Laundry Soap

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a housekeeper. There have been times in my life when I was better at keeping up at it than others. When I lived in the cabin in San Francisco, for example, giving the floor a daily sweep was almost a necessity.

But that didn't mean I got underneath everything or dusted everything or even did dishes everyday. But over the years one of the chores I have almost come to love is doing laundry. Now, I'm not going to go into all the things I like about doing laundry since I already did that here (oddly enough, a year ago). A few years ago, I started making my own laundry soap. I tried it first for fun. I mean I bake my own bread sometimes, why not my own laundry soap? I liked it so much - how it turned out, how it worked out for me (better health, not so many chemicals against my skin, nice smells, etc.) that I haven't gone back to commercial laundry soap since.

Now, I have mentioned over time how I make my own laundry soap. And I know I'm not the only one out there who does it, but it's amazing how many people are - well - amazed - when I tell them I do this. So, since I've recently been typing up instructions, etc for people who are curious, and put together a batch for my sister for her bday (I hope you've opened your bday gifts by now - please?), I thought I would post here, once and for all, that yes, I DO, in fact, make my own laundry soap.

I got the original recipe from the book, The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier. Here's a copy of that page from her book.



But here's what it has morphed into for me:

Ingredients:

2 cups (1 bar) grated soap/soap flakes (Dr. Bronner's Rose-hemp all-in-one castile soap)
2 cups baking soda (Arm & Hammer)
2 cups washing soda (Arm & Hammer)
2 cups borax (20 mule team)

10-30 drops each of the following essential oils: Lavender, Sweet Orange, Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Rose Absolute (or other essential oils depending on your needs/likes).

Directions:

Use 1/8 - 1/4 cup per load (give or take and depending on load). I would use 1/4 cup for the laundromat-sized machines if they're full, but less if you're just doing a partial load. More for more soiled loads.

Notes:

The lumps are probably the borax, it gets lumpy. And there are some pieces of soap that don't grate all the way down. So you might find a soap bit or two at the bottom of the washing machine.

I recommend shaking up the container it's in a bit before each laundry session - not each load, but each session - just to make sure it's all stirred evenly. Settling occurs and all that.

If you use stuff like Spray-n Wash and OxyClean in wash or to pretreat, it works with those just fine.

If you are trying to whiten or brighten a load, then instead of bleach, add Sweet Orange essential oil, or maybe hydrogen peroxide, oxyclean or distilled white vinegar.

White vinegar makes the water softer and keeps your clothes from drying stiff if you hang them to dry. Also breaks up any uric acid.

If you're trying to fight germs or fungus or something that you're not sure will come out with a regular wash, then add a little rosemary or tea tree oil or eucalyptus essential oils as they are all anti-fungal.

So, there you have it. If you need to, bookmark this entry so next time you hear me say I make my laundry soap and you're surprised to hear it because you forgot, you can go back to this entry to look up what it is I do.