Laundry

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for some time now, so I presume that the adage better late than never aptly applies here.

Back in August, my sister in law encouraged me to try some of her homemade laundry detergent. I did because it has always piqued my interest and I was pleasantly surprised by the success of the brew. The kids and I then made a batch with this recipe as our guide. I used Ivory Soap in place of the Fels-Naptha and we microwaved it to get it to the right consistency. Exploding things in the microwave is incredibly exhilarating for a two year-old and four year-old. They were captivated. *Side note: I had an incredibly hard time actually finding Washing Soda in a store. I ended up ordering from Amazon Prime - because you know -- Amazon Prime makes the world go 'round.

We mixed everything together and put it in a clear Sterilite container. It is now March and we have more than half of the bin remaining. I have not bought laundry detergent since August. I have three children and a husband who works outdoors. We use cloth napkins and dish towels, have towels, tablecloths, sheets; your standard linen inventory. I would argue on average I do about 9-10 loads of laundry a week. 

I have found that certain dirt and grease stains are tough to remove with this detergent. I would say it is for a gently used and dirty article of clothing. For those pieces that have tougher stains (think a one year old who doesn’t wear a bib and a thirty-three year old who paints and greases doors and uses wood putty and power tools…) I have found that if I soak them prior and use a stain remover first, a wash in this detergent will then remove the stain. 

I haven’t bit the bullet to purchase them as of yet but wool dryer balls are next on my list of must haves. Scented with lavender essential oil. I can smell it now…

Until then I’ll continue to use my Downy and dream of a made-over laundry room with a folding area, pretty glass detergent containers, and a wicker basket placed ever so nonchalantly on the washer.

 via here