Homemade Laundry Detergent Revisited

I am still making my own laundry detergent.  I made one change in the way I make it so I thought I would revisit this post  The only change I made is in the shredding of the Fels Naptha bar of soap.  I am now finely shredding the bar of soap using my metal  grater.  I usually do this while watching TV.  Cover your lap with a towel or cloth.  If you do not find Fels Naptha soap you can also use Ivory Soap.

Finely shredded Fels Naptha Soap

Recipe

1 Cup of Borax

1 Cup of Washing Soda

1 Bar of Fels Naptha Soap 

In a glass bowl combine well the Borax and the Washing Soda.

Mix well the Borax, Washing soda and finely grated Fels Naptha.  To even pulverize more you may use a food processor.

 Store your homemade detergent in a jar.  For one load use  1 tablespoon of the mix.  Sometimes I use 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled clothes.

 This is a super economical recipe.  One box of Borax will yield over 9 cups and 1 one box of the washing soda will yield just under 7 cups.

Green Cleaning - Two Recipes

By definition green cleaning means cleaning to protect your health without harming the environment.  We benefit from using environmentally friendly products in many ways.  Just a few products will yield most of the cleaners or detergents you will need to keep your home naturally clean.   Most cleaning products can be made using borax, white vinegar, baking soda, castile soap, setzer water, lemon juice....to name a few.

I started with the laundry soap. I've been using it for a couple of weeks and absolutely love it.  It's also a great way to save money.

I have been looking for a recipe to make a general surface cleaner to clean my kitchen counter tops.  I found a recipe in this couple's blog: Young House Love.  You will love reading some of their posts.



I found the borax and the Castile soap in my Harris Teeter Grocery Store.  The other brand of Castile soap out there is Dr Bronner's.

 I used Dr Woods Pure Tea Tree Castile soap.  The back of the bottle has some wonderful recipes too.

All Purpose Surface Cleaner

You will need:

4 tsp borax

1/2 tsp Castile Soap

4 cups Hot water

I used my 4  cup Pampered Chef measuring cup to mix the borax and the castile soap. Mix well until the mix is well dissolved.

Pour dissolved mix into a plastic spray bottle.  I found the 24 oz ones at a Dollar General for $1.00.  It helps to use a funnel to pour the liquid into the bottle.  Do it in your sink as there will be spills.

Label your bottle.

 The next green cleaning recipe can be used to clean your toilet and sinks.  The recipe calls for castile soap, baking soda and white vinegar.  The recipe is here.  To store this cleaning product you will need a plastic bottle with a squirt top.  As you can see the baking soda and the castile soap separate....so shake well before using.

Have fun green cleaning.