Living The Clean Life - Laundry Detergent

Southern Dream Photography

Getting back to basics, is it just a nostalgic sales pitch or due to the economic downturn are people really getting back to basics? For our family I can say getting back to basics is just that. My daughter makes handmade soap, we no longer use our  dishwasher,  we hang our clothes out on the line to dry and now I’ve found recipes for making your own laundry detergent, which  is not that difficult and will save you  money, is not loaded with perfumes, will clean your clothing very well and is easier on the environment. 

Here are two links I found very helpful. The first has a video clip that shows you the process and materials needed Homemade Organic Laundry Soap Video  the second link has several different recipes from powder to liquid, 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Recipes .

 I had chosen the powder recipe #9 cutting it in half since I did not have a container large enough to store the finished product. I found through researching the recipes that there were two bar soaps that could be purchased from the grocery store and since we did not have available handmade soap made specially for this purpose . I chose the Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap which is made by the Dial Corporation. All of the ingredients used were found in the laundry section of the grocery store and I found the Fels-Naptha laundry soap at Publix for .99 cents a bar.  Each 5.5oz bar when grated makes 2 cups per bar and the recipe I chose used 3 bars, had I gone with the full recipe I would have needed 6 total bars. I grated the bars by hand while watching TV and should we ever make larger batches would look into using a food processor to do the grating process. The Fels-Naptha did have a strong perfume scent and had I been sensitive to odors probably would have wanted to grate it outside. After washing the clothing in the detergent there was very little scent left in the clothing and after hanging them outside to dry they were left with that amazing outside fresh scent.

Southern Dream Photography

Purchase an extra bar of the Fels-Naptha soap to keep on hand for spot treating for more of the stubborn stains. All in all my impression is one of amazement! I have never enjoyed doing laundry that much before and will never go back to purchasing commercially manufactured laundry detergent.  I did use white vinegar in the washing machine placing it in the bleach cup as well as the fabric softener cup and the clothes did not have a hint of the vinegar smell left in them. The vinegar does act as a fabric softener.

Have a happy laundry day!