Doing Laundry....

I have been making powdered laudry detergent for the past year now. I go in between using the homemade stuff and soap nuts.  Just this past week I decided to make fabric softener, too!  Here is my recipe for detergent:

2 cups grated Fels Naptha Soap (basically one bar)
1 cup Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
1 cup Borax

■Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.  I normally make a double batch.

■Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

Here is the grated bar of soap...I use my Kitchen Aid attachment to grate it.  I know...it doesn't sound right to use my Kitchen Aid when I am going to grate cheese later, but all the equipment I use is put through the dishwasher a couple of times to get rid of any soap residue.

Here is the mixed detergent...it is ready to be used!

Making fabric softener was a new thing for me.  I was surprised to find out that one of the main ingredients in homemade fabric softener is white vinegar!  I have been using vinegar in my rinse cycle for years to get rid of that yucky smell that towels get sometimes.

Here are the ingredients that are needed...this is surprisingly simple!

Here is the recipe:

1 large container

1 gallon container for storing the softener

1 cup baking soda

6 cups white vinegar

water

essential oil (optional)

You need to mix the ingredients in a container that is BIGGER than one gallon!  Because of the chemical reaction of the baking soda and vinegar, the mixture needs a lot of space to expand.  Add the baking soda and 1 cup water to the big container.  No need to stir at this point. Slowly, pour in 6 cups vinegar.  Don't dump it in all at once or everything will overflow!!! I did about a cup at a time, and I let the bubbles subside a bit before adding more vinegar.  After all the vinegar is added let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Then add six cups of water.  Add 10-15 drops of essential oil if you like.  Stir.  Pour into your one gallon storage container.  You want to use about 1 cup for each load of laundry. 

I was surprised at how well this stuff worked!  The clothes were soft!  There is such a huge savings in doing this and it only takes a few minutes!  Besides, I recently heard that the dryer sheets (that I have used for years) are bad for your skin!  So we are going this route from now on!