Monday, June 27, 2011

{Homemade (liquid) Laundry Detergent}

As some of you may already know, William & I try to be as frugal as possible in many areas. But not only frugal, we like it to be for a reason too. For example, I have made all of our household cleaners since the day we got married because, one, its cheap, & two, I think we feel better not having the harsh chemicals in our home. {& they work just as well, if not better, than store bought cleaners} I think i will begin sharing a few recipes every now & then on natural home care, if you are at all interested :) It is a part of our lives that we have just gotten used to & love! I will share today, the home care product i just finished making a new batch of yesterday: Laundry detergent. Sounds weird, but we love it! It cleans just as well as the stuff we used to use! Here is the recipe & instructions:

{You will need Washing soda, Borax & Fels.Naptha soap}
Walmart has all three ingredients. Make sure you get WASHING soda & not BAKING soda.

{Cut 1/3 of the felsnaptha soap off the bar}

{Now grate the 1/3 of bar soap. You can use a cheese grater, or be lazy like me, & use your cuisinart with the grater attatchment.}

{& voila! Grated soap that looks like shredded cheese, yum!  not}

{Now pour your grated soap into a pot with 6 Cups of water. Keep the mixture over the heat until the soap shreds melt completely}

{While the water & soap are heating, Portion out 1/2 C each washing soda & Borax}

{Once soap shreds are melted, pour in the portioned out washing soda & Borax}

{Stir all ingredients very well!! You want to make sure all ingredients are dissolved}

{Once the mixture is completely ready, Remove mixture from heat. Pour 4 C of hot water into a 5 gallon container. Then, pour your hot soapy mixture into the container as well. Mix. Then add 1 gallon & 6 cups of water to the mixture.}
** We also added about 30 drops of sweet orange essential oil at this point. You do not have to add any sort of smell if you dont want to though.

{Cover mixture & Let sit for 24 hours before using it. After 24 hours, open up the container. If the consistency of your laundry detergent looks like a bunch of mutilated jelly fish... you did it right! (that's what i think it looks like haha) }

{Store some of your detergent into easy to carry containers for every day use. I like to use these Lemonade bottles. Just because they're cute} 

{& there you go! Use about 1/4 C - 1/2 C per load, depending on soil level}

{Store the remainder of your detergent in a nice cool place. We store it under the laundry folding table in our laundry room.}


{Enjoy!}

11 comments:

  1. You make frugality look so cool! I can't wait to meet you guys. I've heard so much about you from one of your most loyal and loving fans and it's been fun to follow your lives on FB. Much love to you and your man.
    Roger Massey ... one of the mythical Texas-Croatian cousins

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  2. how much do you use when doing a load of laundry?

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  3. Hey Ashley,
    Was reading another blogger say something that Felsnaptha bar soap is made with petro-chemicals. They said a safer alternative is called "Zote". ;-)
    More info here:
    http://homesteadwannabes.blogspot.com/2010/02/homemade-laundry-soapstain-remover.html

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  4. I think this is a wonderful idea! I can't wait to try it and save money!! My Mother and I are going to try this today! (: Thanks for the recipe!!

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  5. Hi!! I have made this twice and it separates so badly. The separation bothers me. I feel like, "is it the liquid that cleans or is it the white thick part that cleans" So I'm not sure how to prevent this from happening. Any ideas?

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    1. Hello!
      A little seperation is natural. It should be the consistancy of ... no other way to put this.. but... snot.
      Not sure why yours had so much seperation. Maybe just give it a good shake before you pour into your machine so everything mixes well?

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  6. I'm assuming this is safe to use on HE machines, correct?

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  7. That's what I would like to know, but I don't think so. HE machine soaps have surfactants in them that keep the soap from clogging up hoses in the machines. ZOAT may create an issue.

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  8. Just wondering if this works for people with eczema? my daughter has it and we can't use any scented stuff. I saw that adding the essential oils was optional and I wouldn't do that. Just wondering if this would irritate her skin. Also maybe I could make up a small batch just to try it and see. what do you think?

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  9. Would this work for people with eczema? my daughter has it and i can't use anything with a scent. Do you think I could make a small batch to try it and see?

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    1. Hello!
      Our daughter has eczema & so do i. The fels naptha caused slight irritation for us, but did not bother my husband who does not have eczema.
      I posted another laundry detergent recipe, that is a powder detergent, & I used Dr. Bronners bar soap & It was fine! Did not cause any irritation! Dr. Bronners makes an unscented mild bar soap that you could use :)
      hope that helps!!

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