In the dark and dank corner of our scary (no terrifying) basement lives a lavender scented bowl of fluffy goodness that makes our clothes smell fresh and clean.  In addition to having a laundry chute, my homemade laundry detergent makes the job of washing that much more tolerable, because oh man do I do a lot of it.  Between cloth diapering two boys, a giant for a husband and my constant addiction to baking our laundry runs more often than I would like to admit.  This recipe is so easy.  Those that may scoff at making your own detergent could be pleasantly surprised because its so easy.  I do have to grate the soap but other than that its just a matter of measuring and mixing.  You could buy soap flakes too if you don’t feel like breaking out the grater.  The most appealing aspect of making my own laundry soap is that I know exactly what is in it. With all the chemicals in commercial cleaning products you never know what you are getting really.  My Miles lived with a constant rash for the first year of his life due to fragrances in detergents I suspect because now that I use Dr. Bronners Magic Soap it is gone.  Like Magic!  (Ever read all the tiny writing on a Dr. Bronners bottle?  interesting…)

This recipe lasts me about four months.  Keeping in mind I do laundry nearly every single day.  Boo.

1 3/4 cup borax

1 3/4 cup washing soap

1 3/4 cup baking soda

two bars of grated dr. bronners (or any castille soap) I use lavender or peppermint but orange would be good too I think!

Mix it all up and store in an airtight container.  Use 1/8 cup per load unless using cloth diapers then just use 1/16 for a hot cycle and 1/16 for a cold cycle.

While I am on the topic of laundry I suppose this is a good forum to discuss the pros of cloth diapers.  So many people envision poop floating around in the washing machine and intolerable smells coming from the laundry basket.  These are absolutely false beliefs.  Cloth diapering is easy, trust me, otherwise I really wouldn’t do it.  The only pit fall could be that you have to change their diapers a little more often than disposable diapers. The smell is even probably less than that of disposables because you flush it down instead of storing it until trash day.   Now that I am using the diapers for a second child I feel even more pleased with the money we are saving.  If you are worried about the water bill sky rocketing I can tell you the month of July the boys and I were gone and our bill only went down 20 dollars.  Thats easily the cost of diapers for a week for one child (never mind two).  I won’t even get into the favor you are doing for the environment.

Besides, they are cute.