Laundry
Days
As I have told you about me
already, saving money is one of my top priorities in life. Nothing makes me feel better than to know
that I am saving money. Who needs drugs when you can leave the store with a
receipt in your hand telling you that you just saved 70%. Doing the happy dance to my car all the way,
thank goodness no one has called the police reporting a crazy person in the
parking lot. Well maybe doing a load of
laundry and knowing it only cost me pennies in soap comes close, my dogs really
enjoy the happy dance! This also makes a perfect gift for Christmas, Birthdays, Showers, Mothers Day and more. Just put into a pretty jar with some ribbon
I have been using my own laundry soap for years now. I started with a liquid version that was a multi-step 2 day process, it works fantastic but I hated having to “cook” the Fels-Naphtha to melt it, putting it all in a bucket and letting it set overnight before mixing the rest the next day. Then someone told me that you can do the same thing with a “dry” recipe, well I was hooked and have never looked back on that liquid mess!
Many of my friends have ask
for this over the years so I thought it would be a good idea to start my DIY
portion of this new blog with this money saving must have.
Just a bit more about this
laundry miracle before the recipe. This
will cost you literally a few pennies per load, you only need two tablespoons
of this per load. There is 1 thing you
must get over, seeing suds in your washing machine, Suds do not equal
clean!! As a matter of fact it can mean
exactly the opposite; they can cause build up in your washer and on your
clothes. You will not see suds, and
please do not add more thinking you will get them. Unless you have a grease laden load, where
you could certainly add a bit more resist the temptation as you will just be
throwing your money down the drain, literally.
I have used the same recipe
for years but in reading another blog recently about homemade laundry soap I
found some really good info and am changing my recipe to add a few things. I did not have them when I took the pictures
but it is a simple add that I will share with you and we can decide if we love
it together. Although I have a jump
start on you and so far it is fantastic and a permanent addition to the Fischer
Brand Laundry Soap.
If you can get your hands on a
good used food processor it will make this job go so much faster for you. I picked up one of the little ones for next
to nothing a Kohl’s during Christmas.
Sale Price – a 30% off Coupon = just a few dollars! (I LOVE Kohl’s). Of
course I dedicated mine to soap but you really are fine just washing everything….after
all it is soap!
Original Laundry Soap Recipe:
2
Bars Fels-Naptha Heavy Duty Laundry Bar Soap (Zote works too!)
1
Box Borax All Natural Laundry Booster
1
Box Arm & Hammer All Natural Super Washing Soda
Items I am adding to my recipe:
1 Large Box (not the small normal size) Arm &
Hammer Soda
1 Large Container of Oxy Clean
1 Bottle of Purex Crystals
To make this is the simplest
thing ever, basically you need to grind up the bar soap, you can use a cheese
grader or a food processor. It is not a bad idea to wear a dust mask during the
making of this soap. All of the ingredients
being powder tend to get a dust haze in the air when pouring and mixing, do not
breathe this in. They are all Natural
Products but that does not mean it is good for you. Mold that grows on the leftovers in the back
of my fridge are all natural but I don’t eat it! Common sense goes a long way in keeping us
safe in life! If you choose to use a
cheese grader there are a few things you can do to make it easier. You can leave the bar unwrapped overnight to
dry it out a bit, or microwave it a few seconds before to soften it a bit. I also have read that you can microwave it
till it expands then let it cool and it supposedly will just crumble in your
hands. Cut it into about 6 chunks if you use the microwave melting method. I have never tried this so I am just putting
it out there for you. If you do this
please let us know in the comments how it worked for you.
When using the food processor
just take a large knife and a cutting board and cut the bar coarsely before
placing in your processor. Do not use a
blender, it seems like a good idea but it WILL NOT work and just be a mess to
clean up. Take my word on this, it comes
from personal experience and glad I do not have pics of that mess to show
you. The good Lord knows I can make a
mess!!
Cut up the bar of soap with a large kitchen knife on a cutting board then add to the food processor.
See article for alternatives if you have no food processor.
I can place a whole bar into my food processor which is not a large one. it is a smaller one with only high and low buttons, nothing fancy. This small one works just fine, you can find the at Goodwill all the time!
See how fine the powder has become after running the processor for a while. It does take a couple of minutes to do this.
Once this is done the hard
work is over. Get yourself a large
bucket (a bucket with a lid is perfect), I use an empty cat litter bucket. You need to just dump all the ingredients together
and mix. It is easier sometimes to layer
them so it takes less stirring to mix, and sometimes you can roll or shake the bucket
to help mix. That is it… how simple is that?
This is what it looks like with about half of the Borax and Washing Soda mixed in.
I use empty coffee cans to put
a smaller amount in and use out of that.
I found an old coffee scoop that equals 1 Tablespoon and use it to
measure. I have been told that if you
put it back into the Purex Crystal bottle that the second ring in the lid is
equal to 2 Tablespoons.
This makes our laundry so soft
and clean. I used nothing but Tide
forever, but this I really believe gets out clothes cleaner and is much gentler
on them for sure.
As for Fabric Softener I have
two great suggestions. The first one is
to use one of the downy balls and use vinegar up to the line and just place in
your washer as normal. This works great
and there is absolutely no smell of vinegar after it goes through the
dryer. The second that I love to do is
to put a mixture of 1/3 liquid concentrated fabric softener (like Downey
Concentrate) and 2/3 water in a container.
I use a pint wide mouth canning jar.
Cut up a plain old sponge into approximately one inch squares and put
into the jar with your mixture. When you
put your laundry into the dryer simply take a sponge square out of the
container and squeeze it out lightly, toss it into the dryer and it will act
exactly like a dryer sheet. This pint
will last you forever!!! You can also dissolve
the new Downy Unstoppables and put in with your mix to boost the smell even
more!
This tip alone can save you
hundreds of dollars a year, depending on how much laundry you do. I cannot come close to beating this price per
load even with my coupons. I sometimes
end up getting a free or next to free bottle of detergent with my coupons and I
never pass it up but usually it just confirms how much I love the homemade, but
I just can’t pass up free!!! No one
wants to see me have a seizure in the grocery store!
If you use old Folgers Coffee
Cans you can go on the Folgers site and print off some really cute graphics
that fit on the can to decorate it. They change with the seasons also so make a
great way to make containers to give with cookies and candy inside! Check them out here:
Please comment below with
ideas you have used or let us know how you like it when you try it! Thanks for reading my new blog and don’t
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