Cleaning

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Have you ever gone to the store with several cleaning products on your list, determined to buy ONLY all natural cleaning products, because you know you don’t want any more of those nasty chemicals in your house?? You get to the cleaning isle and find that perfect, non-toxic, completely biodegradable toilet bowl cleaner made with plant based ingredients, including essential oils that give it that wonderful citrusy, clean smell. You are super excited (or maybe am I the only one that gets excited about toilet cleaner) and are about to throw it in the cart when your eyes flitter across the price tag………you choke a little, then your empty hand flinches back like the cleaner just burst into flames. You let out a long sigh and decide that the toxic cleaner down the isle might be ok if you don’t let the kids do ANY cleaning……or (better yet) maybe EVERYTHING in the house can be cleaned with water, vinegar and baking soda……????

I kept doing this over and over until a couple a months ago when I found ePantry. It’s an amazing web sight that sells my favorite brands of NATURAL cleaning products at prices I actually find reasonable. In fact I just finished my second order from them and spent $22.25 on an order that I would have spent $36.12 at the store. I know because I checked the prices of every item and I saved $13.87 just from that one order!! Not to mention that I ordered it in my jammies and they will deliver it to my door…..BONUS!

Now, here is the very best part, if you click over to ePantry through this link you will get $10 off your first order of $20 or more AND through the end of November you will also receive a free soy candle! I also get a credit when you make your first order, (at no extra cost to you) so it’s a win win win win situation!!

I hope all your holiday planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning is going well and you are blessed with the VERY best Thanksgiving yet!!

Till next time, Grace

There are TONS of different recipes for laundry soap out there, I have tried a few and this one is my favorite. I’ve been using this for a year now and one batch lasts 3 months for (on average) 5 people. It’s really easy to make and cheaper than buying it.

You will need Borax, Washing Soda (not baking soda), Fels-Naptha soap, water and essential oils (optional). I found all of these items (except the essential oils) at Fred Meyer near the laundry soap.

Start by grating the bar of soap.

Then melt the grated soap in a large pan with 1 gallon of water on medium low heat. Don’t let it boil just heat it up, stirring often until all the soap has melted.

When the bar soap is melted add the borax and washing soda and stir until the borax and washing soda have dissolved. Then pour the soap into a big bucket (I use a 5 gallon bucket) and add 2 gallons of cool water to the bucket and stir. Now is when you add the essential oil of your choice. I like lemon or sweet orange.

Stir it up again and let your concoction set over night. The soap will gel up and separate over night. It will look something like this:

I like to use an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth.

You can funnel the soap into smaller containers or I keep it in the bucket and use a long handled ladle to scoop half a cup of detergent per load of laundry. If the soap sits for a while it will separate again so remember to stir between each use.

This detergent works in any washing machine. I have a high efficiency washer and this soap is safe to use in it.

4.5 from 2 reviews

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Author: Queen Of The Red Doublewide

Ingredients

1 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry soap
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Washing Soda
3 gallons of water
10-20 drops of essential oil (optional)

Instructions

Start by grating the bar of soap. Then melt the grated soap in 1 gallon of water on medium low heat. Do not boil and stir often. When the soap has melted add 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda and stir until dissolved. Pour your soap mixture into a big bucket (something that holds more than 3 gallons) and add 2 more gallons of water. Now add an essential oil of your choice if you would like and stir well. Let it set over night. It will gel up and separate over night so stir and stir or use an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth.
Use ½ a cup per load of laundry.

This post was shared at: Clever Chicks Blog Hop – Thrifty Thursday –

Queen Of The Red Double Wide

A rural, food loving, wife, mom, and teacher sharing her experiences as she stumbles through this wonderful, crazy life.

Natural Cleaning Products! Plus $10 Off Your First Order

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent