You're not fully clean unless...

Ello, lovelies! 

Today we explore another area of do-it-yerselfing (yer-self is the correct pronunciation, of course.).  What now could it possibly be, say you?

The necessary evil – ba da bummmm (dramatic music, please)…the “L” word.  The dreaded, the horrid, the mountainous…laundry.  Perhaps you can’t stand a mountain of laundry and you keep up with it, if so, kudos to you.

You know, speaking of which, I want you to think about what you have for just a second and how much you really need.  I went (a long billion years ago or so-ish) to El Salvador and experienced something I have never before (or since).  It was simply this: the women I was working with had two pairs of underwear (knickers?  Is that right, UK?) – one that they were wearing and one that they washed and hung on a line to dry every morning. 

Hello!? 

That is pretty much – to tell the truth – all you really need.  But why don’t we open up your knickers drawer and peek to see if you’ve got two or two hundred.

Anyway, something to stick in the back of your head.

And now, in the meantime – laundry.  Do you do your laundry the same day and time each week?  Or if you’ve got a pile of littles, perhaps you do it several times a day.

At any rate, let’s talk about laundry detergent. 

Do you make yours?  Have you ever thought about it?  It’s pretty easy and if you’d like, I’ll show you a recipe I know for it.

Here is the easy-ness in all of its glory…

Homemade Launderings

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing soda (this is NOT baking soda.  It kind of looks like a baking soda box but it’s about fifty times bigger.  Look for it in the laundry area.)

2 cups of a shredded laundry soap bar (some people use Fels Naptha, other people say Fels Naptha is poison from the devil)

This is for a dry mix.  You mix all of that stuff up and off you go.  There is another way with this recipe that makes a liquid detergent – basically you get loads and loads of water, boil it up, and it turns to a goo.  You add more water and you can basically make 5 gallons of detergent for like a dollar.  Okay, maybe not a dollar.  But not very much.

Here’s the site I’ve used to make my own:

One Good Thing, by Jillee: Laundry Detergent

She’s got some great ideas to look through.

Why on earth would I want you to make your own detergent?  Two reasons (okay, maybe more) – one: because I want you to be independent and know how to do things and two: it’s waaaaaaaaay cheaper.  Reason number three would be something like: so you can avoid a slathering of poison chemicals on your clothes that you rub on your children’s skin and your own.  But whatevs, you can pick a reason you like.

They ought to wash up those adorable cloth diapers you made by hand very nicely!  Oh wait, only super popular people make handmade cloth diapers, right daaaaaahling?

I can’t say I did that, although I quite wish I would have. 

Alrighty, me dearies.  May you have a very wonderful weekend!

Peace, love and scrubby bubbles,

Ms. Daisy