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laundry tip
- This topic has 41 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by
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This will make a TON:
5 bars Fels Naptha soap, grated (use a Salad Shooter or food processor if you have one or your arm will fall off)
1 box washing soda
1 box baking soda
1 box Borax
1 container oxiclean
I add the ingredients in a pattern so that it’s easier to mix it well. And mix as you go. I store mine in a large 2-gal glass canister from Walmart. It was $9 I think.
Lindsey, did you say if you have a HE washer? I prefer to not use bleach also. Besides for environmental reasons, whenever I have used bleach I always end up ruining something. And to state the obvious, this makes a powdered mix, right? (I’ve not used all these ingredients before.)
Thanks!
Shannon
As for the Sear’s turn in program, on the one hand I love that idea…but then it also feels very wasteful of the Earth’s resources. New clothes are quite toxic. I just finished going through my younger children’s clothes for the change of seasons and did my own ‘exchange program’. Most of the jeans with holes in the knees get turned into cut-off shorts! Summer here we come! 🙂
I have a HE front-loading machine, and this detergent is the only soap I have ever used in it.
Christie, I can’t guarantee it won’t damage your food processor. 😉 I use my Salad Shooter with no problems. I throw it in the dishwasher when I’m done and grate cheese with it later. 🙂 I would use a knife to cut the soap into smaller chunks before putting it in any blender or processor. I have a friend who bought a really small, cheap food processor that she uses solely for this purpose. The one thing you want to be sure of is that the soap is in pieces about the size of a bb or smaller. One of my friends used a Ninja for her soap, and it was still in dime-size chunks when she was done. She used it anyway, but it didn’t dissolve in her washer. So make sure the soap grates/chops up really finely.
Okay – another soap question….what size container for the Oxiclean? And the baking soda? I’ve seen them big and small. Could you use other soaps like Zote or Dr. Bronner or another ‘natural’ type soap?
Use any bar soap that you like. I’ve always used Fels Naptha, so it’s the only one I can speak for. I use the big tub/box of both baking soda and oxiclean.
Crazy4boys,
I like Kirkland soap instead of Fels Naphtha. It has a much milder smell than Fels. I think the bars are a different size, but most recipes say any laundry soap brand can be used. Maybe if you compared the ounces you could figure out how to use a different one with her recipe?
Holly – Kirkland is a Costco brand?
Lindsey – do you mean big grocery store box or big Costco/Sam’s Club box?
Thanks ladies!
Land’s End offers a lifetime gaurante on their Iron Knee jeans and pants. I don’t have experience with them, but I have a friend who has boys, and she’s been able to keep handing them down to the next boy and they are still in great shape. It may be a little costly upfront, but it sounds like a good investment overall!
Holly, of you mean Kirklands Castille soap? If so it isn’t a Costco branded item but a diff. company.
Just wanted to chime in on the holes 🙂 Like Laura.bora, my oldest very rarely gets holes in his jeans. My next two, twins, however…Recenly I patched 20, yes 20 pair of their jeans (thankful for tons of hand-me-downs!) – many of these were patches on top of patches. And within a week, I had more to do. We have designated two pair for “town” jeans and they are not allowed to play in. They also the other day were jumping into mud filled tree holes (several feet deep, we grow landscape trees) and were so covered in mud you couldn’t tell what color their clothes were supposed to be. My oldest, was playing with them, but was not so covered in mud, and has only 1 pair of jeans that needed a patch. The younger two say they actually prefer their holey jeans because it makes them look like daddy, who adds his share to the patch pile as well. I used to smock, knit, sew heirloom clothing, now, I just patch 😉 I’m just glad they are out there in it!
as far as detergent – I do much the same as the other ladies here – I do pretty much the same as Lindsay, but in a smaller quantity (2 c. each of borax, baking soda, and washing soda and 1 bar of Fels Naptha, I have switched up with other soaps, I have a batch with Kirk’s lavender. I just grate on my hand grater and shake it up in the container) – just wanted to chime in on the holes – happy washing ladies!
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