just a thick, fried corn tortilla. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa

[mommymilkies]

I used to make more.  I've been rather lazy lately. :p

 

Pizza

Bread

Costumes (sometimes!!)

Household cleaners

Face wash/lotions

Beeswax candles

Granola

[Desert Strawberry]

I was skimming through my blog and thought of a bunch more. 

 

Play doh and any other kind of dough. These are SUPER easy to make, cheap and unstinky. They are fun to mix up. I store the Play dough in the fridge to prevent mold, but Moon dough, cloud dough, and slime are fine in the cupboard. 

Slime is white glue, borax, water and color. Fun to mix, fun to play with, unless color options. 

All kinds of paints. 
Water colors are just a dot of food coloring in a small dish of water. 
Fingerpaints are corn starch, water and dot of food coloring. Thin it out a bit more, and you have tempera/gel paint. 
Puffy paint is flour, water and a tiny dot of food coloring. 

 

I spent less than $10 on a box of gel colors that will last approximately 10 years. 

 

Toddler and preschool games. 
Lots of $$ Montessori and sensory type games can be recreated at home with simple items or dollar store finds. 
$1 plastic links

$1 cardboard coasters in the shape of sandwich fillings and cookies
Pom poms and small dishes, with chopsticks or tweezers
Assorted small dishes, water, and a spoon
A box of rice, salt, dry beans, with a tiny sand toys or a writing implements

We have a 6 foot closet filled with these kind of open-ended toys and games. The whole set up cost MAYBE $50 including play dough toys and purchased puzzles and learning toys. 

 

Free online printable games
There are a surprising number of word searches, word puzzles, math games, dice games, card games, logic puzzles, matching games, coloring sheets, and printable crafts for all levels. 
Printable photo props make a fun craft and dress ups. 
 

Simple homemade toys like a button on a string have entertained children for hundreds of years. I make a lot of these types of things for holiday gifts. 

 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

Ooh, also higher end/more expensive/ unavailable ethnic foods.

 

Sushi-much easier than you think. We still do take out when we want something lavish, but if I'm just craving some avocado rolls, I can make those for next to nothing.

Salmon and steak- we almost never eat these, but when we want to indulge, it's SO much cheaper to buy a good quality cut and prepare it at home than to go out for dinner. 

Hummus-$4 an ounce for mediocre quality at the grocery store. Homemade is fast, easy, cheap, and delicious, without scary preservatives. 

 

One that I don't think we normally think of is water. 
We use a Brita filter instead of buying bottled water. The filter set up was $20 and lasts about 3 months. We go through a lot of water. 
My kids and I each have a Kleen Kanteen bottle that they can refill and take with us. 
I have a case of emergency bottled water in the car. A case is around $3. A single bottle at most events runs almost that much. 
 

[ocelotmom]

Talk to me of your coconut milk and flour, please!

 

Heat water. It doesn't need to be boiling - if your sink has good hot water, hot tap water is fine. Put unsweetened shredded coconut in the blender. Pour in the hot water. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes. It doesn't matter exactly how long, just as long as the water doesn't cool to room temp (you want it warm enough for the oil to be liquid). Blend for several minutes, then pour through a fine strainer, cheesecloth, nut milk bag, or something similar to strain out the coconut fibers.

 

If you want, you can put the coconut back in the blender, add some more hot water, and blend again to extract more milk. It'll be thinner than the first batch.

 

The result is not going to be anywhere near as thick as canned milk (which is made from fresh coconut and, I believe, cooked for a while to concentrate it), but it works for most of what we use it for (we don't use dairy milk, so it's our standard dairy replacement). I use canned if I'm making ice cream or something.

 

I haven't given exact amounts because it's going to depend on blender capacity and personal preference. I use about 1/4 cup of coconut to 2 cups of water (1:8 ratio), but that makes it pretty thin. A lot of people use a 1:2 or 1:4 ratio. Exact cost is also going to depend on how much coconut you're using. I don't think even 1:2 is going to get it as thick as canned milk, though.

 

It'll develop a solid layer on top as it cools. If you shake it from time to time as it cools, it won't set up. I usually just blend it with an immersion blender to mix it up again. You can also blend an egg yolk in and that acts as an emulsifier (store-bought lecithin should work, too), but the kids don't like that, so I don't do it often.

 

I started out doing this using a blender, but switched to using a soymilk machine because the blender process is kind of a pain so I wasn't doing it as often as needed. The machine has proven worth the cost for us, but is definitely not necessary.

