Do It Now: Homemade Laundry Soap!
I’ve been trying to take yesterday’s post to heart and start doing the things I’ve always said I’d do when I was a stay at home mom (SAHM).
There’s a running joke between my sister and me right now.
Remember Allison Hannigan’s famous quote in America Pie, “This one time at band camp…”
Here’s a clip :)
Ok, so lately I find myself saying, “When I’m not working full time, I’m going to…”
My sister is relentlessly teasing me by retorting, “This one time when I’m a stay at home mom…”
Bwahahaha!
I’m compiling quite a list of things I plan to do this summer, and I’m also realizing that I won’t make these things a priority then if I don’t consider them important enough to do now.
One such thing is homemade laundry soap!
Here I go getting all Laura Ingalls on you again…
But seriously, laundry detergent is expensive and usually full of irritating fragrances that really aren’t good for us.
The alternative to dropping a bunch of cash on a giant box of regular detergent is making your own at home!
I got this recipe from The Family Homestead and when she did the math, this detergent breaks down to about $.01 per load!
A freaking penny!
That’s good stuff right there.
I’ve read about making your own detergent at home before, but there was always something holding me back.
A five gallon bucket.
Seriously, that’s it. A measly bucket.
Well, that and the fact you have to shave a bar of soap and boil it. Cheese graters and I don’t get along well.
Exhibit A – Cheese grater shaped scar on my thumb.
Let’s just hope no one’s nachos had a little “something extra” that night.
Moving right along…
I don’t have a nice, clean five-gallon bucket with a lid laying around. I have 3 dirty, cracked, lid-less ones floating around my garage.
And I hate cheese graters.
You can imagine my joy when I learned that you can make powdered detergent!
Just 3 simple ingredients:
1. Borax (a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate)
2. Washing Soda (NOT the same as baking soda, but also made by Arm & Hammer)
3. Old fashioned bar soap (Fels-Naptha or Ivory)
I made a double batch and it easily fit into the empty arborio rice container that resulted from tonight’s dinner (Vegetable Paella – recipe coming soon!).
Here’s the recipe for a single batch of detergent:
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1/3 bar Fels-Naptha – or – 1 full bar Ivory soap, grated
The way around having to use a cheese grater and a bunch of elbow grease?
Your food processor!
Just fit it with the grater attachment and voila! No sweating, tired arm or fear of blood. Just lovely soap shreds :)
It’s a pretty simple process really. Just grate the appropriate amount of soap (depending on the brand you choose), add the borax and washing soda and give it a good shake.
Here’s proof that a double batch really fits into a 36oz rice container.
I think it would be fun to create a cute label to cover up the existing rice labels. Something vintage maybe?
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| Please pardon my very rough photo editing skills! |
That’s all there is to it. Just use about 1 tablespoon for a medium sized load (double that for x-large loads) and save all the money you’re not spending on laundry detergent to buy a new pair of shoes.
Or something more responsible.
Whatever :)
How do you like the laundry soap? Is it worth it? Very fun label!
Yes, I too am waiting to hear if you like it… I also love the cute label!
You are so much fun sweetie!!!
Hey Rebecca! I just saw your post on Laundry Detergent! I make my own as well for about 5 years and love it. But I make the liquid form. Yours looks great! How do you like it so far? I love our label!
that was supposed to say 'your' label. ;)