DIY recipes and tips

Over the last couple of months, I have collected some recipes and useful tips for things that I want to share.  Here they are.

• Paint Remover - Believe it or not, rubbing alcohol, like you buy in the drug store, will remove old paint from stained wood work.  Our house out here on the farm was built back in the 70s.  It has been through several owners, at least one of whom did a really bad job of trying to paint.  Upstairs, especially, there are a lot of places where paint from the walls was slopped on the stained oak woodwork and not wiped off before it dried.  This is one of those things that has really irritated me, but I've not known what to do other than paint the woodwork.  Well, I was talking to a professional painter the other day who told me that rubbing alcohol would take the paint off.  I was skeptical of this until I tried it and it really does work!  For thick paint, it is best to wet it good with alcohol and let it set for a minute or two.  Then, with a little bit of rubbing, the paint will come right off.
• Laundry Detergent - You can make your own laundry detergent using a bar of Ivory soap, 1/2 cup of Washing Soda and 1/2 cup of Borax.  Here's how you do it: Recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent  I had some trouble finding the washing soda.  This recipe shows a box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda that looks almost like a box of baking soda.  I figured I could find it at Walmart.  I looked all over the laundry detergent and cleaning section, but I could only find Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.  It was in a large box, like the one pictured in this recipe, and I almost bought it until I realized it said Baking and not Washing.  These are two very different things!  I finally found it at our local Consumers IGA store.
• Homemade Yogurt - It is easy to make your own yogurt.  The ingredients are easy.  The tricky part is regulating the temperature and keeping it at a steady temperature while it "cures".  However, with a thermometer and a little bit of patience, you can do it!  If you search the internet, you can find many different recipes.  Here's the one I used:  Homemade Yogurt  There are two different recipes here.  I used the one in which you add a quarter cup of maple syrup.  This gave the yogurt a slightly sweet taste, but not real sweet.  Here is another good recipe that has some good tips for regulating and maintaining the temperature:  Another Yogurt Recipe