I have decided that one of my favorite things to do is hang clothes out to dry. Since the weather has been so nice, I decided it was time to string up the clothesline again.
This is a great, natural, money saver. Maybe my dryer has something wrong with it but when I timed it the other day, it took an hour for a load to dry. An hour?! What does that cost?
I haven't used my dryer in days. I wash clothes as soon as I get up then go hang them outside. Usually by lunch, they are dry. Of course, the more wind the better because it basically beats the wrinkles out of everything. On calm days, the clothes just hang there and become stiff. We don't mind though. I just do a quick iron over our clothes and everything else stays stiff. We call towels that were hung dry "exfoliating." It sounds nicer than "stiff." :)
I would encourage you to do this too. Save money...save the planet. Plus, it's extremely fulfilling to hang your clothes out!
Back in October, I posted about making homemade liquid laundry detergent. Well, for a small family, I've found that this recipe can go kind of sour after a year of having it. I guess you could just make a smaller batch but I've grown to like a dry powder version.
I use the same recipe sans liquid:
1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated
1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
½ cup Borax
Then, I use 1 tablespoon per load. That's roughly 32 loads for maybe $2. not bad, huh?!
There aren’t many things that are more satisfying than making your own laundry detergent. Who knew you could do that?! The best part is….it will only cost you about $3 per batch. Our first batch lasted one whole year. A WHOLE YEAR! Three dollars for one year of laundry detergent!
I started making it because I’m cheap then I started thinking about how much better for us it must be. There are no chemicals being put on our clothes and rubbing against our skin. Cheap…healthy…sounds good to me!
Here is the recipe:
1 Fels Naptha soup bar, grated
1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
½ cup Borax
Clean 5 gallon bucket with lid
Smaller laundry detergent dispenser or container
The ingredients can usually be found in the laundry products aisle.
Grate the soap into a small sauce pan. (This is a little difficult in the winter because the soap bar is sooo hard. Just keep a good thought!) Cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves.
Put washing soda and borax in a 5 gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved.
Fill the bucket to the top with additional hot tap water.
Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight.
The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using.
For top-loading, machines use 1 cup of the soap mixture per load.
For front-loading machines, use 1/3 cup per load.
Now you can smile each time you wash a load of clothes because you know it’s only costing you pennies!
-Keep in mind that this detergent is not scented. If you want a scent, use a nice fabric softener or dryer sheets.
