A Grating We Will Go...

OK, go ahead and laugh. I love, love, love doing laundry! I could sort, wash, and dry all day long. Folding, on the other hand, not so much. A few weeks ago, I decided I'd had enough of my current laundry detergents. They don't have labels with the ingredients and I'm sure they are laced with a million chemicals. It can't be good for baby's delicate skin!

Being a new mom, of course I went out and bought a beautiful bottle of Dreft. After a few weeks of using it, I realized... it smells really strange! I'd been using Tide Coldwater for all of my clothing since it became available on the market. Hey, I was saving the cost of heating water... right?!

After few trips around the block... I mean blog, and I finally found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent that interested me. Be patient. I might share said recipe. That's when the insanity started!

I quickly ran out the door, hopped in the car, and made a dash for Target; on Black Friday, no less! I returned with a bar of Lavender Dr. Bronner's bar soap, a box-style cheese grater, and a beautiful box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda! I already had a box of Borax just waiting to be opened and a Sam's Club size box of Oxyclean.

As soon as I hopped out of the car. My incredible workout ensued. Never in my life would I have thought grating a measly bar of soap would be so hard-HA!

15 minutes later, a bloody knuckle and thumb, trembling right arm, and a kitchen smelling of lavender my bar of soap was officially a flake! I added the rest of the ingredients into the bowl of soap and whisked with the tiny amount of muscle power I had left. Into a Mason jar, the mix went!

All my sources said to use 2 Tablespoons per large load. I found this to be a bit much for our water and washer. For me, 1 Tbsp is sufficient. Just two loads of laundry and I was sold! I later ordered 6 bars of the Unscented- Baby Mild variety of Dr. B's soap, bought a gallon sized jar, and make myself a mega batch of unscented detergent. I've since started using the unscented detergent for everyone's clothing. I saved my lovely lavender batch for a special occasion!

Since you were so patient...
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda
1/2 Cup of Oxyclean
1 finely grated bar of Dr. Bronner's Magic Castille Soap

Did you know- White vinegar makes a wonderful fabric softener? Add 1/4 cup to your rinse cycle and you will be shocked! No, your clothing will not spell like vinegar after they come out of the dryer. I promise!

Below is my beautiful detergent and fabric softener!