Naturally Clean: Homemade Laundry Detergent

For the longest time, I've been wanting to make a homemade laundry detergent. I did some research and found out that most are made from just 3 ingredients. While the ratios can vary, it seems that you can just use equal parts grated castile soap, washing soda, and borax. I saw some recipes included baking soda. I didn't add any to mine but I might try that later. Although I used equal parts, you could always adjust the ingredients based on your own laundry needs.

Why bother? Well, most commercial laundry detergents contain ingredients that aren't biodegradable. Every ingredient in this soap is, and it's all natural. It's so gentle it can even be used for baby clothes. My son has sensitive skin and has had no adverse reactions. The other good reason? It's extremely cheap!

I tested this detergent for a little over a week and I've been very happy with the results. It leaves my laundry soft and smelling fresh. I used it on sheets, blankets, clothes, and towels. The only thing that I did not wash was my cloth diapers. I read that the castile soap can leave a film and cause repelling so I decided to keep using my Country Save for diapers. In the future, I may try it out on just flats and prefolds.

So here's exactly what I ended up using but feel free to change it up or use different scents:

1 bar of Dr. Bronner's Hemp Tea Tree pure castile soap grated (~2 cups)
2 cups Arm and Hammer washing soda
2 cups Borax

I have an HE washer so I use one tablespoon per load. If you have a top loader, 2 tablespoons is recommended. I tested on hot, warm, and cold washes. It works well on hot and warm as is. If you are going to use it for cold washing, I recommend dissolving it in some warm water before adding it to your wash.

With this recipe you'll get about 96 HE loads or 48 conventional loads.

Flats and Handwashing Challenge: Wash Routine

It's day 4 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.

My wash routine has been pretty simple. I made a wash tub out of a 5 gallon bucket and a plunger. It works really well and wasn't as difficult to do as I had imagined.

I start by storing dirty diapers in the wash bucket. I've been washing the diapers every day because the fewer that are washed, the easier it is on your hands and arms. Every evening I haul the bucket to the bathroom and fill it up with lukewarm water. This is my pre-rinse. I plunge it for about 5 minutes and then drain all the water. Next I add a small amount of my detergent and fill it with the hottest water I can get. I let it sit for a few minutes (usually enough time to watch final Jeopardy, haha) and then I wash vigorously for five minutes. 

I then dump all that water out and fill it again with hot water. I add about 1/4 cup of vinegar and then plunge for another 5 minutes or so. Dump again, fill again with hot water and repeat without the vinegar. Dump water and fill with lukewarm water for final rinse. Swish until there are no more soap bubbles, remove diapers, wring and hang to dry.

It's pretty simple and it usually only takes me 30 minutes or so. It does take a bit of upper body stamina to do this but I keep the music going to help keep my mind off of it.

I make sure to smell my diapers after taking them out and they always smell clean to me.

I do want to say that while this isn't so bad for a week, I am very much looking forward to getting my washing machine back. Handwashing diapers is very doable but by no means is it an ideal situation. If I were in a situation where I did not have access to a washing machine, I would look for a different long-term washing option other than a bucket and plunger.

Tips from the Box #1

Every once in a while I have a discovery immediately followed by "why have I been making things harder on myself?"

 Figuring out babies and all the "baby stuff" that comes along with them is a daunting task. One of the many things I had overlooked before my son was born was a laundry basket for the nursery. We were keeping his dirty clothes in a pile on the floor and eventually started using an old laundry bag hung on the door. At the time I was doing laundry probably about every other day because, well, babies are messy. The worst part of laundry was trying to find all those little socks. Sometimes they were stuck inside sleeves or pant legs. Sometimes they just completely vanished. We eventually got a standing laundry basket and it came with a lingerie bag. It sat on top of his dresser for the longest time before...*epiphany*