Laundry Woes - and a Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

This post doesn't have anything to do with stamping.  It has to do with laundry.  My beloved washing machine is leaking!  It's a front loader, only seven years old.  I was debating on getting it repaired; I even scheduled an appointment with the outrageously expensive appliance repairman.  But I also called our appliance store.  Before I told the salesman how old my washer was, he told me that front-loaders last about ten years.  That's when I knew I wasn't going to sink $300 into my current one.  So, I've got a new washing machine on order.  After I had made the purchase, the salesman told me that the washer was back-ordered and would not be delivered until August 8th!  I'm now debating on whether or not to cancel my order or go to another appliance store.

I can tell you that there's never a good time to have an appliance go bad.  It makes me appreciate what I have, that's for sure.  Earlier in the week I was actually caught up with my laundry.  But it only takes a few days to fill up those baskets.  So this afternoon I dropped the girls off at a birthday party and headed to the laundromat.  The place wasn't air-conditioned, but there was a breeze going through it.  What would fit into three loads in my machine spread out to six machines.   There were some scarier and huge machines, but I was afraid to mess with them.

Since I was without kids, I brought along some of my convention swaps to work on.  I didn't finish them until tonight.  But I'm happy to announce that they are finished : )  Now I'm thinking that I've got time to make some more.

Onto the laundry detergent: About six months ago I made a batch of homemade laundry detergent.  At the time I didn't think to blog about it.  But now that I know how great it is, I've made a little photo tutorial - with the help of my dearest Annika.  She loves getting "Mommy time."

 Here's the official recipe that I got from another web site months ago: 

4 lb 12 oz box Borax found in the detergent aisle

4 lbs baking soda - you can buy one big box in the detergent aisle, but it's cheaper to buy four one-pound boxes in the baking aisle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle

3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, found in the detergent aisle (At Walmart each bar is $0.97. Giant Eagle sells them for $1.99 each.)

1 large container of Oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total) found in the detergent aisle.  (I think two small containers will be enough because the big container I got was 5 lbs.)

Grate the Fels-Naptha soap with a box grater - or use your food processor.  I'm using my turkey roaster to mix it in.

Annika is adding the baking soda.

I got all the ingredients at Walmart except for the Borax.  Had to pay top dollar for it at Giant Eagle.  And it was all clumped up in the box.  Nothing that my Pampered Chef Mix-n-Chop couldn't handle.

Annika carved a heart out of the Borax clump before breaking it up and adding the other ingredients.  All you have to do is mix everything by hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In goes the washing soda.  (I forgot to get a photo of the Oxyclean going in.)

Pour into storage containers.  

Afterwards, there was a little bit to clean up because some of the powder flies through the air.  Annika got a bit on the floor, too.  So I mopped the floor.

I don't remember the last time I made this homemade laundry detergent, but it lasted about six months.  You only have to use two tablespoons for each load of laundry.  While we were putting it into the containers, I lost count at 32 cups.  That converts to at least 256 loads of laundry -all for $23!  This means more money to buy stamps with, LOL!

Tomorrow I'll be in a blog hop featuring the July exclusive Reason to Smile stamp set.  So, stay tuned!

Happy Washing!

Susan

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This post doesn't have anything to do with stamping.  It has to do with laundry.  My beloved washing machine is leaking!  It's a front loader, only seven years old.  I was debating on getting it repaired; I even scheduled an appointment with the outrageously expensive appliance repairman.  But I also called our appliance store.  Before I told the salesman how old my washer was, he told me that front-loaders last about ten years.  That's when I knew I wasn't going to sink $300 into my current one.  So, I've got a new washing machine on order.  After I had made the purchase, the salesman told me that the washer was back-ordered and would not be delivered until August 8th!  I'm now debating on whether or not to cancel my order or go to another appliance store.

I can tell you that there's never a good time to have an appliance go bad.  It makes me appreciate what I have, that's for sure.  Earlier in the week I was actually caught up with my laundry.  But it only takes a few days to fill up those baskets.  So this afternoon I dropped the girls off at a birthday party and headed to the laundromat.  The place wasn't air-conditioned, but there was a breeze going through it.  What would fit into three loads in my machine spread out to six machines.   There were some scarier and huge machines, but I was afraid to mess with them.

Since I was without kids, I brought along some of my convention swaps to work on.  I didn't finish them until tonight.  But I'm happy to announce that they are finished : )  Now I'm thinking that I've got time to make some more.

Onto the laundry detergent: About six months ago I made a batch of homemade laundry detergent.  At the time I didn't think to blog about it.  But now that I know how great it is, I've made a little photo tutorial - with the help of my dearest Annika.  She loves getting "Mommy time."

 Here's the official recipe that I got from another web site months ago: 

4 lb 12 oz box Borax found in the detergent aisle

4 lbs baking soda - you can buy one big box in the detergent aisle, but it's cheaper to buy four one-pound boxes in the baking aisle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle

3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, found in the detergent aisle (At Walmart each bar is $0.97. Giant Eagle sells them for $1.99 each.)

1 large container of Oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total) found in the detergent aisle.  (I think two small containers will be enough because the big container I got was 5 lbs.)

Grate the Fels-Naptha soap with a box grater - or use your food processor.  I'm using my turkey roaster to mix it in.

Annika is adding the baking soda.

I got all the ingredients at Walmart except for the Borax.  Had to pay top dollar for it at Giant Eagle.  And it was all clumped up in the box.  Nothing that my Pampered Chef Mix-n-Chop couldn't handle.

Annika carved a heart out of the Borax clump before breaking it up and adding the other ingredients.  All you have to do is mix everything by hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In goes the washing soda.  (I forgot to get a photo of the Oxyclean going in.)

Pour into storage containers.  

Afterwards, there was a little bit to clean up because some of the powder flies through the air.  Annika got a bit on the floor, too.  So I mopped the floor.

I don't remember the last time I made this homemade laundry detergent, but it lasted about six months.  You only have to use two tablespoons for each load of laundry.  While we were putting it into the containers, I lost count at 32 cups.  That converts to at least 256 loads of laundry -all for $23!  This means more money to buy stamps with, LOL!

Tomorrow I'll be in a blog hop featuring the July exclusive Reason to Smile stamp set.  So, stay tuned!

Happy Washing!

Susan