Laundry detergent making day.........

I know this doesn't look like laundry detergent and trust me it isn't.  But they opened a new coffee shop in town and I thought I'd mosey on over there and see what they had.  Lo and Behold!  Pumpkin Spice Latte just like Starbuck's!  OMG!  I thought I'd died and went to heaven!  I haven't had one of those for years as the closest Starbucks is 2 hours away!  What a great start to my Saturday and a real treat for me!

 Okay....on to the laundry detergent making since I am now motivated and wired.........
I know I've shared this recipe before but just in case someone is new to my blog I'll reiterate as it is so simple.  These are my backup supplies and what you'll need to make your own laundry detergent for pennies and much gentler on your clothes and you.  You can also use essential oils of your favorite scent to make it smell however you want.

These old cereal containers are what I now use for my ingredients.

I usually use castile bar soap but they didn't have any so I bought Fels Naptha bar soap but I wouldn't recommend it as there is a warning on the label that says "eye and skin irritant".  Now why would you want to wash your clothes in something that was a skin irritant?  Never again but for purposes of demonstration that is what the yellow soap is...........Castile is white.
 You only need 1 bar of soap per batch and I used to slice it like this and then put it in my food processor and it would grind it up into a fine powder consistency but my food processor broke and I am trying to do without it so I just hand chop.

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  Once you get the bar sliced up the chopping is really easy.  It practically falls apart by itself.

I use a rectangular Lock N' Lock container for holding it all.  You can get them at Walmart or QVC     online.  QVC has a better selection with colors and sizes.  The reason I like the Lock N' Lock is because it is spill proof and water proof.

Once I have all the dry ingredients and the chopped up bar soap in there I add some essential oil.  This time I used lemon grass but I've used lilac and pine scent and somewhere I read that tea tree oil has germ killing properties.  You don't have to add any if you want scent free but I for one always love a good scent.
Then because the Lock N' Lock is spill proof, I close it up, lock it down and shake it like crazy.  So much so that I'm sure it qualifies as exercise!  It breaks up the hunks of borax and baking soda which tend to have clumps and mixes everything together and spreads the scent throughout.  This is what it looks like after mixing and shaking.

 

  Here's the actual recipe if you don't already have it........

Homemade Laundry Detergent
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1 bar Castile soap chopped
2 C Borax
2 C Washing Soda
1 C Baking Soda
Essential oil is optional

I use 1/4 C per load and it is safe for front loading HE washers as that is what I have.  I've been using this for years now and wouldn't go back to the "pricey" and chemical laden variety.  It only takes minutes to make and lasts me a long time.  Of course I only do about 2-3 loads a week if that much.
I hope you're having a great Saturday!  It's gorgeous here and cooled off into the 50's but I'm loving it!