Homemade Laundry Soap Good for Septic, Drain Fields and HE Washers

We (and by that, I mean Claudia from our Ocean Shore location) found a great recipe for homemade laundry soap.

A few reasons we like this approach: It's non-toxic; safe for septic tanks and drain fields; it saves you money; and it's perfect for HE washers!

Supplies

1. 1 Bar (or 4.5 oz) of Fels-Naptha (fine grated) [SKU# 1253129]
2. 1 Cup of Washing Soda [SKU# 1380013]
3. 1 Cup Borax [SKU # 1253301]
4. Grater (for shaving the Fels-Naptha bar)

Directions

1. Shave 1 bar of Fels-Naptha
2. Add 1 cup of Borax
3. Add 1 cup of washing soda
4. Stir thoroughly (stirring is complete when you have a fine powder)

Use 1 Tbsp per load (2Tbsp for heavily soiled loads)
1 recipe make 16oz which is 32 loads!

This soap is a “low suds” soap, so it’s perfect for High Efficiency (HE) Washers. Ingredients are non-toxic, containing ZERO phosphates, ZERO fillers (like clay) that clog lines, or harm necessary septic tank bacteria.

Caution!
DO NOT confuse Borax with Boric Acid, they are NOT the same thing! Boric Acid should NOT be used!

Original recipe from diynatural.com

Night of Lights, Half Moon Bay, 2012

The annual Half Moon Bay Night of Lights was a success again this year. We intend to be more prepared next year so that we can participate, but we had fun spectating this year.

Here's what we saw:

What Kind of Paintbrush to Use

Fall is here! That is, if you count the slanted sunlight and slightly cooler nights of the last few days, as opposed to the summer-like hot days. Or if you count Labor Day having come and gone and most everyone (except those on the quarter system) back in school.

This is the time of year I think about all those fun ways to use paint - on floors, with stencils on walls or ceilings, as accents on furniture, my list goes on and on.

One thing I've learned about painting (okay, two things) it's all in the preparation and the brushes.

Working for a group of hardware stores has it's advantages, but I actually learned about brushes from AceHardware.com and Lou Manfredini:

"Paintbrushes come in two major varieties and each has a place in your toolbox:

• Natural - fiber bristle brushes are made from animal hair. The most common is hog hair, which is labeled "China bristle." These are used for oil paint and solvent-thinned finishes only, since water-based paints will absorb into the bristles and leave them limp and mop like.


• Synthetic - fiber bristles are the choice for latex paint and water-based finishes. These contain fibers made of nylon or polyester. Generally, they are less expensive than natural fibers. The fibers are hollow, which is why after cleaning they continue to leak paint-tinged liquid."

Good brushes (and the right ones for the job) will help you create the look you want whether you're painting an entire room or just a small accent.

Core Values and Funky Ties

Here's our Ocean Shore team showing off their team spirit and their core values with some seriously funky ties!

Lavender Lemonade

[caption id="attachment_281" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="Lavender Lemonade"][/caption]

I was poking around Pinterest, in the name of finding fun things that can be made with ingredients from ACE - have I mentioned I love my job?

I found lots of fun projects including painted plastic animal figurines as place settings, mason jar lanterns and decorated chalkboards. And then I came across Lavender Lemonade.

Now, if you're anything like me (or even nothing like me, really) you probably like lavender. And if your mom is anything like mine, you know that people actually cook with lavender. As an herb. Imagine!

So when I saw that there was such a thing as lemonade enhanced with a bit of lavender simple syrup, I actually took pause and thanked the elves at Pinterest for placing this delicacy in my path.

Then, I promptly copied the URL for the recipe and was about to email it to my mother, when I thought, wait. There are way more people who need to know about this. And so, I share it with you.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar
About ¼ cup fresh lavender blooms, stripped from their stems*
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained.

DIRECTIONS

1. Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar with 2 ½ cups water in a saucepan and boiling until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add the lavender blooms and cover. Let stand for 1 hour, or up to 4 hours. Strain syrup and discard lavender.


2. Pour lavender syrup into a pitcher. Add lemon juice and 2 ½ cups water. Stir, taste, and adjust to your liking, adding more lemon juice or water if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

* Culinary lavender can be found in farmer’s markets if you aren’t lucky enough to have some growing behind your garage.

Note: If you’d like to make Pink Lemonade, add a splash of grenadine.

Recipe and Image taken directly from Shindig411.com, credited originally to Elizabethwgiftbaskets.com though I couldn't find the recipe or the image on that site.

- Jocelyn Broyles

FREE Paint Saturday

We're debuting our new line of paint and primer in one, CLARK + KENSINGTON - exceptionally high quality at an exceptionally reasonable price. Come in on Saturday, March 3 for a FREE quart!

Participating locations:

Willow Glen ACE Hardware
2253 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, CA 95125
408-267-0223
Saturday: 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

Palo Alto ACE Hardware
875 Alma Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
650-327-7222
Saturday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Wisnom's ACE Hardware
545 First Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401
650-348-1082
Saturday: 8 am – 6 pm

Ocean Shore ACE Hardware
111 Main St., Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650-726-5505
Saturday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Clark + Kensington Now at ACE

Check out this exclusive line of paint and primer in one, with the not-so-exclusive price. Now at ACE.

http://youtu.be/_jGQu7B4RNY

Craftsman Tool Chest Winner at Wisnom's

We ran a fabulous contest for a free Craftsman Tool Chest the day after Thanksgiving. Our Wisnom's ACE Hardware winner is Greg Woods from San Mateo; and our Palo Alto store had an out-of-town winner, Bill Oldroyd.  Congratulations, Greg and Bill!

[caption id="attachment_27" align="alignnone" width="207" caption="Bill Oldoryd"][/caption]