Laundry, Laundry and More Laundry...

My sweet Little Man, or maybe I should say busy Little Bee has had some major GI issues.  Every night at 1:30, he wakes up vomiting.  I initially thought it was a stomach bug, but it seems that he has an overly sensitive gag reflex and keeps gagging on his runny nose.  So, each and every morning, I have been awaken only to change clothes, sheets, blankets and pillows.

So, yesterday we paid our pediatrician our biweekly visit. He mostly ruled out a virus, but thinks it might be re-flux and a parasite.  Just what I wanted to hear.  Hopefully we can find the bottom of this issue, for the Little Man's sake.

As you can imagine, we have had an overabundance of laundry!  My washer and dryer run more than the average, but now they are on overtime.  I am finally caught up, and am so thankful.  So, today I will share with you my recipe for liquid laundry detergent.

I have been making this for about a year.  I find that our clothes are surprisingly clean and that my skin allergy is not affected by the ingredients.  I might not remove stains as well as Tide, but it does get our clothes clean.  I do use a pretreater if needed and maybe a little OxiClean if they are really soiled.

So, here is all you need to make your own laundry detergent.

1 bar Fels Napath laundry soap (I found mine at Walmart.  If you can't find it, ask and they will order it.)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

Grate the soap on a grater. Place grated soap in a large saucepan and fill with water.  Cook over medium heat until the soap is dissolved.  Stir in soda and Borax and continue stirring until it is completely dissolved.  Pour mixture into a 5 gallon bucket and fill with water.  Give it a good stir to make sure it is mixed well and allow to set overnight.  It will jell like Jello Jigglers!  Stir well.  I use mine straight in this form. You can mix it half again with water and use it diluted.  I figure we are dirty and need all the help we can get!  I refill an old Tide bottle and use one cap full.

That is all there is to it.  I think it takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and costs about $3.00 for 5 gallons of detergent.  Since this has very low suds, it is safe for an HE machine, just use less.

This is the soap you are looking for...

I use a box grater, and it is not too hard...

Add your cheese...er soap to a big ole pot of water.

Cook it until the soap dissolves...about 5 minutes, but don't boil. Stir in your soda and Borax.

Pour into a 5 gallon bucket and fill with water.  I think I made bubbles...

That is it. Super simple, and really inexpensive.  I hope you try this and let me know what you think.

In the mean time, say a prayer that my little man can shake this little bug...

Until next time, keep adventuring and looking for joy in the small details of life!

Sarah