Green Living - Homemade Fabric Softner

double batch - Fruit Loops

I've been dying to try making my own fabric softner since the first time I made homemade laundry soap.  I have used straight vinegar before, in the interest of being green.  That works; your clothes are not as crunchy as they are without fabric softner.  But, I missed my fresh and homey scented Snuggle.  I decided that I could make my own fabric softner and add in scents.

This was very easy to make.  You use about 1/8 cup of this mixture with each load of laundry in a regular machine.  I use 1/16 cup in my HE washer.  So, it is definitely very inexpensive per load.  I made 2 batches and scented them like Fruit Loops.  I'm going to use it for the kids clothes.  As soon as I get another container, I will make some for the adult clothing and scent it with a fresh linen scent that I bought.

Ingredients:
2 cups of vinegar
2 cups of baking soda
4 cups of warm water
scent - as much (or as little) as you like

I recommend storing this is a container that you can shake.  I put a pic below to show that it does separate, so you will have to shake this up before using it.  I ended up using a 1 gallon vinegar jug.  I also recommend mixing this up in a wide container in your sink.  The vinegar and baking soda will fizz up.  If you mix in your sink, you won't have to worry about the over flowing.  I added the water first, then vinegar then baking soda, in small amounts to minimize the fizz.

Add the scent last.  Just add a drop or two and see how it smells to you.  You can always add more.  For reference, I made a double batch and I used 1.5ml of scent.

everything you need

use your sink

see how it separates?

Green Living - Reusable Shopping Bags - Wash Them!

Sorry, I accidentally published this article earlier in the week.  If you got a blank article from me - whoops - apologies!

This is a short post - I was watching GMA (Good Morning America) the other day and they mentioned how you should wash your reusable shopping bags in HOT water because if you don't, bacteria and salmonella may live in them and contaminate your food.  OF COURSE YOU SHOULD WASH YOUR SHOPPING BAGS.  Except, I hadn't washed mine.  Ewwwwwwwwwwww gross!  Now, they are clean.  I'm going to add this little task to my calendar!

Green Living - Homemade Laundry Soap

While watching The Duggars on TV one day, I noticed that they make their own laundry soap. I had read that making your own soap was a lot more Green and decided that I would try it!

I originally posted about homemade laundry soap back in November 2008.  This is the post that I get the most questions about.  I originally decided to try and make my own laundry soap in order to help the environment.  It was also amazingly cheap to DIY this liquid laundry soap.  I decided that it would be something I would do in order to help our household save money.

This recipe is for a liquid laundry soap.  It is safe in HE washers, as ours is a HE washer.  The liquid soap does not turn into 100% liquid.  It is actually 30% liquid and 70% gel.  I think that this may turn some people off, I know the uniform consistency of the major brands is appealing, but it does work well!

You will need these household tools:
a large measuring cup for liquids
a 1 cup measuring cup for solids
a cheese grater
a large pot
a large wooden spoon
a laundry soap storage container with a lid that closes tightly



Here is the recipe (I'll tell you where to buy it, below):
1 bar of Zote Laundry Soap.  Shred this into small pieces.
1.5 cups of washing soda
1.5 cups of borax powder
lots of water

What to do:
First, put 18 cups of water in the pot.
Add the shredded soap and heat on low, stir occasionally.
Once the soap is melted, add the washing soda and the borax.

When the mixture is dissolved, turn the heat off.

Add 12 cups of hot water to your storage container.
Then add in the soap mixture.
Mix this well with your large wooden spoon.
Now you need to add 4 gallons + 2 cups of warm water to the storage container.
Mix this well with your large wooden spoon.

Close the container and leave the soap alone for at least 24 hours.


Some notes:
(1)This will make a LOT of liquid laundry soap.  I suggest a big container.  It may seem like I am using a lot of ingredients compared to other recipes out there.  My reasoning behind this is that I want to use up an entire bar of Zote soap.  Some people may suggest leaving the bar of Zote out, unwrapped for a while to season it.  For this liquid laundry soap recipe, I do not recommend that.

(2)WASHING SODA IS NOT BAKING SODA
this is a very important note!!  They are 2 different things.  You will find baking soda in he baking aisle next to the flour and sugar while you will find the washing soda in the laundry aisle next to the dryer sheets and stain removers.

(3)1 gallon = 16 cups of water

(4)The liquid soap does not turn into 100% liquid.  It is actually 30% liquid and 70% gel.

(5)I do recommend Zote Laundry Soap - but if you prefer another soap, you are welcome to try it. Please post back and let me know.

(6)You could add some essential oils for fragrance once you get to the stir-in-the-storage-container part of the process.  I figure that there is enough scent going on and that I don't need any more.  If you try it, please post back and let me know which scent you choose and how it works.

(7)This mixture does not produce a suds-ey laundry soap.  If you have a front load washer and watch the cycle, do not be alarmed when you don't see suds forming.  (I was quite alarmed the first time that I saw this lack of suds).

(8)You should use a 1/2 cup scoop in a conventional washer and 1/4-1/2 in your HE machine.  Since this is a low suds recipe you can use as much as 1/2 cup in your HE machine.  I only do laundry 1/2 a week so I use a little less than 1/2 cup for each load.  My loads are quite full.

(9)This laundry soap can also be used as a spot-treater.  Just pour some onto the stain and rub it in.  I sometimes use a cleaning brush to really rub it in.

(10)Where to buy everthing:
You shouldn't have any trouble finding the borax or the washing soda at your local grocery store, Target or Walmart.  The soap is probably going to be the tricky part.  Luckily my Super Stop & Shop still carries the Zote laundry soap.  I have not seen it at Target or Walmart lately.  You can also buy all 3 of these items online at Amazon.com.  I have added links to the recipe above.

(11)Here is my storage container:

PS
one of my next projects is going to be an attempt at powdered laundry soap!

More Laundry Soap

Home Made/Eco Friendley Laundry Soap

You may have seen The Duggars episode where they had homemade laundry soap. I have had the ingredients for a while but wanted to use us the rest of our store bought laundry soap first. This weekend we finally made it! The secret is going to be the container, I think. We found this awesome container at Target that actually even comes with a scoop. The lid is key. I don't want any spillage.


This is the formula I used. We tripled it in order to use up 1 entire bar of soap.

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
This is the website the formula and instructions/tips came from.


--> -->

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

You may have seen The Duggars episode where they had homemade laundry soap. I have had the ingredients for a while but wanted to use us the rest of our store bought laundry soap first. This weekend we finally made it! The secret is going to be the container, I think. We found this awesome container at Target that actually even comes with a scoop. The lid is key. I don't want any spillage.