Laundry Day + Homemade Detergent = Perfect

aundry day at the cottage yesterday. I finally got a good day to hang out a couple of loads of sheets and towels. The weather was nice with temperatures in the 40s and a nice breeze. I couldn't wait to jump into bed last night. There is nothing to compare to the smell and feel of line dried bed linens. I haven't been happy with my laundry detergent for quite some time. Everything I buy is too highly scented. I don't like many scents except citrus, spice, and vanilla. I am especially not fond of floral smelling anything except flowers themselves. I finally used up a tub of powdered stuff from Costco that literally took my breath away when I took off the lid. And it didn't get my gardening clothes clean either. I got some liquid from Costco last trip and it is even smellier though it did a pretty good job of cleaning. I am taking it back. I read a bunch of recipes online for a simple homemade natural detergent and this is what I made. I grated one bar of Octagon soap with the big side of my box grater. Then I put these shavings in my food processor and buzzed until I had tiny pellets. (This step was my idea and it worked perfectly.) I dumped these pellets in a stainless steel mixing bowl and added one cup of Borax and one cup of Washing Soda. I mixed it all together and then transferred the mixture to an airtight container. It smelled fresh, that's all. I have a front-loading washing machine that requires low-sudsing HE detergent. The blogger who wrote this recipe (altered a bit by me) said this would work well in such a machine. And would you believe you only need 2 Tablespoons for an entire load? When I took the clothes out, guess what they smelled like? NOTHING. Perfect. After a day on the line the bedding smelled like sunshine and wind. The photo was taken yesterday just to prove that we can still have nice weather and blue skies with white puffy clouds in January. I am going to do a dark load or two today. xxoo Rosemary

Here is a link with 10 homemade laundry soap recipes.
This is a photo of my finished product. I put it in a tall glass jar that once held dry roasted peanuts. It's perfect. I can roll it around and mix everything up to evenly distribute all the ingredients before every load. I have darks in the washer right now. So happy!

Laundry Flapping in The Wind

I made a fresh batch of my homemade laundry detergent this morning and my first load is flapping in the breeze getting bleached by the sun. I grated my Octagon soap with my micro-plane grater and it worked much better than the box grater I normally use though it took longer. My second load has been sorted and is ready for my front-loading washer. I honestly can't remember the last time I used my dryer. Enjoy the weekend and I'll see you a little later. xo

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Genius Block Soap Dispenser/Grater

I love this soap grater invented by Nathalie Stämpflia, a design student. I use a micro-plane grater to grate my soap for my homemade laundry detergent. I'd love to have one of these in my kitchen. I've never been a fan of liquid hand soap because the containers are way too unattractive for my taste as well as being expensive. More photos and information about Nathalie's invention here.

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Laundry Room Love

You know how much I love to do laundry by now. I am totally in love with the amazing room in the photo above dedicated to this necessary task. Have you ever seen a better one? I certainly haven't. I'm sure there is a clothes dryer in there somewhere but it is not the focus. How heavenly. I am absolutely positive that there is a drying yard outside too. I did five loads last week to take advantage of warm temperatures and sun. Now we have rain. It was great while it lasted. I am still quite pleased with my homemade laundry soap/detergent too. I just wish I'd made it sooner. Happy Monday, Rosemary.

via Crush Party




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My Old Clothes Line with Webster

As I mentioned in this old post, I lost all the trees to the right of my garage/barn after Superstorm Sandy but I still have the white pine on the left. Webster the Wonder Dog used to love watching me hang out the wash. All I need is a new post and I could have a clothes line again. I still manage quite well with drying things outside on wooden clothes racks and my balcony railing so all is not lost. In the winter, the clothes racks are perfect in my furnace room for all but large top sheets which I dry on my balcony. I love sleeping on sheets that have been dried outside and I can honestly report that sunshine leaves an aroma on them like no other. When I enter my bedroom after putting on clean linens, the whole room smells like sunshine. The items dried inside have no aroma at all because I use a detergent with no scent.

The sun can kill the Corona Virus bacteria that can live on fabric for 6-12 hours. Normal laundry detergent should kill it on items in the washing machine. Winter clothes that can't be washed can be put out in the sun to kill the virus. Continue to wash your hands often and be smart about being out in public. xo

PS: I just found an easy recipe for DIY: Homemade Hand Sanitizer