L A U N D R Y
A four-letter word?
In my house, there are 2 words that get my kids running for the door...laundry and dishes. O.K., they make me want to run also but I am the domestic engineer so I am forced to deal with both on a daily basis. Now, I am frugal or should I say cheap and that brings me to the subject of this post. Detergent. It's expensive. We are constantly running out of it. It's an evil necessity to keep this house of 5 running.
I have heard talk of homemade detergent in the past in different frugal circles but never really took it seriously. Frankly, I already spend way too much time sorting, folding, washing, etc., so making more work for myself didn't sound like much fun. I seem to recall trying my hand at some type of liquid homemade detergent. The result was not what I had hoped.
Now that I have joined Pinterest, I have found some fabulous ideas for getting my laundry clean as well as keeping things inexpensive. This week, I tested out a new recipe for dry laundry detergent in our new he (top loading) washing machine. I also decided to read the directions that came with the washing machine since it is the 4th one we have bought in the 7 years we have lived in our home (another story for another time...). The results have been amazing!
I switched to the homemade detergent and started using vinegar as a fabric softener. The clothes look fabulous and are very soft! The best part is the detergent is so easy to make!
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
1 bar of Ivory soap shredded (I used a cheese shredder)
That's it! Put it all in a plastic container with a lid and shake. Even better, it only takes 1-2 TBSP for each load! Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser and run on the fabric softener + rinse cycle and voila! Clean and fresh clothes!
On another note, did you know that you should wash your delicates on the gentle cycle? The things you learn by reading the directions...
Another DIY project down, many, many, many more to go! Next up, maybe I'll tackle those dishes!
