I tried a variety of 'recipes' and was pleasantly surprised at how easy they all were to make and how well they worked.
In Part One of my Laundry Room Makeover, our laundry room got a new coat of paint and a cute French black & white toile motif.
This inspired me to take my 'makeover' one step further and start making my own natural laundry products.
I am going to share how to make your own DIY homemade detergent (powder and gel), stain remover, fabric softener and bleach alternative using common, natural household ingredients readily available in your grocery store or online.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT (powder)
LAUNDRY DETERGENT (gel)
(Note to self: pick up an old saucepan at Goodwill to use for this concoction!)
Pour 2 cups warm water into a large bowl. Add soap mixture and whisk. Slowly add another 10 cups warm water and the essential oil, stirring until mixed. The mixture will turn to a gel.
FABRIC SOFTENER
~makes 3-1/3 Cups~
BLEACH ALTERNATIVE
ALL PURPOSE STAIN REMOVER
Mix:
1 Cup Water
1 Cup White Vinegar
6 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil
Shake Borax or Arm & Hammer Washing Soda onto stain, spray with vinegar/water mixture, let sit 10-20 minutes then brush with an old toothbrush. Launder.
SPECIFIC STAIN REMOVERS
Lipstick or ink: soak in milk
Red wine: salt/water paste - let sit for 1-2 hours
I did two loads of laundry, using both the liquid and powder laundry detergents as well as the fabric softener. I also tried the bleach alternative and all-purpose stain remover.
Our clothes are clean! Everything smells so fresh and natural. I am hooked!
Our clothes are clean! Everything smells so fresh and natural. I am hooked!
I didn't price the ingredients and figure cost per load, but you can see from the prices below that everything I bought barely cost what one jug of each commercial detergent, bleach and fabric softener costs and I only used a fraction to mix up a batch of each product.
I still have enough to make many, many more batches, so the savings will be substantial.
I still have enough to make many, many more batches, so the savings will be substantial.
If you have a favorite homemade laundry product please feel free to share it in the comment section. I would love to try some other 'recipes'.