Laundry Soap: Revisted

As you should all know by now (because I talk about it darn near constantly), we have made the switch to homemade laundry detergent. I can't say this was the easiest thing we've done; the call of the Laundry Soap Aisle is strong, my friends. It beckons with scents unknown, fun colors, and new formulas.

But I have resisted. I have been strong.

"So. You're off the merchandise?"

"Yes. Yes I believe so."

"How long've you been off it?"

"Going on 4, 5 months now, I think? Close to it."

"How do you feel since detaching yourself from said products?"

......So much better.

How wonderful is it to be able to say, "Oh! I'm out of laundry soap. Gotta go make some more!" And just like that, laundry soap galore. Out of my own cupboard. Whoa. It still kind of mystifies me that simple ingredients, all of which I have on hand, can turn into a product that I use all of the time. Magic.

It's cheap. It's easy. And it works. Really well. Actually, after you've seen just how well it works, how much like store bought stuff it is, you start to get angry that you paid so much for so long. Because they told you to.

"Here. You need this. You'll have to pay this. Seems like a lot, does it? Well, we don't know about that. It's magic you know. You should have to pay this much for magic in a bottle."

Much like his cohort in Oz, the detergent Wizard has been revealed as the greedy little man that he is.

And I won't pay him anymore. Na-uh.

An added bit of wisdom I've picked up through this: Fels-Naptha makes an amazing pretreater. It sure does. With two girls who use their clothing as napkins, and a husband who seems to do the same, I need a good pretreater. It's essential to me. By wetting and rubbing the bar directly on the stain, be it grime, grease, or gore, it comes out in the wash. And at .99 cents a bar, this is the cheapest stain treater I've found. I vote yes.

I'm also learning to use less of it. It seems like I should have to use a lot, since it's non-sudsing. But that's just not true. I've been trained to need bubbles and suds and foamy scents, but months of being free of it is showing me how simple ingredients can, in fact, simply work. And they do.

For those of you who have tried it, I wish you continued homemade laundry soap happiness.

For those who haven't yet tried it I ask this: why not give it a shot?

You can find the recipes for the liquid and powdered versions here:
caedanceandashlyn.blogspot.com/2011/05/laundry-soap.html

Happy Washing To You!