This much closer to what?  I’m not sure, maybe you can tell me.  I did hoof all over creation today, lugging my two patient children  all in the name of “washing soda”.  Right here is where I should talk about natural cleaners and why you should make your own, I won’t, but it’s coming.  I am going to say that I made my own laundry detergent today!

A special shout out here to friends, Roy and Becki, GREAT IDEA!

You only need a few ingredients to make your own laundry detergent, which saves the Earth and saves you money.  All it takes, is a bar of soap, borax, washing soda and water.  I have to say that I went on a wild goose chase searching for washing soda.  It was at the 9th store we checked, not very Earth-friendly, and it was the store closest to my house….lessons learned.  When I went to the natural food store, store #7, they looked surprised that I asked for such a thing.  One man asked “to make your own laundry detergent?”

“yeah.” I say.

“Yeah, I don’t know if we sell that….can I recommend any of the ones we have for you?”

“No,” I say, “I’m trying to make my own, I just need washing soda.”

Guy number two says, “I haven’t seen that in years, you should try looking…”

Well, the next place didn’t have it, but the place after that DID”!  Listen up, washing soda is not baking soda!  They are different, it is supposed to be found in a box in the laundry isle along with borax.

The recipe that I used is:

1. Shred one bar of soap (about 2 cups)

2. Put that into 1 qt. of water until all is dissolved

3. Add to that 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda

4. stir that all up and then pour it all into two gallons of water.

5. If you put it in jugs or old laundry containers, it’s easy to shake before you use it.  It will gel together somewhat.

6.  Use 1/4 cup per load.

I used 1/2 bar of white laundry soap (bar) which cost $1.  The washing soda was $2.90 and the borax $3.90.  Just factoring in the cost of the material, it cost me $1.23 to make two gallons of product.

You should totally give it a try.