this past spring i started making my own laundry powder, or what we call clothes soap. since the very first day we started using it, ella has LOVED the way her clothes feel, she tells me they are obviously so clean and fresh that anybody can notice.
toward the middle of summer, after having been using this homemade powder for a few months, i realized that ella's eczema was more or less gone. she'd had just one tiny patch--about 1/4" in diameter--which went away with one day of ointment, and she's had none since. that's when i understood that our homemade laundry soap was having a far greater effect than just saving money or making the clothes feel fresh.
last week, i decided while grocery shopping that i would just buy one small jug of liquid laundry detergent to have on hand--you know, "in case"--i have no idea what a laundry emergency would be but it seemed like a good idea at the time. when we got home, i decided to do a load of laundry with the store-bought stuff--you know, "just because".
never again.
first--even though it is labeled free of dyes and perfumes, it actually does have a scent--i just never noticed before. i made the mistake of washing our pajamas in it, and the scent kept me up all night.
second--the clothes felt crisp--yes, clean, but they were almost crunchy. were they always like that? how did i not notice?
third--ITCHING. that right there settled it.
but getting back to why i started making my own in the first place: the cost is so low that it is laughable. around a penny per load of laundry. the lowest price i found on store-bought stuff was about 20¢ per load.
so, even though i still have this little jug of laundry soap "just in case", we're permanently back to making our own. there are lots of recipes online and they are all similar, because they use just three ingredients (four, if you count water for making the liquid version): bar laundry soap--borax--washing soda.
NOTE--washing soda is sodium carbonate--Na2CO3. baking soda is sodium bicarbonate--NaHCO3. they are similar, but not the same. if you use baking soda, your costs will sky rocket and yet your results will not be as good.
for laundry soap, we like zote—our local stores carry the pink variety, it smells "clean", and it is cheap. some people prefer fels naptha (which is SAFE--it no longer has the scary ingredient in it). but the truth is you can use practically any mild, non-glycerine soap. at least one person i know uses ivory soap (i was going to link to ivory but for some slightly infuriating reason, their link auto-directs to facebook. boo, ivory, not cool). as far as fancier soap varieties, personally i wouldn't use my handmade herbal soap on my laundry--i just don't think my unmentionables can appreciate that luxury the way my skin does in the bath. your undies may vary.
save a small piece of the soap bar to use as a stain treatment--just wet the bar and rub it on the stain. you can let it sit on the stain overnight if you wish. it is fantastic on grease stains--because, you know, oil/fat is a key ingredient in making soap.
or, if you happen to grate a little more soap than you need--which of course i have "never" done--you can melt it in some water, pour it into a little jar, and use this gel as your stain treatment. just scoop some out and rub it on the stain, then let sit until ready to wash.
and lastly, if it makes any difference at all, zote soap is so mild that you can bathe in it. it is ella's preferred hand soap. after our own handmade soap, that is.
oh also lastly, the label on the jar in the picture: while decluttering, i found a stack of sticky labels left over from the days of floppy diskettes, so those are now our household supply labels. i have ella print the words on them—because her handwriting makes even clothes soap seem festive.
*if you would prefer to make liquid soap—and i’m going to be making some myself soon—the simple dollar has a great tutorial with excellent visuals.
