Sudsy

Over the last couple of years, I have been slowly moving from being totally "frugal focused" to "frugal, but as green as possible focused".  I will confess, that while I have been following green-ish practices for many years, it was primarily only in those places where green living intersects with frugal living.  I do think that in many ways, the concept of frugality is pretty green, but my focus has definitely changed to a balance between the two. 

This said, I have been wanting for quite some time to try my hand at making my own laundry soap.  A few years ago, I tracked down a recipe, bought the ingredients....  and did nothing with them.  Not very frugal, or green, I must say.  This time, I was determined to give it a try.

I used a simple recipe I tracked down on the internet:

• 1 cup grated soap
• 1/2 cup Borax
• 1/2 cup Washing Soda

The recipe specifically called for a soap called Fels Naptha, which I'm assuming is fairly easy to find in the USA.  A few people I came across on the net used plain ol' Ivory soap, but I ended up using a laundry bar soap I found in the detergent aisle of the grocery store, called Sunlight.  I procrastinated for a few days, thinking that the soap would be a pain to grate up, but was surprised at how soft it was, and how quickly the process went.  (The whole business only took a few minutes.)

I found that about half the bar grated up yielded 1 cup of soap shavings - the soap is sold in a two pack, so I should get 4 batches of detergent out of this.

I mixed in the half cup of Borax,

And added in the washing soda.  Don't confuse this with baking soda - it is similar in composition, but is something different.  And that's it!  Easy peasy, eh?

One thing I particularly liked about this recipe, is that I only need about a tablespoon per usual washload, so this batch will give us about 30 loads of laundry.  (Around here, that lasts 2-3 weeks, including diaper washing.)  I use one of those plastic measuring cups that come with kids' medicine, so I can practice portion control, I'm notorious for using too much of everything.  The first load I did with this was a load of whites - I wanted to make sure they didn't come out "greyed".  I used the standard one tablespoon, and added a 1/4 cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle, instead of fabric softener.  It worked wonderfully, and I'm quite pleased with the whole project!

Have you ever considered something like this?  Why or why not?

Comments

[Jennifer]

That is so cool!

Ouchie about your little one's hurt lip. Poor guy!

[colleen]

does the lotion count?
I'll send a bar of Fels Naptha for you to compair

[marianne]

Gosh, I haven't seen Fels Naptha in forever... must try and locate some! This is just the sort of thing I would do. I DO use vinegar in my rinse water cycle (it cuts remaining soaps) and I use a couple of tennis balls in my dryer, doesn't seem to hurt the clothes at all and works to soften.
I'm going to try this! Thank you!

[Hasbu]

I really should try to make some!

[tiennie]

I have not but I do use green detergent that is environmentally safe and does a great job on our clothes.

[trishia]

wonderful! thank you for sharing the "recipe" :)

[Karen]

How do these home made recipes work with cold water and HE machines?
I have never used hot or even warm water to wash my clothes and have never had a problem with them, i also have never used bleach in my household.
I found them to be harmful to my hydro bill and the bleach to wear out my clothing faster and do nothing but make them yellow and dingy. Now if homemade detergent will work with cold water and HE machine I will gladdly start making my own!!