Home made Laundry Powder

So, today seemed like the perfect day to make home made cleaners. Laundry detergent is another big household expense that like dish-washing tablets I find to be horrifyingly expensive stuff!

The great this is, during my research I found some great recipes that are all somewhat similar and this recipe only has 3 required ingredients and 1 optional. I made a batch and tested it straight after on a load of white sheets, oh boy was I impressed! What made me more impressed is that I can only wash in cold water, there is no connection to hot water for my washing machine. 

The recipe is super simple: 

1 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Borox

1 bar of Laundry soap, grated  (I used the Woolworths Brand, 4 bars for $1.99)

1 cup Oxygen stain remover *optional

15-20 drops essential oil *optional

I started off grating my bar of soap, which took a little effort but was all done in about 5 minutes. To a large bowl I added all the ingredients and mixed the whole batch together to make sure that all the ingredients were evenly distributed throughout. The smell of the laundry soap alone was quite pleasant, so if you don't want to add any essential oils, you don't really need to. 

This home made laundry soap doesn't contain any bulking agents, so you only have to use 2 tablespoons for a whole wash. It was odd to me at first, because i'm using to dumping a heaped scoop of washing powder into the load.

I do use a home made softener with all my loads of washing, this is very easy to make. Combine 1 cup of hair conditioner (use a cheap one), 3 cups of very hot water and mix these together until they are well mixed, you may need to use a whisk (I found that a spatula just didn't cut it). Then stir in 1 cup of white vinegar and store. I use the same amount as I would normally.