DIY Laundry Soap
Today, we'll be discussing homemade laundry soap.
We are still budgeting for the kitchen remodel, so in the meantime, you get other more minor DIY stuff.
But back to that in a minute. While things have been fairly quiet on major projects, I did take a minute to go back to Las Animas where my family grew up and while I was there decided to reconnect with some family history.
Fun fact: I grew up spending summers with my Grams in rural Colorado. I also grew up obsessed with the Little House series (which, looking back, is weird for a city mouse who has legit issues with wilderness). Going to the Eastern Plains always made me want to play Little House, and I was curious to learn all my Grams would share with me. Summers in Eastern CO were a great apprenticeship in old-fashioned greatest-generation Home Ec. It's where I learned that people wash and reuse Ziplocs, that some people have to drive an hour and a half to make a trip to Olive Garden, and it's where I learned to craft and DIY.
So, in case why you're wondering why I detoured down memory lane, this trip reminded and inspired me to share one of my favorite DIY thrifty projects -- Homemade Laundry Soap.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, apparently the utility of DIY laundry soap is a topic of debate because it's 2017 and we live in the Twilight Zone version of reality now. No, for real. This is actually something crunchy people debate on blogs. I have to say that as a non-crunchy-type, I originally started using homemade laundry soap because I get intermittent hives from store-bought detergents, because it's cheap as hell... And, who am I kidding, it's a lot of fun to microwave random things, and this gave me a good excuse.
Oh yes, there is a fun microwave experiment included that is a great teaching moment for science. You know, in case you have kids... or grandkids... or if you are just a big kid yourself.
Start by going to Target, Walmart, King Soopers, or any other major store. You can also buy this stuff online, but I'm impatient and can usually find it no problem in my area. I save the extra washing soda to make DIY dishwasher cleaner.
So without further ado: DIY Laundry Soap.
Ingredients:
It's that freaking easy.
I've personally amalgamated my recipe from lots of different Pinterest pins (including this one and this one), and have been using it for three years now with no issues. I would recommend if you use this soap that you use at least warm water, that you don't overload the washer so it can dissolve and rinse correctly, and that you clean the machine every few months just to be on the safe side. You can also let stuff sit overnight in washing soda and borax every few months if you're getting any build up, but that's true regardless of what kind of soap or detergent you use.
I'd also recommend you perfect the art of microwaving because there is a definite skill to that part. Not to mention I'm still not over how awesome it is.
Until next time!
 |
| This stuff. |
But back to that in a minute. While things have been fairly quiet on major projects, I did take a minute to go back to Las Animas where my family grew up and while I was there decided to reconnect with some family history.
Fun fact: I grew up spending summers with my Grams in rural Colorado. I also grew up obsessed with the Little House series (which, looking back, is weird for a city mouse who has legit issues with wilderness). Going to the Eastern Plains always made me want to play Little House, and I was curious to learn all my Grams would share with me. Summers in Eastern CO were a great apprenticeship in old-fashioned greatest-generation Home Ec. It's where I learned that people wash and reuse Ziplocs, that some people have to drive an hour and a half to make a trip to Olive Garden, and it's where I learned to craft and DIY.
So, in case why you're wondering why I detoured down memory lane, this trip reminded and inspired me to share one of my favorite DIY thrifty projects -- Homemade Laundry Soap.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, apparently the utility of DIY laundry soap is a topic of debate because it's 2017 and we live in the Twilight Zone version of reality now. No, for real. This is actually something crunchy people debate on blogs. I have to say that as a non-crunchy-type, I originally started using homemade laundry soap because I get intermittent hives from store-bought detergents, because it's cheap as hell... And, who am I kidding, it's a lot of fun to microwave random things, and this gave me a good excuse.
Oh yes, there is a fun microwave experiment included that is a great teaching moment for science. You know, in case you have kids... or grandkids... or if you are just a big kid yourself.
Start by going to Target, Walmart, King Soopers, or any other major store. You can also buy this stuff online, but I'm impatient and can usually find it no problem in my area. I save the extra washing soda to make DIY dishwasher cleaner.
So without further ado: DIY Laundry Soap.
Ingredients:
 |
| This stuff. |
- 1 Bar soap (I use Ivory)
- 1 cup Borax
- 1 cup Super Washing Soda
- 1 cup OxyClean powder
Instructions:
- If you're not using Ivory, you are missing out. Instead of this, you just grate your soap.
Or, if you like awesome things, use Ivory and microwave your soap on high in 30 second increments until it's all puffed up into a cloud. You can also grate it, but I've found microwaving it helps expedite the process and makes it dissolve easier. Once you have a huge cloud of puffed up soap, let it cool for a few seconds and run it through your fingers to crumble into tiny soap flakes. Don't let it cool for TOO long, though, or it won't crumble very well. I'd say about 1-2 minutes is the sweet spot.
This stuff.
The first time it blew my mind.
It also makes it really easy to clean the microwave, since you can just wipe away baked-on food. - Mix the rest of the ingredients in with the powdered soap in a large bowl. I like to mix it with my hands because then I just wash it off and don't have to wash another dish. Be careful not to breathe in the powder. It will not feel good. You can mix in essential oils, but I like mine just unscented for allergy reasons.
I forgot to take a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine what mixing a bunch of white powders together looks like. Yeah, it's super suspicious. My house looks like that one scene from Scarface on soap-making day. (I transported a container of this soap when I moved to CA, and I'm surprised no one NIK tested it. No joke, they were more worried about my bamboo plant. In all fairness, it totally smells like soap, but still. Priorities, I guess?) - Pour into dry container. I like to add some of those silica packets you find in shoeboxes to keep it from clumping, but if you store it in a cool, dry place you should be just fine.
It's that freaking easy.
I've personally amalgamated my recipe from lots of different Pinterest pins (including this one and this one), and have been using it for three years now with no issues. I would recommend if you use this soap that you use at least warm water, that you don't overload the washer so it can dissolve and rinse correctly, and that you clean the machine every few months just to be on the safe side. You can also let stuff sit overnight in washing soda and borax every few months if you're getting any build up, but that's true regardless of what kind of soap or detergent you use.
I'd also recommend you perfect the art of microwaving because there is a definite skill to that part. Not to mention I'm still not over how awesome it is.
Until next time!
 |
| The old Maruyama farm, Las Animas, 1950's and today. I just wanted to share it because I'm a nerd and history is badass. |
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