Make it Yourself, Wednesdays: Laundry Supplies

   

  Laundry, laundry, laundry! It's a never ending cycle around here and it seems that the more I wash, the more dirty clothes my family tends to produce. With the six of us in the home, we still manage to need to wash at least two loads of laundry a day. I still haven't figured out why that is, but that's another story.  With washing so many loads, one can imagine the monthly cost spent on laundry supplies. Detergent, fabric softener, bleach, and fabric sheets, all of these things used to really add up. Well, when you've changed your way of living and you're living on only one income, you have too find ways to cut costs so we began to make our own products to save money. Our favorite 3 laundry items to make on our own have been dryer balls, laundry detergent, and laundry crystals. We make batches in bulk, to last us for months in order to save time.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 boxes of Borax, 76 oz box
• 2  boxes of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, 55 oz box
• 2 boxes of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda, 1 lb box 
• 1 box of Oxi Clean, 3 lb package
• 3 Bars of Pink Zote Soap
• 2 Bags of Epsom, 6 lb bags 
• Essential oils of your choice (We use a blend of lavender and lemongrass)
• 2 packs of 100% wool yarn (We use Wool-Ease, Fisherman yarn)
• 1 pair of knee high stockings
• rubber bands
• 1 metal yarn needle

 

     First up, replacing dryer sheets with wool dryer balls! This was a must do for us. My husband was partial to Bounce dryer sheets and we easily blew through two large boxes each month. By making reusable dryer balls, we were able to completely eliminate that monthly expense.

Next up, laundry detergent. First thing you need to do, is to break up the bars of Zote. There are several ways to do this, but I prefer to use a food processor. After cutting the bars into small squares, place them into a food processor. Run the processor until te soap has broken down into tiny beads. This usually takes about 3 minutes. 

In a 5 gallon bucket, combine the Borax, Baking Soda, Oxi Clean,  and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda with the soap and mix well. We only use 2 to 3 tablespoons per load!

And finally, the fabric crystals. I loved the smell of fabric crystals but never enjoyed the price. We would purchase between 4 and 5 bottles each month for about $6 per bottle. Something had to be done about that, so we began making our own. To make your own fabric crystals, simply empty the bags of Epsom Salt into a large bowl. Add drops of essential oils and stir in until you get to the desired fragrance. Really, that's it. Store these in an airtight container as well. Or, you can add some of the crystals directly to the laundry detergent. We actually prefer to use that method since we're usually busy with school and rarely go back too check on laundry during the rinse cycle.

That's it! You're all done. You now have homemade laundry supplies that work. You're laundry will be clean and fresh smelling. Now, you can sit back and enjoy the savings!

Peace and blessings,

D.T.