Homemade Laundry Soap

If you are anything like me you probably are very particular about your laundry soap and fabric softner that you use. Trust me, it took me a very long time to come around to the idea of making my own. With any kind of soap you want to to first and foremost clean well, I have 3 kids who like to get their clothes dirty! Some other factors are that my clothes should end up smelling good and clean. I should also mention that a few of us in this household have senstive skin "eczema".

We never did get the "cheapest" detergent. We normally would get "Tide", would keep an eye out for sales, plus use some coupons. Now don't get me wrong, the "Tide" was great in every aspect, but the price. Here in this house we average about 1-2 loads per day, sometimes even 3 (since we cloth diaper in this house), so we go through quite a bit of laundry soap...

Now call me "crazy", but I always like to try and "save" some money. Well, you never know how the homemade laundry soap will work until you take the time to make it and "try" a batch. You can't just come to the conclusion that it doesn't work as well if you haven't tried it...

Fast forward a little... I decide to try out some different receipes that I found online (I tried the Duggar's Receipe first). Anyways in the end I found a basic receipe I liked and then adapted to make it my own.

To make the Homemade Laundry Soap, I started with the following ingredients:

 

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

2 (28 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals - (This is 100% optional. I added it to make my laundry smell good and I love the way it makes my towels soft and fluffy)...

So, now that you have all your goodies together, you are going to "grate" the soap. I used an cheese grater and it seemed like it took FOREVER. My recommendation if you can try and get your hubby to do this part, lol!

Oh and just incase you are wondering the soap will dissolve, even in cold water. I was skeptical about this the first time I made this.

Anyways, so now that the hardest part is done, you are now ready to mix everything together. I used a 5 gallon bucket. I layered everything in the bucket to make mixing it up easier, to make it even easier I found that is works better if you don't put the grated Zote on the bottom of the bucket. I mixed it up with a large wooden spoon...

Here is what is looks like when you are done:

 

I have to warn you, this batch makes A LOT! Oh and here is the best part, you will only need 2-4 tablespoons per load (depending on the size of the load and how dirty the load is).

For those of you who own a High Efficiency Washer - it actually works really well. Homemade laundry soap doesn't create suds. It took me a while to get used to that, but the "bubbles" aren't really what does the cleaning.

You can also try you own experiments. You can try using different kinds of soap - like Ivory or Fels Naptha...

Change 3 Things...

Believe it or not I am always looking for ways to "simplify" things around my house. Also, saving money and doing our bit to protect our environment are added bonuses too...

I decided to change 3 things, Dishwasher Detergent, Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener. These are all things we use often on a daily basis. I looked around for recipes and was astonished as to how simple these were to make! The fact that it had the potential to save me a lot of money and is Eco-Friendly influenced my choice even more. Also, a few of us in this household have sensitive skin (Bella for example has Eczema and we have to be careful of what detergent we use or she will break out in a rash).

First you will need to gather some key ingredients to make all this stuff, most of this stuff I already had hiding in the pantry of my house.

- White Vinegar
- Canning Salt (or Salt with no additives, normally table salt has iodine in it)
- Citric Acid (again can be found with canning supplies in most stores)
- Ivory Bar Soap
- Borax
- Super Washing Soda

I actually only needed to get Borax, Super Washing Soda and Ivory Bar Soap, but those three items didn't cost me much at all, not sure what happened to my receipt, but definitely less than $10!

1. Dishwasher Detergent

You will need the following ingredients.
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax
1/2 Cup Salt
1/2 Cup Citric Acid

All you do is measure all these out into a container, mix well or if you are anything like me just put a lid on the thing and give it a good shake!

The detergent will clump, due to moisture, but this is normal, nothing that a good old fork will not fix!

You will use 1-2 tablespoons per load. Fill the rinse dispenser with white vinegar.

I tried this last night and I loved how clean my dishes came out, not to mention that there are no water stains on my glasses at all and I didn't even have to set to "dry".

2. Laundry Detergent

There are two types of Laundry Detergent you can make, liquid and powder. I choose to make the liquid because it is more versatile.

1 Quart of Water (4cups)
2 Cups of finely grated Ivory Bar Soap (you can use any soap you like, but make sure it is not heavily weighed down by moisturizers or scents).
2 Cups of Borax
2 Cups of Super Washing Soda

- You are going to boil the water on the stove, add the finely grated soap, stir until all the soap is melted.
- Pour the soap water mixture into a large clean pail, then add the Borax and Washing Soda, stir until all is dissolved.
- Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
- You are then going to let it cool, once it is cool you can add 5-7 drops of essential oil per gallon to give it a scent (this is OPTIONAL). The soap will gel, so you will need to stir it every time before you use it. However I used a funnel and put mine in an old Tide container, so I just shake it up a little before each use. You will use 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

We have 3 kids here, under the age of 5 so I choose a recipe that was a little more concentrated and figured that I could just use less than a 1/4 of a cup if needed.

