Monday, December 31, 2007

Clean and Green Laundry Soap

Ever since I had a roommate who introduced me to the virtues of recycling, I have been an aspiring Granola. For those of you who didn't go to college in the mountains of North Carolina that means Tree Hugger, Earth Mama or just plain wannabe Environmentalist. Although I'm not enough of an overachiever to go all the way Granola, I still recycle, have a pair of Birkenstocks and I make my own laundry soap. Since this is saving me a bundle of money and keeping the water free from nasties, I want to share this easy recipe with you.



1 cup washing soda--NOT baking soda and cannot be substituted for baking soda
1 cup borax
2 cups ground soap--I recommend Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap

and you can put 1/4 cup Oxi Clean in there too.

I just use my cheese grinder to grind the soap. You mix it all together in a big bowl and use 2 Tablespoons for a load of laundry. It doesn't seem like much because it isn't full of all the fillers that store brands have. Some people add essential oil for fragrance but we prefer no fragrance to help with any allergies.

Generally I use cold water to wash my clothes because I like to save the hot water expense for my scalding hot baths. For fabric softener, get a Downy ball and fill up to the line with White Vinegar. I promise your clothes will not smell like vinegar. I store mine in this canister which is much more chic than a box of Tide. I'm about to start experiments on homemade dishwasher detergent so if you've found one that works, let me know.

My original recipe came from www.modcottage.com.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you know how this works in the high efficiency washers?

The Closet Therapist said...

Tracy,
I don't know for sure, but I would think that if you can use a powder in your washer that it would be ok to use it.

Let me know if you try it and it works for you.

Anonymous said...

I am so trying this. thanks!

Stephanie

koinonia community said...

Hey there! Kim sent me your way.

I have been using my own laundry soap for several months now with white vinegar/essential oil as a fabric softener. I have loved it. Lately though, I have been thinking about going back to store bought detergent. I have two messy little girls, and although my homemade cleaner works great for average loads, it just doesn't cut it with stains. And we have more stain loads than regular. Of course, I'm going to have to keep using my homemade for sheets and towels.

I read your post about face cleaner. Here is what I use. I use yogurt, and add ground oatmeal and grapeseed powder (this time I added apricot seed powder also since I got a free sample from Bramble Berry - I like it). I have even been out in 100 degree weather without my face getting shiny and oily since using this formula. Oh yeah, and I do add some essential oil to rid it of what my daughter calls 'spilled milk smell'. Nothing beats it. When I try using something that dries out my skin, or add moisturizer, my skin is really oily by lunchtime.

It has been great meeting you. I'll stop by again and read some more!

koinonia community said...

btw - I forgot to say - I use a HE washer and my laundry soap works fine...still that whole stain issue though.

The Closet Therapist said...

koinoniacommunity-Hi there! Thanks for the great skincare advice. Do you mean Kim, my SIL sent you my way?? About the stains-I use stain remover from The Laundress, or Ecover from Whole Foods. It always get out the ring around the collar and other stains too, although I'm working on an old soy sauce stain on my husband's white shirt right now. Nothing is working on that!

Anonymous said...

She's the one. Greetings from NC!!!

Our Trip to Rosemary Beach, Florida

I'm linking up again with  Erika ,  Andrea  and  Narci  for the Friday Favorites!  I love reading everyone's favorites too! ...