For those far and few in between that follow my blog I wanted to share with you one of my thrifty solutions to household chores.
Monday is Laundry day at this household. There is rarely a shower to be had on this day by this Hot Mess.
My sister and I both got front loaders in the last year and she shared with me a homemade laundry soap. So having just made my 3rd YES I said it, T-H-I-R-D batch I must share for those that are interested. First you must know that we have very dry skin in our family and patches of eczema. The solution was to cut back on high perfummy (that is a word) detergent. I have been so impressed with this recipe and had to share.
A tip:
Ace Hardware is a one stop shop for the bucket and ingredients. Smith's may have all the soaps too. Walmart does not have the Fels Naptha Bar...yet!
Homemade Laundry Soap
1 Fels Naptha Soap Bar, grated
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup borax
5 gallon bucket
Instructions:
Grate the soap bar into a medium saucepan and cover with 5 cups hot water. Bring the water just shy of a boil and stir until the soap is completely melted.
Put washing soda and borax in a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir with a large stick (I use a large whisk) until completely mixed. Now you've got a huge container of hot soapy looking water. Cover the bucket securely and let it sit overnight. Once it's cooled it will gel. (this part is so cool). It will not gel uniformly so it will be a bit lumpy and watery. It may not be attractive- but it works!!! You can add essential oils for fragrance once it's cooled, and you can put it in a smaller container for convenience.
For top loaders: Use 1 cup per load
For front-loaders: Use 1/2 cup per load
So the grand finale'
Borax $2.50
Washing Soda $2.50
Fels Naptha Bar $1.00 (buy like 4 at a time, I wish I did)
The C_O_S_T = 1 Final Batch $1.54
Sooooooooooooooooo that equals to $.01 per load for front loaders and $.02 for top loaders per load (compare to $.40 per load w/liquid tide)
Wahoo! I know you love me for sharing and now ask me if I enjoy doing laundry.......HECK YA!
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Amberlee that is awesome! I have heard of that recipe before, but I didn't dare to try it because I didn't know anyone who had done it & could vouch for whether or not it actually works! So your sayin' your laundry actually comes out clean? And it doesn't smell like your butt? FANTASTIC. If your SURE, I will give it a try!
ReplyDeleteP.S.- a double shout out to those who are willing to admit (you)(me)that showers are few on chore days! TO BEING A HOT MESS!!!! CHEERS!
I TOTALLY agree on the shower thing!! Never is a shower to be had a cleanign day unless it is at 9:30 pm and that is not very often! My kids are in their PJ's all day too (excpet Jack, he is a nudist. I was also wondering about the smell thing, but the clothes smell good?? I am way excited to try it!!
ReplyDeleteK girls no my laundry does not smell like Butt, but I do when I don't shower!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest my third batch does smell. I changed the recipe a bit.I bought a different Fels Naptha soap bar that smells like your Grandma's pink Rose perfume! It was not even Fels Naptha it was some pink soap bar that was similar in size to the Fels Naptha that I found at Walmart. So the prior two batches had no smell at all and gave my clothes no smell. Weird but fine with me. I am curious to try a lavender or lemon essential oil in a future batch!
Tip #2 put into a laundry bottle of some sort and shake to break up the chunks that form once the batch gels.
Let me know your results.