Laundry Update

I made another large batch of detergent, this time I wanted to figure out the costs and how long it lasts me.  I mixed up '10' batches, and it took me no longer than 15 minutes as I used my food processor to grate the soap.

Finally, the jar looks more full :)

Soap - used 5 bars out of a package of 8
Borax - Used one box (approx. 10 cups in the box)
Washing Soda - Used 1.75 boxes (approx. 6 cups per box)

Soap Cost - $2.50
Borax - $2.39
Washing Soda - $3.59
Total - $8.48

I will update once I figure out how long, from April 7th, this will last!

Dishwashing Detergent

Okay, this will be the last of my laundry posts for a while :)  So...I also made dishwashing detergent.  Making this was even more simple than the laundry detergent I made.

Here was the recipe I used from Frugally Green:

2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Baking Soda
4 small packets of sugar free lemonade Kool-Aid (you can also use 4 tablespoons of citric acid--if you can find it)
White Vinegar

Supplies:

Just measure out Borax and washing soda and pour into your container.  Empty the four packets of lemonade to the mixture.  Mix together and you are done!  The vinegar gets added to that rinse receptacle in the dishwasher...and that's it!

Lesson learned:
On the first load that I ran, the plastic dishes/cups came out with a white film on them.  I had read that others had this issue as well.  I was able to fix it by ensuring that I select the high temp wash cycle when I run the dishwasher. 

The Laundry Experiment - Part 2

Below you will find my personal take on the Laundry Experiment so far...if anything changes along the way, I plan to do another post.  I have also included a few shots of my Laundry Area which I thought I could whip into a pretty space once I had these glass jars for all my laundry needs...but I am struggling to pull it together just right...

My Reviews:
Laundry Detergent
My soap seems to be working well so far...I have not specifically 'tested' stains; however, Borax advertises itself like Oxyclean, so I have some extra plain Borax left over that I plan to use on stains when needed.

The clothes have a faint clean smell - not nearly as strong as they would usually have with Tide.  I kind of miss the stronger smell.  We think we might be able to just put more bar soap in to add more scent.  April doubled the amount of soap in her recent batch, and she loves it, so I am planning to grate another few bars to add to mine...

As I said yesterday, the recipe said to use 1 tablespoon...April and I are both using 2 heaping tablespoons per load in our HE washers.

Fabric Softener
I read that you can use vinegar as a fabric softener, so I put some into my HE washer's spot for softener, and the clothes seem pretty soft after I dried them.  Vinegar seems to be my new best friend.  Check out this site for all the things that vinegar can do!

Dryer Sheets
So, there are again lots of ideas/recipes for making your own dryer sheets...the main ones that I read about were:

1.  Dip old cloths in liquid fabric softener, let it dry, and then throw that rag into the dryer, and you can apparently use these rags several times.
My verdict:  I personally didn't want to do this b/c I was trying to eliminate buying fabric softener.  If I am going to use store bought, I would just use my Bounce sheets.

2.  Make a mixture of water with ~10 drops of essential oil, and spray a few spritzes into the dryer before starting it up.
My verdict:  I tried this and didn't notice any lavender smell.  (I am wondering if the mixture is too diluted...maybe I need to add more essential oil)

3.  Take a cloth and put several drops of essential oil onto the cloth and throw that in with the clothes.
My verdict:  I tried this (used 10 drops of essential oil), and didn't notice any lavender smell.

4.  If the clothes aren't smelling like the essential oil after the dryer cycle, then it was suggested to spray some of the water/essential oil mixture into the dryer at the end of the cycle and air dry the clothes for 10-20 minutes.
My verdict:  I tried this with my spray mixture, and didn't notice any lavender smell.


Eliminating Static Cling
 1.  I read that you can throw a few sheets of tin foil into the dryer to help eliminate static cling - call me crazy but that makes me nervous. 

 
FINAL VERDICT:  I am still throwing a Bounce sheet or two in IF I don't use vinegar for a fabric softener.


My Laundry Area
Like I said earlier, I wish I could claim a beautiful area to go with the pretty jar, etc.  I have been working on it, but I just don't like it yet...but in an effort to keep it real, here is what it looks like now..

a few details...

If you are wondering what all the bottles are...on top of the dryer, I have a spray bottle with water/essential oil as well as this old kettle that I use as a watering can for my plants downstairs.  On the washer, the green bottle holds bleach, the clear bottle is white vinegar, the small ball jar is left over OxyClean and the enormous jar is my detergent (which, I still want to find a pretty spoon/scoop for!).

Keeping it real shot - Look at the ridiculous white Ikea panel (my go-to solution for just about everything) - I clearly didn't hang it straight and I would need several more of them to cover the entire wall.  One of these days, I am hoping that a better design/arrangement will hit me.  I thought that having these glass jars would make it easy to pull together an area that I liked, but I am really struggling with this one!  It is just one of those many things that didn't come together as I had envisioned...but I guess that is the beauty of the design process...it is ever-changing and evolving, right?

The Laundry Experiment - Part 1

Why not start another new project when I have lots of existing ones that I need to finish?   April and I were thinking it might be fun to attempt to make our own laundry detergent.  I checked in with my friend, Brandi, who has been doing it for a while, and she shared the recipe that she uses.  I started doing some research on it and my brain was filled with this whole new world of your own detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, dishwasher detergent, etc.  Here were my questions and what I found out...

My Questions:
I had some questions that I needed answered...
1.  Do these recipes work for High Efficiency machines?
HE machines just need to have low suds detergents, and the homemade recipes are 'low suds'.

2.  Does the soap smell good?
You control what the detergent smells like - you just select bars of soap that smell good to you!  Also, April and I think we could probably grate some additional soap into the mixture if we wanted the scent to be stronger.

3.  Does the soap actually clean clothes?
My clothes seem to be coming out clean.  The stubborn stains are still there, just like they would be when I was using Tide.  This guy did a comparison of stain fighting power with store bought vs. homemade detergent if you want to check it out.

4.  Can you make a liquid detergent?
Yes, there are lots of recipes for liquid detergent, and I thought I wanted to make liquid at first because that I what I always buy at the store; however, the powder one was easy to make and would be easier to store, so ultimately, I just went with powdered.

Making the Detergent:
Okay, so onto the making of the detergent.  First thing first...I must have a pretty glass jar.  I bought one...and it is WAY too big.  I have now made 10 batches of detergent and the jar *may* be half full.  Lesson learned for next time.

The recipe could not have been much easier...

--1 Cup Borax
--1 Cup Washing Soda (took me a few stores to find this, but I found it at the commissary - in the detergent aisle)
--1/2 Bar Grated Soap

Here were the supplies...

Steps:
1.  Grate the soap - first, I used the grater, and for subsequent batches, I used the food processor to get it done a little faster...

2.  Measure out the Borax and Washing Soda, dump it all into your container and mix it all together!

All mixed and ready to go!

The recipe calls for using one tablespoon per load, April and I have been using two heaping tablespoons...

Reviews of the Laundry Experiment to come!