Homemade Laundry Detergent

 our laundry system

I pretty much love all things homemade!  I love the feeling of industry and resourcefulness that comes from making something myself for cheaper than I could have bought it at the store.

Many years ago, my mom bought me the Reader's Digest Homemade book (mine is the older version of the one in the link).  That's where my homemade hand soap recipe came from.  There is a laundry detergent recipe in there as well, but it tells you to use 1/2 a cup per load which just doesn't seem economical to me.

After searching for a more economical laundry soap, I came across a recipe from TheFamilyHomestead.com. (she has an excellent cost breakdown on there too!) For years this was the recipe I used:
1/3 bar of pure soap
1/2 c. washing soda
1/2 c. borax
(& sometimes I added a few drops of essential oil as well)
1.5 - 2 gallon container with lid (I used a plastic tub)

Grate the soap. (I use my Bosch Slicer/Shredder and do the entire bar or more on a fine shred.)

Put 1/3 of a bar into a saucepan.  Add 6 c. of water and heat on low until soap melts.

 Add washing soda & borax.  Stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat.

Add your essential oil here if you like.

Pour 4 c. hot water into the 2 gallon container, add soap mixture, and stir.  Now add 1 gallon + 6 cups (22 cups) of water and stir.

Let sit for 24 hours to gel.  Can be poured into an old liquid detergent container and used the same way you would your usual liquid detergent.

**However, there are some drawbacks to this recipe**

1. It's not ready right away.
2. It can get messy because it is liquid.
3. I often didn't feel like my clothes were really getting clean. (not that they weren't, but I often felt like the soap had too much water in it.)

So, recently via Twitter, I came across the Dugger family's recipe for powder laundry detergent and decided to give that a go.  So far, I am quite pleased!  Here's that recipe:

1 bar pure soap (Fels-Naptha, castille, etc)
1 c. washing soda
1/2 c. borax
medium-sized container with lid

Grate soap (as shown in previous recipe).

Place soap in container.  Add washing soda & borax.  Mix well.

Use 1 Tbsp per load or 2 Tbsp per load for heavily soiled clothing.

**Things I like about this recipe**

1. No wait time.  I ran out of soap this morning.  I made some up and could use it right away.
2. No mess.
3. Psychologically, *I* feel as though my clothes are really getting clean. ;)

Looking for more laundry detergent recipes?  Head over to MamasLaundryTalk.com (she's hosting a link up on Friday...don't miss it!)

Enjoyed this tutorial?  Perhaps you'd like to make your own Baby Wipes Solution?  Or maybe some Playdough for the kiddos?  Or maybe you just want to know more about Laundry in a larger-than-average family!  Whatever you're looking for, enjoy your visit!

Our Shelf and Basket Laundry System

I've talked a bit about our laundry system before, but I've never really fully described the whole cycle (pun intended) for you and thought I'd take a moment to explain how we handle laundry baskets around here.

Next to my washer and dryer is a 3-tiered shelf.  On each level sits a laundry basket.  The top level is the basket I share with my husband.  It is the largest (for several reasons I'll explain in a moment).  The second level is the basket that goes to the Boy's Room and the 3rd level is the basket that goes to the Girl's Room.  We labeled the bottom of each basket with the initials of each child who's clothes go in that basket (and Emily's "E" is still there).

Labeling this way  is particularly helpful if you don't have a designated boys and girls room.

As part of morning chores, the older children grab their baskets and haul them upstairs.  Theoretically, the little kids are supposed to pitch in and help put away their own clothes; although I'm really not sure how often that actually happens.  I do know Micah is banned from helping because he does more "throwing" clothes than "putting away" clothes!

After they have put away their clothes, they get to toss their laundry baskets down the stairs.  Yes, I do allow this because I have to admit, there is something quite satisfying about throwing an empty laundry basket down the stairs!

Now, the quick why behind my basket being so much bigger. (and yes, I throw mine down the stairs too!)  Besides the obvious fact that my husband and I are bigger than the children, I also put towels and sheets in my basket.  I am the one who puts those away, but I suppose you could have yet another basket just for those items that don't really belong to anyone, but still need to be put in their rightful places.

