One of the first areas of homemaking that I am trying to change is how I do the laundry. For about a year, I’ve been only washing our laundry in cold water. I first started using Tide Coldwater for this. I had great results. But it was ridiculously expensive. Then I switched to whatever brand was on sale at the time. Again, with good results. Now, I am taking it a step further and making my own laundry soap with all natural ingredients. I will admit - my first and primary reason for doing this began as an easy way to save some money. However, as I researched different “recipes” for making the detergent, I realized that I am also doing something very positive for the environment and my family’s health at the same time. Which is now more important to me than the money being saved!

Here is the recipe I use for making my laundry detergent:

• 1 bar Fels Naptha soap, shredded. Find this in the laundry Isle of Hannaford. Walmart doesn’t carry it. I chop it up and put it in my Magic Bullet. Or you could use a cheese grater. The idea is small, uniform pieces.
• 1 Cup Washing Soda. Again, find this in the laundry aisle of Hannaford. It’s made by Arm and Hammer.
• 1 Cub Borax. This is also in the laundry aisle of Hannaford. This is a fun product to own - you can do some fun science experiments with this, as well as use it for a very good, overall cleaner in you house.

Mix together and put in a covered container. Use 2 TBS for a full load of laundry.

Here is a site that lists lots of variations on home made laundry detergent, as well as lots of other home made cleaners. Check it out and get started!