Homemade Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap

For several months I had toiled with making my own laundry soap. I wasn't sure if it would really work. I was afraid that if would leave my laundry looking "dingy" and not smell clean! My mother-in-law starting making her own laundry soap and really liked it. I had looked up many recipes on YouTube.com  and found they were mostly the same. I talked it over with the hubby and he wasn't so keen on it. He thought it would be too much work so I left it at that. I knew I wanted to get away from all the harsh chemicals in laundry soap. Who really needs 20 plus ingredients in your laundry soap?? And, why should we have to pay bookoo's of money for all natural and organic?? I started buying Organic Laundry soap at Sam's Club because I could get it in bulk and pay less for it. The only problem was that our "local" Sam's club is about 45 minutes away! SO, I factored in the drive up there, time spent, and amount used and decided to give making my own detergent a try! I bought everything I needed and one day I put it all together! The recipe called for Ivory Soap but I instead used Irish Spring (my favorite bar soap)! I made a 5 gallon bucket of it for CHEAP!! I started to do laundry and really didn't notice a different in the store bought and homemade. I had fallen way behind on laundry and had it piled high in just about every room of the house. We were leaving for vacation in a week and I knew I needed to get all this laundry done. I used my homemade soap. It works awesome! I have been working on the 5 gallon bucket for the past 2 months and I still have about 1/4 of the bucket left!! I use a little more than the recipe called for per load because I have 2 kids who love to play in dirt! I also add about a 1/4 scoop of Oxy Clean to help boost the detergent for those tough stains! Only using a 1/4 scoop of the Oxy Clean, I am able to stretch that further...saving more money!! 

This is just one way that we are going green! We are not having to deal with all the "chemicals" in our laundry soap and we are saving money by making our own and making it in bulk! I also have a recipe for stretching your fabric softener and making homemade house cleaners! But, that's another blog! For now, here is the recipe for homemade laundry soap (my way)! 

Oh, and by the way, Hubby is on board with it now!!! 

Homemade Laundry Soap

3 1/2 gallons hot water

1 1/2 gallons boiling water

1/2 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda, NOT BAKING SODA

2 bars of soap ( I use Irish Spring, but you can also use Ivory)*see note below

5 gallon bucket

Grate 2 bars of soap. You can use a food processor or hand grater. Fill bucket with 3 1/2 gallons of  hot water. I usually have hubby take it into the bathroom and fill it in the tub with hot water. On the stove, add 1 1/2 gallons water to a large pot. Add grated soap and stir until melted. I use a whisk at the beginning and then at the end I use a slotted spoon to make sure its all melted. The soap will foam up, just turn your heat down and keep stirring. Once it is melted, Take the Borax and Washing Soda and add to bucket of water and stir till dissolved. Add in soap mixture and stir until completely combined. You may notice that this is not a really smooth mixture. It will start to "gel" up with is normal. Replace lid and let it sit over night. the next morning, remove lid and stir, it will be gel like. I use 1 cup per load. I always do extra large loads. If you are doing medium loads, use 1/2 to 2/3 cup. This soap doesn't suds up like store bought. That could be because it doesn't have all the Chemicals in it!! 

* I use 1 1/2 bars of Irish spring and 1/3 bar of Fels-Naphtha, which is a laundry bar soap that you can find in the laundry isle of any store. I don't care for the smell of Fels-Naphtha, that's why I use 1/3 bar. It helps with stains as well!!

I hope you enjoy!!

Next time I make a batch, I will video it and add it on here!

~Remember to put God first, and everything else will follow~

I am ready to go back!

 We had such a busy weekend I didn't have time to post. And, I find that it is Wednesday already....

Where has the week gone??

I had a catering gig Monday and was really surprised at how well it went. I usually have my husband there with me and if he can't make it (due to work), then I recruit a friend. This time, I had NO ONE but me, myself, and I! At this Lunch-on, I provided:

Lasagna

Green Beans

Caesar Salad

Fresh Fruit

Triple Brownie Threats

Strawberry Mini Delights

Sweet Tea

and

Water

Hubby cooks all the desserts for me and I just decorate them! He does an awesome Job!! He is my sidekick and I missed him dearly that day!

