Make your own laundry detergent! First off, it's way cheaper. The three ingredients plus the bucket only cost me $12 and make me roughly 2 gallons of detergent. One batch can last 6+ months at 1/2 cup per load. This lasts a LONG time. Second, the products used are degradable and mostly all-natural. This recipe is largely earth friendly. Third, its fun to feel all self-sufficient! Fourth, you can add your own scents to customize your detergent! We use tea tree and blue nile oil for our clothing and lavender essence for our sheets and towels.
I'm also branching into making my own dishwasher detergent and cleaners, but I haven't quite perfected that yet. I'll post it when I do.
Sold it to you yet? Let's get started.
Here's what you'll need: Borax, Washing Soda, and the simplest soap you can get your hands on.
More Specifically:
1/2 Cup Borax
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1 Bar of Dove/Ivory Soap
32 Cups water
At least a 2 gallon bucket (mine was 5 gallon)
Large sauce pan
Big Spoon or wisk
Next, grate the soap.
Then add 6 cups hot water and bring to a simmer on the stove over a medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the soap is completely melted.
Add Borax and soda ash to soap mixture and stir until dissolved and remove the whole thing from heat.
Next pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket, add the soap mixture from the sauce pan, and stir.
Next toss in 22 cups hot water to the mixture. Stir it more, cover it (my bucket didn't have a lid, so I used tin-foil), and let sit for 24 hours.
When adding essential oils wait until it’s cooled down.
Use 1/2 cup per load and wash!! Nervous? Start with a round of towels. The recipes I have found say it's friendly for HE machines, but you may want to do some independent research first.
Where did I learn about this? Why, at
Craft Leftovers of course. Check out the
post here.
