Why????
Well, I am always looking for ways to cut-back on how much stuff is sent to the recycling center. When you make your own detergent all you need to do is keep back one of your old detergent bottles and then you can re-use it over and over! At our house that saves a LOT of plastic.
Also, it saves a LOT of money! All the ingredients are inexpensive and you can feel good that the final product is "natural".
It is simple to make and a great project for the kids.
Here's what you need to get started:
From the store (or your house, depending :)
~ 1 bar of Ivory Soap (or you can substitue Fels-Naptha, Sunlight Bar soap, Kirk's Hardwater Castile, or Zote)
QUICK TIP: unbox your soap and let it "air" out for a week before
grating or even quicker stick it in the freezer for an hour or so before
grating to make finer particles
~ 1 box of Borax (in laundry section of your grocery store)
~ 1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (baking soda will not work!!) (in laundry section)
From around the house:
~ a five gallon bucket (Tidy Cats 35 lb tub is purrrrfect)
QUICK TIP: Print out a copy of the recipe and tape it to your bucket
for quick reference
~ one of your old, empty laundry detergent bottles
~ a washed-out, gallon milk jug (for measuring out 3 gallons of tap water)
~ cheese grater
~ cup measure
Okay, let' do it:
1. Grate your bar of soap
2. Place 3 cups of water in a large saucepan on the stove
3. Add grated soap, simmer over low heat, stirring gently until completely dissolved
4. Add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup washing soda to your heated soap/water, stir until powders dissolve. Turn off burner.
5. Fill 5-gallon bucket with 3 gallons of warm tap water
6. Pour melted soap mixture into water, stir well
7. Let your laundry detergent sit overnight, it will become coagulated and gel-like
8. Stir your mixture, then pour into a re-purposed laundry bottle and shake well before each use (this recipe makes enough to re-fill your laundry bottle many times)
Well, I am always looking for ways to cut-back on how much stuff is sent to the recycling center. When you make your own detergent all you need to do is keep back one of your old detergent bottles and then you can re-use it over and over! At our house that saves a LOT of plastic.
Also, it saves a LOT of money! All the ingredients are inexpensive and you can feel good that the final product is "natural".
It is simple to make and a great project for the kids.
Here's what you need to get started:
From the store (or your house, depending :)
~ 1 bar of Ivory Soap (or you can substitue Fels-Naptha, Sunlight Bar soap, Kirk's Hardwater Castile, or Zote)
QUICK TIP: unbox your soap and let it "air" out for a week before
grating or even quicker stick it in the freezer for an hour or so before
grating to make finer particles
~ 1 box of Borax (in laundry section of your grocery store)
~ 1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (baking soda will not work!!) (in laundry section)
From around the house:
~ a five gallon bucket (Tidy Cats 35 lb tub is purrrrfect)
QUICK TIP: Print out a copy of the recipe and tape it to your bucket
for quick reference
~ one of your old, empty laundry detergent bottles
~ a washed-out, gallon milk jug (for measuring out 3 gallons of tap water)
~ cheese grater
~ cup measure
Okay, let' do it:
1. Grate your bar of soap
2. Place 3 cups of water in a large saucepan on the stove
3. Add grated soap, simmer over low heat, stirring gently until completely dissolved
4. Add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup washing soda to your heated soap/water, stir until powders dissolve. Turn off burner.
5. Fill 5-gallon bucket with 3 gallons of warm tap water
6. Pour melted soap mixture into water, stir well
7. Let your laundry detergent sit overnight, it will become coagulated and gel-like
8. Stir your mixture, then pour into a re-purposed laundry bottle and shake well before each use (this recipe makes enough to re-fill your laundry bottle many times)
