Transfer the wood ash you’ve collected in your metal buckets to the barrel. Shovel the wood ash over top of the straw. Fill the barrel to within 4 inches (10 cm) of the top of the barrel. Mount the barrel on sturdy blocks so the holes underneath are accessible. The barrel has to be high enough off the ground to accommodate a bucket underneath.   You can also mount the barrel inside an open wooden frame. Make sure the barrel is sturdy and will not fall over. Place a lye-safe bucket under the holes in the barrel. This bucket will catch the lye water, so it has to be a lye-safe material. Acceptable bucket materials include:  Glass Stainless steel Number 5 plastics Heavy-duty plastic Slowly add rainwater to the barrel by the bucketful. You want to add enough water in total to make the ashes wet, but not soaking. If you start to see the water line at the top of the bucket and the ashes are starting to float, stop adding water.  Pay attention to how many bucketfuls of water you add. This will give you an idea of how many buckets of lye water to expect from the barrel. You don’t have to put a lid on the barrel, but make sure that it’s protected from rain in case you get a storm. Lye is very caustic and corrosive. It burns skin, causes blindness, and can damage organic tissue and inorganic materials. When working with lye and lye water, it’s very important to be extremely careful and to wear personal safety equipment, including:  Goggles Hard shoes or boots Elbow-length plastic gloves After a few hours, the first run of lye water will start to trickle out from the holes in the bottom of the barrel. Let the bucket underneath fill up to within 4 inches (10 cm) of the top of the bucket. When the bucket is full, carefully remove it from under the barrel. Be careful not to spill the lye water. Replace the bucket with a fresh one to catch the rest of the water. Your lye water has to be a certain strength before you can use it to make soap. The lye water will probably not be ready after a single run, but you can test it. There are four different tests you can use to test the strength of the lye:  Use pH test strips. You're looking for a pH of 13. Use a pH meter to see if the pH is at 13. Place a small potato in the lye water. If it sinks, the lye isn't strong enough. If it floats, the lye is ready. Dip a chicken feather into the lye. If the feather doesn’t dissolve, the lye isn't strong enough yet. Most lye water solutions will have to be run through the ash barrel at least a second time. If your lye wasn’t strong enough after the first run, carefully pour all the lye water back into the ash barrel. Be extremely careful not to spill or splash the lye water, as it can burn your skin.  Replace a bucket under the holes in the barrel. Let the water drain through the ashes again. The lye water that comes out the second time will be stronger. When all the lye water has drained through a second time, test the pH again. Run the lye water through again if necessary.

Summary: Fill the barrel with wood ash. Prop the barrel up on sturdy blocks. Position the bucket. Pour rainwater over the ash. Put on your personal safety equipment. Collect the water that drains out. Test the strength. Run the water through again until it’s strong enough.


Its app icon resembles a white "X" on a dark-green background. This white icon is in the upper-left side of the Excel "New" page. Skip this step on a Mac. Type the following headers into the following cells:   A1 - Type in Day   B1 - Type in Week 1   C1 - Type in Week 2  You'll add Week [number] in the D1, E1, and F1 (if necessary) cells as well. If you observe overtime, you can add an Overtime heading in cell C1 for Week 1, cell E1 for Week 2, and so on. In cells A2 through A8, type in Sunday through Saturday in order. Type Rate into cell A9, then enter the rate per hour in cell B9. For example, if the rate is $15.25 per hour, you'll type 15.25 into cell B9. Type Total into cell A10. This is where the total number of hours worked will go. If you want to use overtime as well, type Overtime into A11 and enter the overtime rate into B11. This formula will add up the hours worked from Sunday through Saturday and then multiply the sum by the rate. To do this:  Click the Week 1 "Total" cell, which should be B10. Type in =sum(B2:B8)*B9 and press ↵ Enter. To do so, simply copy the formula that you entered for Week 1, then paste it into the "Total" row below your selected week and replace the B2:B8 section with your week's column letter (e.g., C2:C8).  If you're using overtime, you can use this formula to calculate overtime by replacing the B9 value with B11. For example, if your Week 1 "Overtime" column is in column C, you'd enter =sum(C2:C8)*B11 into cell C10. If you're using overtime, you can create a "Final Total" section by typing Final Total into cell A12, typing =sum(B10,C10) into cell B12, and repeating for each "Week [number]" column with the correct column letters. Enter the hours worked for each day in the "Week 1" column. You should see the hours and the respective amount earned total up at the bottom of your sheet in the "Total" section. If you have overtime enabled, fill out this column as well. The "Final Total" section will change to reflect the regular wages and the overtime combined. To do so:   Windows - Click File, click Save As, double-click This PC, click a save location on the left side of the window, type the document's name (e.g., "January Time Sheet") into the "File name" text box, and click Save.  Mac - Click File, click Save As..., enter the document's name (e.g., "January Time Sheet") in the "Save As" field, select a save location by clicking the "Where" box and clicking a folder, and click Save.
Summary: Open Microsoft Excel. Click Blank workbook. Enter your headers. Enter your days of the week. Add a rate. Add a "Total" row. Enter the formula for Week 1. Enter the formula for the remaining weeks. Fill out the time sheet. Save your time sheet.