Liquid Laundry Detergent

The link to my friend's site no longer works, so I'm reposting her laundry detergent recipe here. I have a HE front load washer and have been using this detergent for about a year now with no problems whatsoever...

So fresh and so clean, clean...

The only thing I hate worse than doing laundry is paying for laundry detergent. Thank goodness for this recipe. When I made this recipe, I cut the amounts in half, making one gallon. That amount filled my old, empty laundry detergent container and cost about $1. The original detergent (ALL free and clear) cost about $10... that's a significant savings for a few minutes of work.

Ingredients (makes approx 1 gallon of liquid laundry detergent):

1/3 bar grated laundry soap (Zote, Fels-Naptha, Dr Bronners)

1/3 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)

1/4 cup Borax

1 gallon of water, divided in half

Directions:

Place a large stock pot on the stove. Add 2 quarts (8 cups) water and the grated soap.

    ** I've found it easiest to "shave" the soap with a sharp knife kind of like making chocolate shavings. 

        It makes less mess and has easier cleanup than a cheese grater and works just as quickly

Heat the mixture over medium heat just to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring until the soap is completely dissolved. A wire whisk works pretty well for this

Once the bar soap is dissolved, add the Washing Soda and the Borax. Continue to stir until they are both dissolved. This will take another minute or two.

Remove from heat and add the other 2 quarts. Stir to combine.

Cover and let sit for 24 hours. The mixture will separate with a thick congealed layer on top. Just give it another good whisk or use an electric mixer to reincorporate. Last time I made it, I put it in my blender and it came out really smooth and pourable. Use a funnel and ladle to pour the mixture into an old detergent container or other container of your choice.

     **The mixture will have a tendency to continue separate a little even after it has cooled. 

         Just give it a good shake before using.

Use just like brand name laundry detergent!!

Here's an easy reference chart to show how I came up with the $1 per gallon price

Personally, I prefer not to have extra fragrance in my laundry detergent, so this recipe is perfect for me. To soften my clothes and add a light fragrance, I fill a downy ball 1/3 full with white vinegar (yes, more vinegar...you'll see that a lot on this page) and add about 10 drops of lavender essential oil.

And, instead of using fabric softener sheets, you can made your own economical and eco-friendly dryer balls using only wool yarn. Add a little essential oils before throwing them in the dryer with your clothes, and you end up with a nice light laundry scent with no waste!!

TEMPLATE: Make your Own Labels (Tattoo Motif)

Here is a template page for labels with an old school tattoo theme.

Just [Right Click] the picture and save to your photos or your documents.

Then, you can open in either "Paint" or "Word" and add your own wording to customize.

Either print onto adhesive backed paper, or print on regular paper and tape or glue to your bottles!

GUEST POST: Homemade Laundry Detergent

So fresh and so clean, clean...

The only thing I hate worse than doing laundry is paying for laundry detergent. Thank goodness for this recipe. When I made this recipe, I cut the amounts in half, making one gallon. That amount filled my old, empty laundry detergent container and cost about $1. The original detergent (ALL free and clear) cost about $10... that's a significant savings for a few minutes of work.

TEMPLATE: Make your own labels (Art Nouveau Motif)

Here is a template page for some Art Nouveau style labels to use for your homemade products.

I LOVE This style. It originated in the early 20th century and had a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s...

Just [Right Click] the picture and save to your photos or your documents.

Then, you can open in either "Paint" or "Word" and add your own wording to customize.

Either print onto adhesive backed paper, or print on regular paper and tape or glue to your bottles!

Homemade All Natural Wood Polish

Just like in my Laminate Floor Polish post (1/17/14), I used [Brand X] products for furniture dusting and polishing for a really long time. I was happy with the results and I loved the way it smelled. On the positive side, [Brand X] furniture polish doesn't have to be periodically stripped and reapplied. On the negative side, it still contains a laundry list of chemicals and the MSDS states:

"Hygiene measures : Use only with adequate ventilation. Wash thoroughly after handling."

Plain and simple, I just don't want to use chemicals if I can avoid them; especially on surfaces where I might put food that I plan on ingesting... my dining room table, for instance.

So, now I make my own...

GUEST POST: Miracle Laundry Whitener and Stain Remover

I may BE a dirty hippie, but I don't want to LOOK like a dirty hippie.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE white shirts. I love button-ups, t-shirts, beaters (yes, I called them beaters), but they never seem to STAY white. God forbid, if the underarm area gets yellow, I'm not wearing it. In the past, these shirts would sit in pile on my closet floor, or get turned into rags, but then my friend Jasmine shared her recipe for a MIRACLE WHITENER AND STAIN REMOVER. It seriously removed sweat stains in old workout shirts. This recipe is amazing, and it fits my requirements for EASY, INEXPENSIVE and EFFECTIVE

Kitchen Surface Cleaner

This All-Natural Kitchen Cleaner is by far one of the cheapest and easiest DIY products you can make.

All you need:
White Vinegar
Tap water
Citrus Peels
Storage Container (like an empty mason jar)
Time

After eating or juicing citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, etc), just put the leftover peels in a jar and pour in enough vinegar to cover.

Vinyl and Laminate Floor Polish

Up until recently, I had always used a brand name cleaner on the laminate flooring in my kitchen. I LOVED it. It was easy to use, inexpensive and made my kitchen smell like delicious oranges. Then I read the directions:

[Brand X] floor finish with future shine should be removed from your floor every 6 To 8 applications or annually with a solution Of 1 cup ammonia and 1/4 cup [Brand X] floor cleaner in 1/2 gallon cool water. Then rinse floor with clean water. 

OK, let me get this straight... the product I'm using to CLEAN my floors has to be CHEMICALLY REMOVED? And, as if having to use ammonia wasn't bad enough, I'm also expected to spend more money on another [Brand X] product to get the job done. 

Genius marketing ploy? You betcha. 

Reason for me to find a better homemade product? Precisely.

So, I turned to the all-knowing internet and found some recipes for laminate cleaners and polishes. They all did a great job of getting the floor clean. But they all lacked a very important feature in a floor polish... SHINE. Since my laminate doesn't already have a high gloss finish, the recipes that were out there were leaving me a little frustrated. I tinkered with the formula for a while and finally found a winning combination.

I present to you:

The Totally Natural, Practically Edible, All-in-One Laminate Floor Cleaner and Polish!

(Or, just "Floor Polish" for short)

Getting started...

I'm still really new to this whole all-natural, homemade, DIY lifestyle. Because of this, nearly every time I try a new recipe, I end up having to run back to the store to grab "just one more thing". If you're anything like me, stopping by the store for "just one more thing" usually results in a bunch of wasted time roaming the aisles and a basket full of extras I don't need. That's way too much time and money for this lazy hippie to spend. So, I compiled a list of commonly used items for the recipes I'll be posting here. I've also included the total prices as well as a breakdown into price per unit. That way, you can easily figure how much a recipe costs to create and decide if the [time spent]:[money saved] ratio is worth the effort...