Laundry Detergent

About a year or so ago, I started contemplating the idea of making my own laundry detergent.  Laundry detergent is expensive to say the least and evidently it is very bad for the environment, probably the manufacturing of it and disposal of the containers.  A friend of mine shared with me her recipe and I have been making it ever since.  It is very easy and very cheap.  Not only that, it is good if you have sensitive skin as it does not irritate your skin with perfumes and can be used for baby laundry as well.  Here is the recipe:

1 bar Castile Soap, grated (my current favorite is the almond scent)
1 c Borax powder (according to the Queen of Clean, this has all sorts of cleaning powers)
1 c Washing Soda (by Arm & Hammer, it is in the laundry aisle)
1/4 c Oxy Clean (not necessary, but I add it)

Mix it all together into a bumpy, granular mix.  Don't worry about it getting correctly dispersed.  Use 1T for alight/normal load and 2T for heavy/dirty loads.

I usually triple the recipe because I do a LOT of laundry and I don't want to be making it all of the time.  This last time I multiplied it by 6, but it wouldn't all fit in my container, so I don't think that I will do that again.  It is all very easy, the only thing that is annoying is grating the soap, but it the best way I have found to do it is in our food processor.

I also have a recipe for laundry rinse, I don't make it, I just use straight vinegar in my fabric softener dispenser to make sure that all of the germs are washed away.  Don't worry, your clothes won't smell like vinegar, I promise!

Laundry Rinse
1 gal white vinegar
25-30 drops essential oil.