Chemical-Free Homemade Laundry Soap

My friend and fellow deckhand, Janelle, turned me on to some of her homemade laundry detergent. I did my laundry with the 2 gallons she gave me. It not only cleaned my clothes as well as store-bought; but, it smelled way better, too!

It is really really simple to make! Check out the recipes below.

Being a poor white old lady, I've decided to save money and ensure my soaps no longer contain all the chemicals corporate soap companies love.

Besides being free of all those chemicals, you can make 3x more for 1/2 the price of the cheapest laundry detergent on the shelves. A 5-gal bucket of soap is a LOT of soap! Oh, and I use less per load than the store-bought crap.

I have found some laundry soap recipes all over the net. These have been tested by other homesteaders; however, not by me. So, the jury is out on which is simplest, cheapest, and best-cleaning. I'll be making the first one this week so I'll post how easy/hard my new adventure was.

 

Be creative with your ingredients

By the way...

• You'll need bars of soap (you can make your own, of course) I'll be testing out these every time I make a recipe: Fels-Naptha, Ivory, Pure & Natural, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps (really, why would you?)
• Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found in the laundry and cleaning aisles.
• Some people with really hard city water or well water may have to adjust the ingredients if your clothes look dingy.
• Although several of the recipes have the same ingredients, the measurements are different–some contain a higher soap to water ratio. Test and see which works best for you.
• Soap will be lumpy, goopy and gel-like. This is normal. Just give it a good shake or stir before using. To remove unwanted lumps and bumps - add tons of chemicals :D
• If you can’t find any of these basic and common ingredients like Fels-Naptha locally, buy it online.
• You can add between 10- to 20- drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade detergent. Don't add until the soap has cooled to room temperature. Stir well.
  Essential oil ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil
• You can make huge pails of this at once, or smaller quantities. Also if you can get your hands on a few empty liquid laundry detergent bottles they work great for storing the detergent. Just make a big batch and pour in bottles, cap then use as needed–shake before use. My friend Janelle uses (empty and cleaned) gallon milk containers.
• Some of the recipes call for large amounts of water. Check with a local restaurant to see if they have any empty large buckets they get ingredients in. We use them daily to wash our boats...they’re big, heavy plastic and very sturdy when stirring the soap and hot water. And, of course, reusable!
• If you have questions, here are a few FAQ links:

Tipnut     Family Homestead     DIY Naturally     

 

Wash 'n Wondrous

1 quart Water (boiling)

2 cups Bar soap (grated)

2 cups Borax

2 cups Washing Soda

(Washing soda is also known as Soda Ash. If you don't see it at Wal-Mart, Freddies, or your grocery store, it can be found at art supply stores like JoAnne Fabrics or Michael's)

• Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted. 
• Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved. 
• Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed. 
• Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).  

Sudsy Su 

1 quart hot water

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup Borax

1/3 bar soap (grated) 

• In a large pot, heat 3 pints of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat
• In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 1 quart of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well.
• Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).  

Powered Pretty

12 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda
8 cups Bar soap (grated)

• Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.
• Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

Life So Far

So far, no land have I purchased.

So far, monies are getting low because Washington state hasn't sent a single Unemployment Check. I ask myself why do I pay into this program if getting paid when unemployed is not an option? I receive letters in abundance telling me my application is being reviewed, or I can't get paid cuz I'm in school (who said I was in school and no, I didn't click that option). I got a letter saying my benefits were being reduced cuz I worked (when did I work?). I think the Unemployment Program has become a scam. I can't find land to buy. Everything is overpriced or over-exaggerated. When I had no money saved, there was awesome land everywhere. Now, there's nothing but junk. I'm completely dejected. :( So I'll post a pretty picture to brighten my day.

Dick - Whatta Guy!

Henry David Thoreau - Hell Yeah!

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. ”  

— Henry David Thoreau, Walden, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For"

Baw Faw - Is this home?

So, I looked up the Chehalis 2007 flood online and found that the entire Boistfort (pronounced Baw Faw for some reason) was under 20 ft of water.

It's too far from friends and family. I want it so badly; but, it's just not meant to be.

Where's my land!?!