Laundry Soap - Update

You can read my first post on this subject here.

I made a batch of homemade laundry soap this week. Well, actually 1 and 2/3 batches. I already had on hand partial boxes of ingredients, and wanted to use them up.

I used my friend, Sandra's recipe that you can find here. I did not use the Purex crystals, though. I prefer to stick with vinegar for my rinse and wool dryer balls in the dryer. My clothes come out smelling....clean. That's all. Just clean.

Please do visit Sandra's blog (you will love it!), but here is the recipe, also.

4 lb 12 oz box of Borax
4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
3 lb 7 oz box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap (or Zote), grated
3 lb container of Oxy Clean, or two of the smaller ones, to make about 3lbs
1 container Purex Crystals

I like this recipe because it uses the entire containers of the ingredients, so there's not a bunch of open boxes sitting around in the laundry room.

I purchased a two pack of coffee scoops at the dollar store that are 1/8c. They work perfectly for scoops for this. Probably a bit over the 1-2T recommended use, but that is ok.

The tub that I got for my laundry soap cost me $5.47 at W*lmart. It has a locking lid, so there shouldn't be any accidental spills. I got a second one to keep my wool dryer balls in and a larger one to keep...well haven't decided yet...in.

So I love this homemade laundry soap. It's so much better on the budget, better on your clothes and so much better for the environment!

As I mentioned before, for the rinse I use a *glug* (probably around 1/3 cup) of vinegar in my rinse. LOVE IT!

Wool Dryer Balls

I have wanted to make some of these for quite a long time.

Again, Sandra beat me to it; even with a tutorial on her blog.

Last night, I pulled out the wool yarn and started creating.

Here are some before I felted them.

And here's the ones I have already felted.

I had a bunch of leftover wool yarn on hand, so I just made wool balls until I thought I was done, then I found enough more wool yarn to make probably 15-20 more!

Now, I tried something a little different than Sandra didn't do in her tutorial. For the center "core" I wound the yarn very tightly for the first 1/4 of the ball on some, others I didn't. I found that the ones with the tighter wound core were a bit heavier (and bouncier), so I think they may do better in the dryer. Also, I used panty hose, and instead of tying with string, I just knotted the hose very close to each ball as I put it inside the hose. After they were felted, I just cut the hose to get them out. You will likely find some of the wool balls stuck to the hose when you attempt to remove them. That is fine, just pry the hose off and it's ready to go.

Homemade laundry soap

I know that there are many, many recipes on the internet for homemade laundry soap.

Here in the Texas panhandle, though, I am not able to use homemade laundry soap. The water is awful and everything ends up gray after a few weeks of use. I DO NOT blame the laundry soap, I know for sure it is our water.

I have tried the powder (dry) one on a couple of occasions and liked it just fine.

Then last summer, once I moved into this little place, I tried the liquid(aka: gel) recipe used by Michelle Duggar. Her recipe is here. I really liked how far the liquid formula makes the ingredients last.

When I was home in Leesville, LA a couple of weeks ago, I was telling my oldest sister about it. She wasn't certain about the washing soda (NOT baking soda) so I told her I would send her photos. So instead, I am doing this post for her :-)

I often see comments that Zote works equally well, if you cannot find the Fels-Naptha.

I took these photos at W*lmart. All four locations here in Amarillo carry these items now. I guess there was finally enough requests for them. Hopefully all locations nationwide now carry them.

Some add O*yClean or other whiteners or boosters. I have never added them. One of my main reasons for using homemade laundry soap is to save money. By adding those extra items, it drives up the cost of ingredients.

If you plan to use the liquid recipe, if you cannot locate a 5gal. bucket for free at a food establishment, W*lmart has them (be sure to grab the lid) in the paint department for around $4.00.

For rinsing, I use *gulg* of vinegar in each rinse. How much is a glug, you ask? I would estimate about 1/3 cup or so. I love how the laundry feels and is soft using vinegar (and there is NO VINEGAR SMELL on the clothes at the end of the rinse/spin cycle). Either white or apple cider is fine.

 I plan to return to using the homemade laundry soap very soon.