Stiring Up Laundry Detergent

I finally joined the homemade-laundry-soap band-wagon.

And I'm pleased. Very pleased.

In fact, we'll not be going back to the standard old large boxes of laundry detergent that costs me way more than my own stirred up concoction does. This cleans every bit as well - maybe better.

Our clothes are fresh.

Katie said she had started making her own and I had heard other people say the same thing, but she said it was a cinch to make, and is what convinced me to give it a go. I'm not Ma Ingalls with time to slave over the lye and ashes... I was not interested in a liquid gooey mess, either, so powder it had to be.

I've made it three times now. And I used a different recipe off of google each time, but they are all essentially the same.

The main ingredients are:
Grated natural soap 
borax - of the Twenty Mule Team variety
washing soda - not to be confused with baking soda, though you can use some of that too if you have hard water like us.

I finally found a recipe that makes more than 2 cups at a time. Good grief!! Maybe some families can get away with only doing some 8 loads a laundry in a week but in this house of 7 kids..... !!

So, I finally found someone who could tell me to dump the whole BOX of each ingredient in a bowl and wallah...we are set for a few months.

I use two tablespoons of detergent per load. If you are used to cleaner full of filler it takes a bit to get used to the idea of using so little.

I think this large batch cost me $10.

Here's the link to the blog that posted a LARGE recipe.  HOMEMADE Note she uses a few more ingredients than are essential. If you are after toxin free laundry soap then think carefully about which added ingredients you use. The borax, washing soda, baking soda and natural soap, are all okay ingredients.  I like to add some drops of lavender oil for a fresh smell.