3. Fabric Softener

6 Cups Hot Water
3 Cups White Vinegar
2 Cups of hair Conditioner

Mix the conditioner and hot water until the conditioner is well dissolved. Then add in the 3 cups of White Vinegar. Pour into an old Fabric Softener container and VOILA, your very own homemade fabric softener!

You will use the same amount you use previously into your fabric softener dispenser in your washing machine or downy ball...

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. ;-)

Winner of Rockin' Green Giveaway

This winner of the Rockin' Green giveaway is...

Congradulations to Brittany. Please contact me so that you can claim your bag of Rockin' Green!

Rockin' Green

So you are probably wondering, Rockin' Green? Well, I started cloth diapering after my daughter, Bug was born in 2006 and has VERY sensitive skin. Nothing worked, but cloth diapers! I started by trying fitteds and pockets, and then quickly moved to AIOs. We now have her in cloth trainers and her little brother is Cloth Diapered about 50% - 70% of the time. Needless to say we were on the hunt for a detergent that would work with my daughter's super sensitive skin! She has Eczema and many detergents leave a residue behind, so I was in search of something that is clean rising...

I started my search on the internet and came across Rockin' Green...

Rockin' Green Diaper Detergent makes diaper washing easy and cuts the worry along with the "stink" in your cloth diaper laundry! Born out of necessity, this cloth diaper and laundry detergent is absolutely GREEN - easy on the planet and safe for kids and adults alike!

This special formula only requires a small amount be used with each load of diapers; it rinses clean, saving you both time and money!

Dye Free, Enzyme Free, Phosphate Free…

This cloth diaper detergent ROCKS, hence the name. What can you expect from Rockin' Green Diaper Detergent? The better question might be what you should NOT expect - for instance, it won't wash your car; sad, but true.

But seriously, here is a list of what you get with a bag of Rockin' Green Diaper Detergent:

• A detergent FREE OF dyes, enzymes, fillers, optical brighteners and phosphates!
• Several scents to choose from, but also an unscented version for those with sensitive skin. The scented versions contain natural fragrances.
• An easy rinsing, HE compatible formula; also approved for military use.
• Vegan - no need to compromise convictions in your cloth diaper washing detergent!
• Reusable packaging - you are reusing diapers, you certainly don't need throwaway packaging!
• Economical! Rockin’ Green Diaper Detergent washes 45/90 loads and costs you $0.13 a load!

Soft Rock, Classic Rock or Hard Rock?

There are three types of Rockin' Green Detergent available; review the manufacturer's recommendations below when selecting a type.

Soft Rock: "This unscented version is gentler than the original and is great for little ones that have sensitive skin."

Classic Rock: "This is the sound that started it all. Our original formula is great for diapers and regular clothes. So use it on everything!"

Hard Rock: "This hard water formula is perfect for those that struggle with diaper laundry! Our newest formula in the lineup will knock the stink out of anything you throw at it!"

I wasn't sure if it was really going to work out for us. Well no worries, you can order samples for just .75 - .80, we ordered some Classic Rock as that is what it suggested for Virginia water. So, it arrived in the mail fairly quickly and we gave it a whirl. It was amazing to see what kind of stuff came out of my daughter's cloth diapers (you wouldn't think the water would be gray in color...), so it passed the cleaning test. We then had to test it out for about a week or so on her skin, I am happy to say that it passed that test too...

We moved in Central PA and were having some issues with the Classic Rock at the time. NO FEAR! Kim took the time to troubleshoot with me and even sent me some samples to try out, well it turns out we have Hard Water, so we switched to Hard Rock 2.0 and the Eczema rash went away again!

Another reason why we switched to Rockin' Green for all our laundry needs, is because it is VERY ECONOMICAL. It is actually cheaper than buying All Baby or Dreft.

Then, you can't beat the AMAZING customer service. I had gotten an order of Rockin' Green and one of the bags had leaked, I contacted customer service and they sent me out a replacement bag right away at no extra charge!


So, since it is the month of November and with Thanksgiving coming up I think it is time to "pay it forward" and pass on something that I enjoy using in my household to yours...

The Giveaway:

Enter to win a 45/90 load bag in scent of your choice:

Leave a comment here - 1 Point

Follow my blog - 1 Point

Fan Rockin' Green on Facebook - 1 Point

Leave a message on Rockin's Green's Facebook page - 1 Point

Share this on Facebook - 1 Point

You are going to have to leave separate comments for each entry in order for them to count.

The winner will be pick on Wednesday, November 10th at Noon, EST. I will notify the winner via Blog or E-mail, so please make sure I have a way to contact you!

Good Luck!