Quick and Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent

After much procrastination and puttering around, I have finally gotten around to making my own homemade laundry detergent.  This project meets The Frugal Writer's stringent criteria:

• It has to be easy to do
• It must save money or time (or both!)
• It should be environmentally friendly, or at least improves conservation
• It must require less than 5 steps and/or 5 ingredients or less
• It must be a project that can be broken down and completed in 15 minute increments

While I can't take credit for concocting the recipe, once I reviewed three different sources saying the same thing, it was time to take action.

My favorite supersized family, The Duggars, make their own laundry detergent, but they devote a day to it and end up with a gooey liquid.  That was out of the question for me because it only met two of the five criteria.  I needed something fast and I wanted something dry, lest I have a castastrophe in my house of whirling dervishes.

Powder was the recipe of choice and I ended up going with Jabs Homemade Laundry Detergent.  The recipe fit all my criteria and I already had a bar of Fels Naptha soap on hand, along with the borax and the washing soda.  When Jabs mentioned the cost savings and the fact that the powder fits well in a 32oz yogurt container, I knew this was a post after my own heart.

Does it work?

I give it a resounding yes!!!!  I have a high energy front loader and I just make sure to put the 1Tbsp of powder in with the clothes so I don't have to worry about clogging.  The detergent is low sudsing and leaves the clothes with a basic, clean scent.  I also wash cloth diapers and the soap is gentle enough for baby's skin but gets the grime out.  The first time I used the homemade detergent with diapers, I forgot to add my vinegar rinse and the diapers still smelled great. 

So there you have it.  I would have done this much sooner if I would have known how easy it is.

A SIMPLE RECIPE
(From Matt Jab's http://diynatural.com/simple-easy-fast-effective-jabs-homemade-laundry-detergent/ blog post)

Each batch yields approximately 32 ounces (between 32-64 loads based on how many Tbsp used per load).

■1 bar of shaved bar soap (Ivory, ZOTE, Fels-Naptha)
■1 cup of borax
■1 cup of washing soda

1. Grate the bar soap.
2. Add the other two ingredients.
3. Stir well (or shake it in your yogurt container....)

That's it!

Believe it or not, Fels Naptha soap is locally available at the HARDWARE store!!!!  I hate to admit that I stumbled across the Fels Naptha last year, while getting babyproofing stuff and left the bar of soap to languish in the laundry room until I stumbled across http://www.diynatural.com/

I just bought more Fels Naptha to make my second batch of detergent.  If I can do it, anybody with a pulse can do it.

A Contrite Heart

This Lenten Season started with a crushing blow.  After many talks and discussions, elevated punishments and shorted patience, we did the unthinkable.  We cancelled the boy’s birthday party which was to happen in a few weeks.  The behavior in school was getting worse and it didn’t seem to phase him one bit.  So, we had to up the ante.  Interestingly, hubby and I talked it over ahead of time and we were both in agreement about it.

At dinner, hubby delivered the news.  The boy’s face mirrored what I felt inside.  He was crestfallen and couldn’t believe it.  He was also speechless, which is indeed a rare sight.  While I was glad that the boy realized the severity of the punishment, it gave me no great joy to administer the sentence. 

That night, it was also Ash Wednesday.  While I am a reformed Presbyterian, as a Catholic growing up, Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season are sacred traditions that are dear to me, so I wanted to go to an Ash Wednesday service.  The boy, having lost his TV, computer and games privileges was a virtual prisoner in his room.  So, while he wasn’t exactly leaping at the chance to run off to church with me, it afforded us some alone time to get away from the dark mood of the house.

While the boy was sad, I also felt a wrenching grief inside.  Looking back, there would be a conspicuous gap in pictures and birthday memories for 2011.  There would be no fun birthday party with his friends (and my friends, their parents!)  The time that I used to mark my induction into motherhood would also be an unmarked blip in space.  Heck, the birthday party, while it’s something done to honor him, is something important for me as well!

One of the most poignant parts of the evening was when the boy lamented, “I wish I could take back time.  I’d do things better and I’d have my party.”   I said, “You can’t go backward, but you can go forward.  There will be other birthdays and other chances.” 

We trodded off to church with our heavy hearts.  I had already explained that the church service was going to be a solemn event.  There wouldn’t be any joyful singing or carrying on like that.  And yet, the service was a divine blessing for both of us.  While it might have been spooky for the boy to understand that our bodies turn to dust when we die, the sadness of recent events really brought home what Ash Wednesday means to me.

Do I love my son less because I took something away from him and had to punish him?  Certainly not.  In the same way, God sometimes allows bad things to happen to us, or more importantly, to His Son, Jesus, so that we can try to understand the depths of His love for us.  My son will still make mistakes and need correction and forgiveness.  In the meantime, I will never stop loving him, even if he doesn’t “get it”.  God is the same way with us.  Even when we mess up, He is still there to forgive us and guide us, if we let Him do it and get out of our own way.

Zarbee's Giveaway Winner!!!!

I am happy to announce that Gloria Beach-Popp (www.twitter.com/XmasSpode) of Angels Camp, CA is the winner of the Zarbee's All Natural Children's Cough Syrup!!!  Gloria successfully met all the easy requirements of the contest and will be getting a free bottle of this wonderful natural remedy.

You can read my review here.

Gloria, congratulations again on winning this giveaway!  Please be sure to either DM me on Twitter, inbox me on Facebook with your contact info so we can send the Zarbee's your way!