 

For the flour, dehydrate the fiber left over from making coconut milk. This is foolproof if you have a food dehydrator, but you can apparently also do it in the oven. When it's dry, it'll be all clumpy, so run it through a blender or food processor or grain mill or something. Coconut flour recipes usually call for much less coconut flour than if you were using wheat flour. I've found that this isn't true of my homemade flour - it's more of a one to one replacement.  

 

I save the pulp up in a container in the freezer until I have enough to fill up the dehydrator.

[Angie in VA]

Heat water. It doesn't need to be boiling - if your sink has good hot water, hot tap water is fine. Put unsweetened shredded coconut in the blender. Pour in the hot water. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes. It doesn't matter exactly how long, just as long as the water doesn't cool to room temp (you want it warm enough for the oil to be liquid). Blend for several minutes, then pour through a fine strainer, cheesecloth, nut milk bag, or something similar to strain out the coconut fibers.

 

If you want, you can put the coconut back in the blender, add some more hot water, and blend again to extract more milk. It'll be thinner than the first batch.

 

The result is not going to be anywhere near as thick as canned milk (which is made from fresh coconut and, I believe, cooked for a while to concentrate it), but it works for most of what we use it for (we don't use dairy milk, so it's our standard dairy replacement). I use canned if I'm making ice cream or something.

 

I haven't given exact amounts because it's going to depend on blender capacity and personal preference. I use about 1/4 cup of coconut to 2 cups of water (1:8 ratio), but that makes it pretty thin. A lot of people use a 1:2 or 1:4 ratio. Exact cost is also going to depend on how much coconut you're using. I don't think even 1:2 is going to get it as thick as canned milk, though.

 

It'll develop a solid layer on top as it cools. If you shake it from time to time as it cools, it won't set up. I usually just blend it with an immersion blender to mix it up again. You can also blend an egg yolk in and that acts as an emulsifier (store-bought lecithin should work, too), but the kids don't like that, so I don't do it often.

 

I started out doing this using a blender, but switched to using a soymilk machine because the blender process is kind of a pain so I wasn't doing it as often as needed. The machine has proven worth the cost for us, but is definitely not necessary.

 

For the flour, dehydrate the fiber left over from making coconut milk. This is foolproof if you have a food dehydrator, but you can apparently also do it in the oven. When it's dry, it'll be all clumpy, so run it through a blender or food processor or grain mill or something. Coconut flour recipes usually call for much less coconut flour than if you were using wheat flour. I've found that this isn't true of my homemade flour - it's more of a one to one replacement.  

 

I save the pulp up in a container in the freezer until I have enough to fill up the dehydrator.

 

Thank you so much!

 

I didn't ask about the ice cream recipe, but you know I want that too, right? Does it involve freezing the coconut milk in ice cube trays and putting them in a blender w/ more coconut milk, sweetener and vanilla?

[ocelotmom]

Thank you so much!

 

I didn't ask about the ice cream recipe, but you know I want that too, right? Does it involve freezing the coconut milk in ice cube trays and putting them in a blender w/ more coconut milk, sweetener and vanilla?

 

Basically. Blend a can of coconut milk and whatever else I want to add, then pour it in the ice cream maker. If you make ice cream regularly, an ice cream maker is a great investment. We have this one, and just store the cylinder in the freezer so that it's ready whenever we want it.

[mommymilkies]

Fabric to make clothing is usually quite a bit pricier than low cost to moderately priced ready made clothing. One of the oddities of the modern economic system. Cloth isn't in high enough demand here for the supply level to be large enough for an economy of scale. It's a small niche and so prices rise because supplies are limited relative to the past. The fact that ready made clothing is also made with insanely cheap labor drives cloth prices even higher. Clothing has been a shrinking line item in the family budget for 70 years, in part due to changing social norms (my dad didn't wear his play clothes to school or his school clothes to church, even as a 6 year old in the 1940s he had several distinct sets of clothes and at least 1 nice suit, now most kids wear casual clothing to school and church and don't have a suit when grandpa dies) and in part due to the super cheap labor costs for ready made clothing. The exception to this may be super fancy things. It's cheaper to make a fancy dress than pay for a designer label. But we have pretty much given up those skills and most of us can barely make a pillowcase or sew in a button, much less sew a nice dress.

 

I agree.  We hit up the sale remnants and we upcycle a lot of things-old shirts, pajama pants, etc.  Wool or natural fiber sweaters at thrift shops make great mittens, scarves, diaper covers, and leg warmers. :)  

 

Mine is very thick and creamy (Greek style). I don't strain any whey off at all. Although the first few times I made it, I did, and I found it was because I couldn't keep the yogurt warm enough for long enough while it was culturing. The trick for me is after making it in the crockpot, I preheat my oven to 200 and then turn it off and turn the oven light on. Keeping the oven light on the entire eight hours and having heated the oven a little and let it cool some before putting the yogurt in helps keep the yogurt at just the right temp for it to thicken. Once it cools in the fridge, I stir it and it's even thicker.