After it was all said and done, it was a big success!

I have several ways that I could go with this blog today...But, I must settle on one and work on the others later! I really don't have a menu put together for this week, but I can tell you what we had and what we are having tonight! 

Monday: Grilled Cheese and Salads

Tuesday: Fresh Parmesan Tilapia and Cheesy Potato Salad, (kids had organic fries)

And tonight we are having: Chili Glazed Turkey Breast, Green Beans, Rice and Tomatoes, and Salad (Everything that we will be eating will be organic)

As far as the rest of the week goes...I will deal with it later this afternoon and have something planned out I am sure! 

Speaking of organic.....

I went to Whole Foods yesterday ( I LOVE THAT STORE). YES, I did go about my weekly budget but I purchased some items that I felt we needed. I am all about cutting back on the grocery bill, but I do not want to sacrifice our health to do so. When I had lost 70 plus lbs (2 years ago), I was eating really healthy. I found that as I ventured into the "saving money on groceries" game, I started to gain weight back. I wanted to see how much I could get, for the cheap! I have done really well doing so! But, I have also found that the brands we normally would not have eaten, were causing some unwanted side effects. Some people believe that the foods we eat may not have an effect on our kids behavior. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT. I started adding more processed foods into our kids diet and slowly watch them change. Their behavior was nothing like it use to be. They had less energy in some ways but were more rowdy in others. They didn't have the attention span that they once had. I felt as though something was dragging me down, I was always tired and had no clue as to why. People would say, "Well you take care of a household, hubby and 2 kids...no wonder your tired". Yes, this is true, but, I wasn't as tired when I was eating healthy. 

As I mentioned before, I went to Whole Foods yesterday. I purchased $150.01 in groceries, but I had a buggy FULL! I bought several packages of fresh meat from the meat counter, fresh sliced lunch meat from the deli, fresh cheeses from the cheese counter, and several items from the bulk aisle. I did use coupons and received credit in the amount of $.20 for bringing in just 2 bags. At my local Kroger, we only get $.04 per bag. My receipt was just as long as usual and I got everything on my list and more. 

We are trying to stay away from processed foods, added preservatives and lean more towards the organic, all natural foods. With that being said, I do have a pantry still stocked with some processed foods. I have not decided if I want to use these all or donate some to our local food pantry. Either way, they will be used and not thrown away. 

I don't plan on buying everything organic. Fruits and veggies that have thicker peelings, I will purchase at a regular grocery store. We will not be eating the peelings and because they are thicker, pesticides are less likely to penetrate the peel. 

I will however, purchase the milk that is produced from cows that are not given the rBGH hormone. I will purchase meats that are raised and slaughtered the humane way and are fed a healthy diet. We have our own chickens, so we get eggs everyday and we know what we feed them (alot of salad and veggies).

I want to free our bodies of as many toxins as possible, while keeping it in budget, and I think I can do it! I purchased some all natural Laundry soap. It was a bit pricey but I would rather buy it then make my own at this point. I will be going back next week for another grocery trip. It may turn out that I only go twice a month and shop the regular store the other times. 

As far has paper towels and toilet paper, I will buy ones that are made from recycled materials. Since I mentioned it....Recycling is another thing we are taking on....Our daughter already loves to recycle, thanks to her Kindergarten teacher! 

I went to our county library yesterday as well. I picked up 2 books, one which was titled: "Go Green, Live Rich" by David Bach. I am almost half way through the book. It talks about "50 simple ways to save the earth". I will share over the next couple of weeks, some tips that I found very helpful in "greening" our home and bodies! 




I know this has been one of my longer blogs, but I really feel that my priorities have changed as far as our health is concerned. I hope that you find yourself thinking about what ways you can green your body and home all while being frugal! Link up below and tell me what you are doing!

~Remember to put God first, and everything else will follow~