When I head out to climb Mt. Washmore, I simply grab the discarded laundry baskets at the foot of the stairs and put them back on their shelves.  Each shelf is labeled accordingly.

As each load comes out of the dryer, I pull the baskets out and fold the clothes right out of the dryer and into each basket...girls...boys...mine...etc.  I put the baskets back into the shelves and the cycle starts all over again.

This is the way we've been doing it ever since we moved to this particular house where the laundry is downstairs rather than on the main level.  It keeps the laundry room tidy and makes it easy for the children.  And hey, it Works For Me!

Oh, and in case you are wondering what that piece of paper taped to the wall next to the baskets is:

Sometimes we need to be reminded Who truly does the washing...

*****

Catch me tomorrow at The Homeschool Classroom!
and
Yesterday I was at EcoBabySteps.com and totally missed it!  Head over there and read my first guest post:
Breastfeeding and the Fringe Benefits of Frugality

Mount Washmore

Once upon a time, I could do laundry one day a week. Once upon a time, hanging laundry was no big deal. Once upon a time, in order to have an insurmountable mountain of laundry, I would have to neglect the laundry pile for weeks on end.

No longer is this the case! A couple of days of a neglected laundry basket and I have Mount Washmore on my hands!

I may have mentioned here before the fact that I used to work off of a FLYlady-type schedule. It worked quite well until I had our fourth child (it was beginning to be somewhat difficult with 3 as well, but I did manage to keep it going).

With the birth of our 4th child, came a whole new way of life. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, worked anymore. It was at this time I ran across Large Family Logistics. It was just what I needed to make my now larger-than-normal family run smoothly.

**If you would like to take a look for yourself follow these links**
OLD SITE ~ The left-hand sidebar is where the information on her Cleaning Days is.
NEW SITE ~ As far as I can tell she does not have all the info from the old site on here yet, but it is still worth a perusal.

I decided to follow her lead and make Monday my Big Laundry Day.

The idea behind this is that you do as much as you can that day (she calls it 4 by 4) and then simply maintain the rest of the week. Maintenance for me looks like about 2 loads per day.

Perhaps you are wondering how I manage the logistics of Big Laundry Day.

First off, I am an advocate of making the laundry room as pleasant as possible. You can take a look at a post I did several months back on transforming my laundry room. Your laundry room DOES NOT have to be the most dreary room in the house!

We currently have a BOYS ROOM and a GIRLS ROOM. We used to have a laundry basket in each of their rooms (and we may go back to this at some point). They filled it and took it down every morning when I yelled "Laundry Call!" However, now, they take their laundry to a central location (a larger laundry basket in my bedroom) as they tidy their rooms every morning. My oldest child takes the basket down for me (bless his heart!)

The Girls' laundry basket and the Boys' laundry basket (as well as another laundry basket for dh and I) sit downstairs on shelving. When I take things out of the dryer, I fold and put into the appropriate basket. When the baskets are full, I call for my oldest boy and my oldest girl and they put the laundry away for their respective room. (There is a 4 year gap between my BIGS and my LITTLES, thus the reason for only the BIGS putting away laundry) When they are finished putting the laundry away, they bring the baskets back down so we can start the process all over again.

I imagine there will come a day when I will have to rethink Big Laundry Day and logistics behind it, but for now this method manages to keep Mount Washmore looking like a small hill.

Transforming the Mundane Into the Beautiful

The laundry room of most homes is a dreary place, often outfitted with cement walls and pipes in a dank basement setting. Occasionally, the washer and dryer are afforded a secret hideout behind closed doors in a hallway. Some houses even go so far as to honor them with a bit of real estate in the kitchen. But, never ever are these monstrous pieces of equipment considered beautiful, and therefore, the area that contains them, is not seen that way either. By the very nature of their existance, we consider them and what surrounds them to be either dirty or in the process of being made clean. The laundry room is a place for work, not for beauty.

