Mother's Down-home Country Lore

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Need a recipe for a good white laundry soap? Eula Graber of Lincoln City, Oregon begins by melting 4-112 pounds of clean fat, which she boils in water to remove the salt. When the mixture is cool, Eula skims the fat off the top, and "fries" all the water out of it to prevent mold growth.

She next dissolves one can of lye (cover all surrounding surfaces with newspaper, handle the lye with extreme care, and keep children and pets away while working with this dangerous substance) in a porcelain container holding three quarts of cold water combined with one cup of bleach. She then adds 314 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax, and lets the resulting mixture cool.

When the fat and the lye water are the same temperature (though still quite warm), Ms. Graber slowly adds the lye to the fat (be sure to read directions) and stirs. She subsequently mixes the liquid—for periods of 15 minutes—several times during the following 36 hours. The cleaner should then, she says, be allowed to age for two weeks before it's used.

OK. Now it's YOUR turn! We've all come up with some practical, down-home, time-tested solutions to the frustrating little problems that bug us every day. Let's hear YOUR best "horse sense"ideas so we can share 'em and all benefit.

Send your pointers to Down-Home Country Lore, P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28791, and I'll make sure that the most useful of the suggestions will appear in upcoming editions. A one-year subscription—or a one-year extension of an existing subscription—will then be sent to each contributor whose tip does get printed in this column.MOTHER.

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