Good tips!  My recipe has been very hit or miss.  Do you have a link or written out recipe to share, by chance?

[Jennifer132]

I agree. We hit up the sale remnants and we upcycle a lot of things-old shirts, pajama pants, etc. Wool or natural fiber sweaters at thrift shops make great mittens, scarves, diaper covers, and leg warmers. :)

 

Good tips! My recipe has been very hit or miss. Do you have a link or written out recipe to share, by chance?

Here's my recipe...I tried various online ones, but have kind of adapted them over time:

 

Supplies:

Crockpot

Mason jars

Oven with working bulb

Whole milk (do not use ultra pastuerized)

Maple syrup or honey to sweeten

Vanilla extract

Some kind of yogurt starter (yogurt with live active cultures, either store bought or homemade)

Kitchen thermometer

 

Pour 1 gallon of milk into crockpot. Using a meat thermometer heat the milk to 180 (approx. 2-3 hours). I have used low or high depending on how fast I want it to cook and it's been fine for me either way, but you know your crockpot, so if it tends to burn on high, low is safer. Also, you can use any amount of milk, just adjust your sweeteners for less milk.

 

Add your sweeteners if desired. You can add them at any point, but I add them in the beginning or when I stop by and see my milk is somewhat heated. For 1 gallon, I use 1/4 cup maple syrup and 2-4 tbls of vanilla. You can opt for more or less, it's totally up to you.

 

When the milk hits 180, turn the crockpot off and pour the milk into mason jars. It will be hot, so be careful. I line my jars up on a kitchen towel and dip a measuring cup into the milk and then use that pour it into jars. Put the meat thermometer in one of the jars and wait for it to hit 110-115. My thermometer only goes down to 120, so I just eyeball it after that point. You can then check the temps in all the jars with the thermometer, but since they are hopefully all the same size, they should all be near the same temp. sometimes my milk gets a "skin" on it after cooling. I use a fork and take it off. I have no idea if this is necessary! :)

 

Preheat your oven to 200 and flip the oven light to on. It doesn't need to reach 200, this is just to warm it up a bit. leave it on for a few minutes, then just shut it off, but leave the oven light on.

 

Take your starter (I use Activia vanilla yogurt or Oikos vanilla, or left over homemade yogurt). The important thing is that it has live active cultures. I use about 1/2 to 3/4 a 4 ounce container for 1 gallon of yogurt. I take a regular kitchen spoon (like something you'd eat a bowl of cereal with) and I scoop up some starter and add it to each jar and stir gently. I do it this way vs putting all my starter in the crockpot and then dividing into jars because I can ensure that each jar gets the same amount of starter. I'd say it's around a tbls of starter per jar.

 

Put the lids on, and place them on a tray in the oven with the oven light on. I do not place them too near the light, just in the center of the oven.

 

Wait eight hours. Longer if you like it more sour, but I find eight is plenty for us. Turn off the oven light, load the jars in the fridge and cool.

 

When cooled completely, you can opt to stir them. Some times after I remove them from the oven, my yogurt will be solid, but has a watery looking ring around the inside of the jar. This disappears after cooling completely.

 

Enjoy! :)

[SparklyUnicorn]

I buy a gallon of whole milk from SAMs (not organic). You only need a little starter, or, if you've already made yogurt, you can save some from that as your starter. So basically 1gallon of yogurt is the same as the cost of a gallon of milk. I also add maple syrup and vanilla for flavor, so my cost goes up to 5.50 ish.

 

So you get a gallon of yogurt from a gallon of milk?  Maybe that's the dumbest question ever.  LOL  I don't like runny yogurt though so what about something like Greek style yogurt? 

[aug17girl]

This thread reminded me of an old post on slate.com about the cost effectiveness of making a number of items:  http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2009/04/scratch_that.html

[umsami]

So you get a gallon of yogurt from a gallon of milk?  Maybe that's the dumbest question ever.  LOL  I don't like runny yogurt though so what about something like Greek style yogurt? 

 

I was wondering that too. I always thought yogurt was like cheese….you put in a lot of milk, but get a far smaller output. :)

[Amira]

That's one of the great things about yogurt. You put in a gallon of milk, you get a gallon of yogurt. You only lose the whey if you drain it.

[Desert Strawberry]

I was wondering that too. I always thought yogurt was like cheese….you put in a lot of milk, but get a far smaller output. :)

Cheese making involves stripping out the whey and moisture from milk, and concentrating down the casein, leaving less than half of the original volume.