No real creativity is needed to wash clothes. Folding clothes is a rather monotonous task as well. The only thing aspect of doing laundry that even remotely qualifies as an intellectual pursuit is the job of pre-treating stains. If we were entirely honest with ourselves, we would all agree that laundry rarely ranks first as a favorite household chore. So, all this said, it would be utterly ridiculous to expect the room in which the laundry and its various accoutrements preside to be a lovely, aesthetically-pleasing place. Wouldn't it?

Absolutely not! I spend a goodly amount of time in the laundry room each and every day climbing Mount Washmore. Why not make that space something that is pleasing to the eye. Could it be that laundry is even more of a chore when the area of the house we do this task in seems reminiscent of a dungeon?

I was first exposed to the idea of decorating my laundry area after visiting my cousin Tina's home. Her washer and dryer stood off the side of the kitchen and had all sorts of adorable little signs loitering about. I smiled at her ingenuity, and tucked the memory in the back of my mind where I file all those things I really hope to do someday.

Shortly thereafter, we moved. The house we now lived in had the laundry area right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. I was appalled, but determined to make the best of it. So, with an assortment of functional and froo-froo items, I proceeded to decorate my new laundry area. I added a shelf for soap, a sorting hamper, and for a little hint of playfulness, a "laundry line" with little crocheted dresses that were supposed to be potholders that no one in their right mind would ever use for that purpose. I was pleased with the result.

However, after the next move, my creativity waned a bit. For the first time, my laundry area was in the basement right next to the hot water heater and the furnace. The walls were cement with just a tiny bit of paneling to the right of the dryer. There really was nothing lovely about this space. But, I once again, hung up my little dresses and added 2 new items to the functionality of the space. One was plastic shelving containing the 3 laundry baskets that belonged to my husband and I, the boys, and the girls. The other was another type of plastic shelving that held my soaps and stray socks. I also had started adding Scripture throughout the house, so this spot was blessed with Psalm 51: 1,2

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

So, this was the sight that greeted me each day...




















It could have been worse. But, the fact of the matter is, it could have been a whole lot better too. But how? How do you "fix" cement and pipes? Well, inspiration came at last! While watching Cat's videos on decluttering, I took special note of her laundry room and what she had chosen to do there. Now, her laundry room is nothing like mine, but seeing hers brought me to a point where I could once again brainstorm ideas for making this space a beautiful one.

So, I took some fabric from my collection (some people collect coins, I collect fabric), and took a quick measurement, cut the fabric and serged up the two frayed sides. Next, I used magnetized chip-clips and clipped the fabric and stuck the magnet to the pipes above my washer and dryer. Voila! Instant coverage of the cement and pipes.

Next, I took a length of ivy I wasn't using about the house (I love foliage because it makes me feel like the outside is inside, and there is something incredibly calming in that for me), and I taped it (yes, I said "taped it") to the tops of my washer and dryer.

After that, I hung some small baskets from the exposed wall stud next to my dryer and placed some ivy picks in those baskets. I cleaned off the top of my dryer and turned a sewing basket no one was using into a dryer sheet holder.

I was thrilled with the results! It has become a place I smile at whenever I walk by! And all this beauty cost me nothing. Everything I used was already in my home!

But, you may still be wondering why. Why go to the trouble of making the area look beautiful when there really is nothing wonderful about doing laundry. You are only there for a little while several times a day. Who cares if it is pretty?

My question would be, "Why not?" Why shouldn't the places I spend my time in as a wife and mother all be beautiful? There is nothing wrong with beauty. Look at all the beauty our Lord created! Why should this little corner of my basement be devoid of joy simply because I am there to do a mundane task? How much better would you feel about fulfilling this task if you were surrounded by things you enjoyed looking at as you worked? Isn't it possible you might even become inspired long enough by the beauty around you to forget the fact that you despise doing laundry?

Start simple: add a throw rug or a picture. Consider how that one little touch makes you feel. Add a little more, and before you know it, you will have created a space that makes you smile, even if the task that is accomplished there, does not.