IT WORKS FOR ME: laundry

I always like hearing from other people about how things work in their house and why they work the way they do. Yet, I also feel like everyone these days acts as if they know all about every subject they write about and can't say "this works for us, if it doesn't work for you, that's ok." Because of this, I decided to start a new little series called it works for me. I plan on covering all sorts of topics, mostly to give a glimpse into the day to day of our lives, but also to show why these things work well for us.

Now for a "hot" topic for moms:

laundry

Well all have it. Probably more of it than we even want. And how we all stay on top of it, or ignore it, varies from house to house. I know people that do all the laundry in the hampers every evening in their house. I know people that go weeks until there are no clothes left (we really don't have enough clothes in our house to go more than a week). I land somewhere in the middle.

It works for me.

I tend to do at least one load of laundry a day, usually during the day. I throw things like dirty bibs and Callum's clothes after dinner right into the washer and they sit there, then get washed with whatever is getting washed next. Then, I wash everyone's clothes when their hampers get full. Connor and Isla share a hamper, so their's usually fills up the fastest. Towels and sheets get washed whenever I feel like it, I really don't have a rhyme or reason to when I do it.

The real key to my madness is, I put away the loads of laundry after it comes out of the dryer. It takes all of 5 minutes. But, if I let the clean clothes pile up, it seems to become such a chore to put them away. So, I really work to not let them pile up...plus, like I said, we don't have a ton of clothes, so they need to go back into the drawers to be used again.

So there you have it. My exciting (sense the sarcasm) laundry routine. Even if this bored you to sleep, which, if it did, you're welcome for the cat nap, at least you get to see a picture of a cute baby who loves watching the washer and dryer go round and round.

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Homemade Laundry Detergent

I know what you're thinking...how can anyone be so excited about homemade laundry detergent? Its easy. You see, its cheap to make, about $4 for 640 loads worth, its easy to make and it seems to work. A win on all counts, don't ya think? Because I knew you would be just as excited as I am, I thought I would share the easy-peasy recipe along with pictures from my detergent-making process.


Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap 
for front or top load machine

Ingredients:
4  cups of hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1  cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (must be sodium carbonate, not baking soda or detergent)
½  cup of Borax

Directions:

1. Grate bar of soap* and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.                                    *Watch out for your knuckles when  grating the soap. I accidentally added a little blood to my recipe.   


2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

3. Stir (it will be all gelled) and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser (or really any dispenser)  half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use (will gel in between uses).
4. Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil...I did not do this.

How to use:
Top Load Machine - 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
Front Load Machine - ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

About the ingredients:
You can buy them all online, but it is kind of pricey that way. I was able to find the Borax at Target, the Fels-Naptha at a local grocery store and the washing soda at ACE Hardware...though I did notice ACE carries the Fels-Naptha as well, so maybe check them out first for ingredients.

You are impressed, aren't you?