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 RosemaryHere 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!
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!
9 comments:
Thanks for the detergent recipe. I also love to hang laundry out to dry, especially our sheets. Isn't it wonderful to live in a neighborhood where it is allowed. So many home owner's associations have covenants against laundry lines. How can we help the environment when we are using the dryer all of the time?
Susan and Bentley
Wow! Thanks for sharing this post here. Ive been looking for best laundry detergent that will fit to my newly both washing machine. Im going to try this at home.
You have a beautiful place..and you get to hang out the wash....
HEAVENLY...! I tried the dry laundry detergent...I need to try it some more.. When I first made it I had to order the washing soda because nobody carried it around her. It ended up costing as much as buying a very large box of Cheer which we like..it doesn't make us itch, or have alot of dye or fragrance. The other day I was at Acme, and of course not looking for the washing soda, and there it was, so I bought some more and some fels naptha to make more. Maybe I should try the liquid kind.
I have skin allergies sometimes from detergent so i have been using all "free" detergent. Do you notice yet if this homemade detergent causes any reaction to your skin?
I so understand what you're saying. So many laundry products smell like cheap perfume. They're disgusting and, frankly, I'm not sure I trust them to be safe.
When you think about....supposedly, we have very stringent rules for product approval by the Food and Drug Administration. I don't know about you but I was astonished to learn that some toothpaste is being manufactured in China.
I'm paying a hefty price for contact lens cleaner and conditioner. I would hate to learn it too is being manufactured in China for 50 cents and I'm paying over $10 a bottle with little or no oversight. This is something I'm putting in my eyes!
You can tell. Product safety is an issue with me. ;-)
Sorry to have strayed so far afield from detergents!
I don't understand why you never tried fragrance/dye free laundry products. There's a lot out there on the market. My good friend who has a front loader requiring HE products uses Free Tide, and she likes it, and she has VERY sensitive skin. Also, how do your sheets not get stiff as a board in the wind? My father tries to dry his laundry on a line exclusively, and I do the same, weather permitting, but I always have to tumble them for a few minutes in the dryer afterwards because they are so stiff and rough after drying outdoors.
You & I have had discussions along these lines (no pun intended!) over the past couple of years Rosemary. Because I'm loathe to use my tumble drier, for 6 months of the year our Living Room looks like a Chinese Laundry. All the clothes out on airing racks in front of the fire. If friends arrive there's a mad dash to stash the evidence, MOTH doesn't want anyone seeing the state of his elderly Ralph Lauren 'smalls'. It works for us & I was delighted to see Sons # 4&5 have done exactly the same in their share house. Maybe they've learnt more than I thought!
Millie ^_^
Oh, you are sooo lucky to be able to line dry in January. I'd need snowshoes to get out to the line!
I HATE HATE HATE winter and having to use the dryer. Everything comes out with an awful smell, not to mention the fact you're tied to the machine. If you don't get them out of the dryer right away they look terrible. Well, they still do look a bit wrinkly even if you get them right away. Come on spring!! Back to crisp beautiful sheets!!
Have a great weekend,Rosemary!
What could be better than deriving such joy from laundry!! You are truly content!
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