All natural homemade laundry products

I've been hesitant to try home made laundry soap.  For several reasons.  1)  I REALLY love Eco's Laundry Detergent.  Especially their Magnolia and Lily scented one.  The Lemongrass scent is heavenly as well.  I love climbing into bed with freshly washed sheets and breathing in their scents.  The Eco detergent also already has a soy based fabric softener in it.  And, since I get it through our Frontier co-op group, it's a steal compared to what you'd buy it for in the stores.  2)  Many of the recipes I've seen for home made detergents call for use of a soap that is not very natural and includes synthetic detergents in it, and I really wanted to skip the synthetics.

For instance, the popular Fels Naptha and Ivory soaps, use synthetic detergents.  For the most part, if you aren't using a pure castile soap, or a truly GOOD, natural, expensive soap, you aren't really getting the benefit of it being a natural laundry detergent, you're still using synthetic.  BUT, if your purpose is simply for cost savings, then it doesn't matter the type of soap you use.  You'll still save money by making your own!

My suggestion, however, is to go as natural as possible.  I used Kirk's Castile Soap.  The ingredients are Coconut Soap, Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Coconut Oil.  Says right on the package "No Synthetic Detergents".  Plus, by getting it through the Frontier co-op, it was only $1.25 for a 4 oz bar.  You could even save more by buying a 3 pack for just $3.50  I may be mistaken, but I BELIEVE that's even cheaper than you can buy the Fels Naptha.

And finally, I just wasn't sure if it would REALLY clean as well as the more expensive soaps.  So, I put it to the ultimate test.  Out here in the country.  We get clothes DIRTY, and I mean dirty with capital letters.  No doubt about it.  I took many before and after pictures.  My final impression.  WOW!  It was super easy to make, super cheap, and it actually cleans!  I'm sold!  This week, my 2 youngest little angels even decided to write on my sunny yellow bed sheets with ink pen!  Came out, no problem.

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As you can see, it works very well.  

I prefer liquid detergent, and some of the reviews I've read on the powdered detergents where not the greatest.  Particularly for cold washing.  So, I stuck to a liquid recipe.  If you've ever made liquid hand soap before, this is pretty much the same consistency.  It's low suds, so you don't really see bubbles in your wash, but it does clean!  I suppose if I'd never made hand soap before, I'd be a little more turned off by the consistency, but it's familiar to me, so no big deal.  Otherwise, it's kinda like snot.  Also, this can be used in both high efficiency and regular washers.  The recipe I looked at, called for only 3 ounces of grated soap.  Since my soap bar was 4 ounces, I just used the whole thing in my recipe.  If  you really wanted to stretch your dollars and soap, you could.  I just didn't know what else to do with an ounce of soap so just grated it up along with the rest.

Ingredients

1 - 3-4 ounce bar of Kirk's Castile Soap, grated  (or your favorite soap, either scented or unscented)

1/2 cup of washing soda

1/2 cup of borax

About 2 gallons of clean water

Add the grated soap to a pot and 6 cups of warm water.  Heat on the stove on  medium, stirring occasionally, until the soap flakes dissolve.  In the meantime, add the washing soda and borax to your bucket with 4 cups of warm water and stir until dissolved.  When the soap flakes are ready, add them to your bucket and stir.  Add another 1 gallon + 6 cups of warm water.  Stir some more.  Put the lid on your bucket and let it sit for 24 hours til it "gels".  You can stir it up with a big wooden spoon anytime.  At first, it looked kind of solid on top, with big chunks of more solid like gel soap blocks as I started stirring, but it mixed up pretty well.

Use 1/2 cup for each load.

Fabric Softener

For fabric softener, use 1/2 cup of vinegar.  Either white, or apple cider vinegar, doesn't matter.  You can also add a couple drops of any essential oil of your choice to the vinegar.  Either put this in the fabric softener spot of your washer, or in a downy ball.  

The essential oils aren't a necessity.  It does smell nice while your clothes are washing, but it doesn't leave a lasting scent.  Nor does the vinegar.  Your clothes just come out smelling clean.  If you want to add some essential oils to your laundry soap, you can do that as well.  But for the most part, it's just an added kick of antifungal, antibacterial properties to your laundry and it makes your house smell nice while they're washing.  I like to use peppermint.  :)

If you struggle with static cling, the biggest issue is the type of material your clothes are made from.  Synthetic fibers will almost always get static cling.  Particularly in the cooler, dryer months.  Materials like cotton or linen won't have the same problem.  So take this all into consideration as well.  You may need to use a more commercial product with some of your clothes, but be able to utilize wool dryer balls and a wad of aluminum foil in the dryer for more natural materials.  I know, it sounds crazy, but it works!  I keep some Seventh Generation Free and Clear Fabric Softener for when I need to wash snow suits and coats, but for most of our clothes, I use the wool balls.  You can get Willow Store brand from Frontier for $10 for 3 balls. I also think Norwex sells some too, but uncertain of the price.  Sometimes tennis balls would work, but be sure they are lead free.  And that little tip of aluminum foil?  Well, if the dryer balls aren't enough, sometimes a wad of foil can help add just enough static cutting help to do the trick.

And finally, dryer sheets.  Simply cut an old cotton t shirt or flannel into any size you'd like and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. ( Can find Essential Oils here. ) A good size for your dryer sheet is about 5 inches square.  Add about 3 drops of oil and toss in!  You can use your same 'dryer sheet' for 2-3 loads.  After that, just toss into your washer and wash and then use again for more drying or try with different scents. 

Why not use commercial fabric softeners and dryer sheets?  Well, because many of the fragrances used in commercial products are quite toxic and can be absorbed into your clothing and through your skin.  They are blamed for many skin problems and can aggravate eczema, dry skin, rashes, or allergies.  So why not go as natural as possible?

And there you have it.  Natural laundry detergent, fabric softener, and even 'dryer sheets'.  If you haven't tried it, give it a shot!  I was pleasantly surprised and I hope you are too!