Laundry & laundry soap recipe

LOTS of gardening activity going on.... weather or insects permitting!  We went from nice Spring temps to Summer temps in short notice.  And the mosquitoes are loving it... and the buffalo flies.  But tomatoes/peppers need to be transplanted and seeds directly sown into the ground.  And then watered.  I ran out of fuel for the big tiller to tackle the weed patch except that ain't going to happen for a few days since we are getting a good dousing as I type.  I'd much rather have the rain than the crazy wind that went through at the start of this storm.  But over all we've been busy, busy, busy.

The garden takes most of my time but we have other responsibilities to add to the mix like fence work to keep our cows in and the neighbors range cows out, tractor work, outside employment at a friend's ranch, monitoring/feeding the bees, and working with our cows (have to keep them remembering they are cows and not pets!), fixing bust fence wire, cleaning out coops and pens, mending fence from all the snow we had over the winter, chopping thistle and weeds, cleaning up fallen trees from the wind storms and snow, check the diversion dam and ditch ... did I mention fixing fence?? .... plus all the other daily chores that need to get done.  But ONE chore that is important is having some clean clothes to wear that don't stink to high heaven or have something questionable blotted on the side of the pant leg.

So when the skies are clear and the wind isn't blowing a hundred miles an hour it becomes a good day to get some laundry done.  Freshly washed clothes hung on the line outside have a wonderful smell.  At least I think it does.  Which leads me to laundry soap and laundry soap recipes. There are a lot of 'recipes' circulating on-line, and you can search for 'homemade laundry soap recipes' and get a lot of different varieties, most have the same ingredients and amounts.  Some people add scents, different kinds of powders or bar soaps, different amounts of powders, etc.  I think the one I jotted down and adapted, many moons ago, came from an old Backwoods Home magazine article by Jackie Clay (update:  a quick search on her blog and I found the article referring to her laundry soap recipe.... it can be found here at Wash Day.

This works well for me so I'm going to share with you.

Homemade Laundry Soap:
One 5-gallon bucket
5 gallons HOT water
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap
Grater to shred the soap
2 Cups borax laundry powder
2 Cups Super Washing Soda
1 Cup Biz (I've seen Oxyclean added, but I don't think it works as well as Biz when you soak)

Take your 5-gallon bucket and grate the entire bar of the Fels Naptha soap in it.  I use the 'fine' portion of the grater because it dissolves quicker.  It doesn't take all that long but if you are troubled by the thought of sitting for several minutes grating soap AND you have children in the house, then by all means use a little child labor and let that youngster do it.  Bribe Offer them food and you'd be amazed at what you can get done.  If no kids in the vicinity, you can use the larger holed portion but I think it takes longer to dissolve.  Then treat yourself to a cookie (after washing the soap off your hands.... cookies + soap = nasty) and ponder the next steps.

After shredding the soap, mix in the rest of the powders together with a whisk or spoon.  Then add about 1 gallon of hot water.  I just use HOT (as hot as it will get) tap water.  Some people put the shredded soap in a large metal pot on the stove, add some water and heat it on low heat until it dissolves, but we have set our water heater to its recommended setting (145F - check your label on your tank to see how hot your water should be) and the water is hot enough and dissolves the soap just fine.  Even if it doesn't dissolve it all, it will still work in your laundry.

Add the rest of your water as you stir and dissolve any of the soap/powder that may still be in your mixture.

Now, if you purchased a lid for your 5 gallon bucket when you bought it (unlike a certain blogger... who will remain unnamed <cough>), all you need to do is let it cool and then cover it with the lid.  If you didn't buy a lid with your 5 gallon bucket or have a bucket that didn't come with one, then you can ladle the contents into old laundry soap containers, large wide mouth jugs or empty vessels with good fitting lids of some sort that will stay on if you have to shake it up before use.

Oh, and not all 5-gallon buckets will hold 5-gallons.  Just thought I'd add that little tidbit of information before you go dumping all your water in your bucket thinking it will hold it all and about a 1/2 gallon goes oozing onto the floor.  Mix up your brew outside, just in case.

Sometimes the concoction gels up a bit as it cools and sometimes it don't.  Either way, it still is soap.  I fill old laundry soap containers, vinegar jugs or large plastic empty sauerkraut/pickle jars that came from one of those big box stores.  Shake it/mix it up a bit and it is good to go.  I use about 1 cup of the laundry soap, sometimes 2 cups.  It all depends on how dirty the clothing is that needs to be washed.

Which leads me to the observation that front loader machines don't 'clean' as well as the regular old machines with the agitator in the middle.  Those 'he' machines may be good for city dirt, but just don't work for ranch dirt.  I sometimes have to take the grungy ones and wash in a pail or tub with a scrub board to get the dirt out. It is amazing as to what dirt gets left in the clothes... not for the faint of heart!

Well, that about sums it up for now.  Try it out or look on-line for a 'recipe' that you like.  It will save you money in the long run, plus you'll have a nice laundry soap that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.  That 5-gallon bucket of soap will last me at least a month and we do go through some laundry loads around here.

Until next time....