We’ve had a couple of days of much needed rainy weather, during which the girls and I have been catching up on some severely neglected housecleaning. In the spring and summer, when there’s so much to be done outside, our house can get a little…funky. Add some heat and humidity and it feels positively disgusting! So yesterday we scrubbed and vacuumed and did load after load of laundry.
A few weeks ago I made a batch of laundry soap from a compilation of recipes I had been collecting from all over the internet, notably here. It’s cheap, works really well, and smells great. I bought all ingredients except the essential oils at my local grocery store.
Laundry Soap (Makes three gallons)
1 Bar soap (I used Ivory, which was readily available in my little town)
1 Cup Borax
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
Grate the soap and boil it in a couple of quarts of water until dissolved. Add Borax and washing soda, stir until dissolved. Add enough water to make 3 gallons. I scented mine with some lavender and rose essential oils, and it smells lovely. Use 1/2 cup per load.
That’s it—ridiculously simple! I think in the future I’m going to either order Fels Naptha soap or maybe use Dr. Bronner’s bar soap.
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Sounds great! Just wondering though, do you have a front or top load washer, and was it really sudsy? …..and what size bar soap did you use? Can’t wait to try this!
I have a top loader, and no, it doesn’t really suds, but everything comes out nice and fresh smelling and clean (and we have seriously challenging laundry!). And I used just an average size bar of soap. I’m really pleased with this! It works well, and it’s so cheap!
I use rainy days for housecleaning, too. Something about scrubbing and airing and laundering when you can’t really be productive outside, always feels right.
Thanks for the laundry soap recipe. I have Annie Berthold-Bond’s “Clean and Green” book and make own my surface scrubs and window cleaners, but her chapter on laundry soap is self-admittedly just a review of good natural products available – she balks at the time required to grate the soap flakes. I use Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap in several recipes and may have to figure out a substitution ratio, it would be easier. And essential oils in laundry is the bomb… I love how clothes smell as I hang them on the line.
Not to mention, saving the 8-9 bucks a bottle of eco-friendly stuff costs!
Grating the soap was really no big deal—took a couple of minutes and was easy!
I may have to try this. Been meaning to make a liquid laundry soap for a while but am put off by the grating. I do use borax, washing soda and dr. bronners peppermint liquid soap as boosters to an eco friendly powdered soap, but when I wash with cold the dry products often remain in the loader compartment.
Hi Rosemoon:
I am worried about Carl Rice. I have not seen him for a long while, except once about a week ago. He usually gives me a big wave and a smile and many times stops to chat. He just passed and lookeded very grim. He did not mow the field across the street after he spent a lot of money to fertilize it. I call his house and get no answer.
Do you know if Carl is OK ? Maybe he needs help and is too proud to ask.
HUGH
Hey Hugh! We’ll give him a call today.