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A Grating We Will Go…
OK, go ahead and laugh. I love, love, love doing laundry! I could sort, wash, and dry all day long. Folding, on the other hand, not so much. A few weeks ago, I decided I’d had enough of my current laundry detergents. They don’t have labels with the ingredients and I’m sure they are laced with a million chemicals. It can’t be good for baby’s delicate skin!
Being a new mom, of course I went out and bought a beautiful bottle of Dreft. After a few weeks of using it, I realized… it smells really strange! I’d been using Tide Coldwater for all of my clothing since it became available on the market. Hey, I was saving the cost of heating water… right?!
After few trips around the block… I mean blog, and I finally found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent that interested me. Be patient. I might share said recipe. That’s when the insanity started!
I quickly ran out the door, hopped in the car, and made a dash for Target; on Black Friday, no less! I returned with a bar of Lavender Dr. Bronner’s bar soap, a box-style cheese grater, and a beautiful box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda! I already had a box of Borax just waiting to be opened and a Sam’s Club size box of Oxyclean.
As soon as I hopped out of the car. My incredible workout ensued. Never in my life would I have thought grating a measly bar of soap would be so hard-HA!
15 minutes later, a bloody knuckle and thumb, trembling right arm, and a kitchen smelling of lavender my bar of soap was officially a flake! I added the rest of the ingredients into the bowl of soap and whisked with the tiny amount of muscle power I had left. Into a Mason jar, the mix went!
All my sources said to use 2 Tablespoons per large load. I found this to be a bit much for our water and washer. For me, 1 Tbsp is sufficient. Just two loads of laundry and I was sold! I later ordered 6 bars of the Unscented- Baby Mild variety of Dr. B’s soap, bought a gallon sized jar, and make myself a mega batch of unscented detergent. I’ve since started using the unscented detergent for everyone’s clothing. I saved my lovely lavender batch for a special occasion!
Since you were so patient…
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda
1/2 Cup of Oxyclean
1 finely grated bar of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Castille Soap
Did you know- White vinegar makes a wonderful fabric softener? Add 1/4 cup to your rinse cycle and you will be shocked! No, your clothing will not spell like vinegar after they come out of the dryer. I promise!
Below is my beautiful detergent and fabric softener!
February 11th, 2011 at 11:33 am
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February 13th, 2011 at 7:31 am
Pretty insightful post. Never thought that it was this simple after all. I had spent a great deal of my time looking for someone to explain this topic clearly and you’re alone that ever did that. Kudos to you! Continue the good work
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