And other things I learned the hard way.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Laundry: Recession Style

For several months now I have been making my own laundry soap. And spare one or two hiccups in the process it's worked just as well as anything I buy commercially. So here is my...

*drumroll*

PICTORAL GUIDE TO HOMEDID LAUNDRY SOAP!

You will need 3 (three) simple ingredients. You can find them all at Wegmans.

You will also need a food processor and a damp towel. I'll explain.

Firstly:



One bar of Fels Naptha soap. Chopped to bits.

Secondly:



One cup EACH of Borax and Washing Soda. And just for giggles, a container to put it all in. I use a spare tupperware I had laying around.

So, like I said, start off by chopping your soap to bits and then grind down as fine as you can in your food processor. Then add in one of your other dry ingredients

Like so:



COVER with the damp towel (otherwise it'll get all dusty) and grind that stuff down as far as you can.



Repeat for the last dry ingredient, covering with the towel, and crank that sucker on until you have a fine-ish dust. It'll look something like...



And BAZINGA! You just made homedid soap!

Toss it in a container (by the way this is a double batch, not that you think the laws of physics are suspended in my kitchen)



and use it in every load. I actually use an old formula scoop which is one tablespoon. I add two to each load, a few glugs of vinegar to soften and remove odors and for the really NASTY baby stuff a scoop of colorsafe bleach.

Now, you may be wondering if it's worth the effort. Here's my breakdown:
Fels Naptha - $1.12 per bar
Borax - $3 per 55 oz box (one cup per batch)
Washing Soda - $2.50 per 55 ox box (one cup per batch)

So really it costs me a one time investment of $5.50 to make several loads of detergent. At $1.12 for each NEW load. Worth it? As I get the SAME LIFE for $1.12 than I do with a 32load jug of Purex. Now, I will admit, on occasion I DO find purex for $.99, and then yes, I do buy some. Because life happens. I don't always have time to make more soap the day I run out and then the baby shits her face off. But with as sensitive as my skin is my clothes are always itchless, soft and comfy. Only once did I have a discoloration issue and that was totes my fault.

So there it is folks, enjoy :)

And as a general poll, would you like more of my pictoral homedid goodness?

4 comments:

  1. Yes! More pictorial homedid goodness please!

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  2. Indeed! More homedid project pics pleeeeease! (And I'm totally trying this :)

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  3. Straight up...how did it work on your clothes? Are they teh cleanz?
    -Linds

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  4. Linds, yeah my clothes are teh cleanz. I personally dig on the "scent" (read: SOAP scent, not lavender or evergreens) that it leaves on my clothes. And if I have a spot or anything I get it wet, dust a little on to make a 'paste' and rub it together. The ONLY time I had any issues was one of the very first times I made it I didn't grind up the fels naptha enough. And the larger clumps didn't dissolve totally in the water and left spots on my whites. BUT I can't fault the soap as it was technically my fault.

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