Yogurt making only ferments the whole milk, removing nothing unless you strain it for Greek yogurt-which should closely resemble cream cheese. Everything stays there, just thickens and develops some tang. 

Whole fat yogurt is naturally sweet and creamy. Nothing like the sour, runny mess you find at the grocery store.

[Upennmama]

I make yogurt in my yogurt maker, roughly twice a week I make a gallon (my kids like yogurt a lot!). A gallon of milk makes a gallon of yogurt, and I use only whole milk. I don't add any gelatin or dry milk or anything, and it's perfectly thick. thicker than regular store bought yogurt, not as thick as greek. I could strain it to make greek, but that's annoying and messy and then there's less output. A gallon of milk costs about 4.15 here, so 4 quarts of yogurt for 4.15. Normally a quart of regular vanilla yogurt with aspartame and preservatives and stuff costs around 2.50 minimum, and the good stuff (stonyfield farm or trader joe's) costs more like 4 bucks a quart. So I'm saving significantly. My method is the same as the other posters, except the yogurt maker keeps the temp consistent. 

[SJ.]

I make laundry detergent.  It's super easy and works great.  Here's the recipe (at the bottom of the post in the cost breakdown).  http://thefamilywho.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/laundry-detergent/  My friend who gave me the recipe adds a 55oz bottle of Purex Crystals fabric softener to hers.  My husband doesn't like scents so requested I not use it the second time I made a batch.  I can honestly say it didn't change anything in how our clothes smell after being dried and how clean they get or how they feel by leaving it out.  I've been making a tick mark on a piece of paper for every load of laundry I do.  So far we are up to 175 loads and have more than half of the batch left.  I spent $20.20 to make the detergent.  I was paying $5-6 on sale to get a bottle of detergent that lasted 40-50 loads.  I've already about broken even halfway through.  (I have a high efficiency washing machine.  My recipe works for standard or HE machines.)

 

I am interested in making laundry soap and checked out the recipe you posted.  Sounds easy enough but it doesn't list how much of the soap you use per load..?

[Joanne]

Nothing, really. It's not worth my time given my context and challenges.

 

My two luxuries beyond that are: Starbucks and smart phones. After some things get stabilized and established, I am thinking of hiring a once a week maid.

 

However, I do use re-usable baskets in my Keurig. When I don't use my Keurig, I use a French Press. I make our bathroom and kitchen cleaners with Dr. Bronners, essential oils, and reusable clothes. I prefer making my own greek-consistency yogurt by buying full fat plain Dannon and straining it. I add mashed fruit or sugar free syrup or sugar free jam.

 

I use Witch Hazel on my face.

 

If my life were different in terms of time?

Probably nothing would change towards making my own.

 

 

 

[linguistmama]

I am interested in making laundry soap and checked out the recipe you posted.  Sounds easy enough but it doesn't list how much of the soap you use per load..?

 

This post says 2 Tablespoons per load.  :)

[Butter]

I am interested in making laundry soap and checked out the recipe you posted.  Sounds easy enough but it doesn't list how much of the soap you use per load..?

 

About 2 tablespoons.  The first time I made it I used the Purex Crystals so I refill that to make it convenient to dispense regularly rather than having to repeatedly open the bucket I store it in.  The cap of that container has little markings in it and I fill about to the second mark which is around 2 tablespoons.  I'm not overly accurate in how much I use.

[jengjohnson]

This is a great post, I'm learning so much! 

 

We brew our own beer :cheers2:

[ZeeMommy]

You can use Palm oil instead of lard or Crisco. It's sometimes labelled as transfat free shortening or vegan ghee.

 

I use coconut oil when I make tortillas - tastes just fine. 

[ZeeMommy]

Homemade tortillas

Window cleaner and all purpose cleaner

Dried apple slices

Jam

Canned beans (green and other)

Applesauce

Window valences

Salad dressing (balsamic, creamy herby, just tried to make French)

Wine (concord grape, am trying to make plum right now)

Lip/body balm, anti-jock itch ointment for husband

 

Mind you, I don't make these on a weekly basis, more on as-needed basis, or when I have the ingredients that need to be processed (like apples or grapes or plums).

 

Some things, even if it was cheaper for me to make, I'd rather leave to the "experts" to do it for me!  Especially if someone can make it better than I can myself (like bread).

 

Does making babies count?  :leaving:

 

 

[Audrey]

Any food I make or grow myself saves me money over store-bought, but...

 

It takes an inordinate amount of time to grow/raise/process that much food to feed the family and in-laws all year long, and quite honestly, I am sick and $@#%!*& tired of that much work all the time.  So, I'm scaling back on that a lot.  It will mean less change in my pocket, but also less bitterness of that burden.