The Art of Zen Living

Recently, I mixed up a batch of laundry soap.  This isn’t really a “how to” post - Trent has already done an excellent one of those over at The Simple Dollar, as has Crystal over at The Family Homestead.  My method was kind of between what they did, and it gave me some ideas to try next time.  Based on what I’ve seen and read about making home made laundry soap, it’s a bit on the bulky side of things, and sort of a noodle soup consistency.  This was my experience as well.  As long as you stir it around a bit before scooping it out to use, this isn’t a problem.  Still, I wonder if there isn’t a way to improve the recipe a little, and end up with a smoother mix that could be packaged back into old laundry bottles for easier storage?

I liked the idea of making my own laundry detergent mostly because I like the idea of being as self sufficient as I can be.  There’s no question that it’s a lot less expensive than buying pre-mixed detergent, and since it’s just washing soda, Borax and soap, I know there are no added dyes, perfumes or the like.  It was also so simple to make, I almost couldn’t believe it.  I kept reading back over the instructions, asking myself what I’d missed.

It’s a 24 hour process to let this stuff gel, but I was petty eager to get to washing my sheets in it when it was ready.  My theory is that sheets will show any issues with the detergents and my skin pretty quickly.  As it turned out, it does a great job, and I’ve had no issues as far as allergies.  Pretty much my entire adult life I’ve had to use “Free and Clear” style products, so there was a very real possibility that this home made detergent wouldn’t work for me.  Turns out I was worried about nothing.

I’ve since washed most of my daily wear clothing at least once or twice in it, and I haven’t been able to see any difference between the store bought detergent and my home made dirt cheap version.  My room mate has been using it as well, and seems pleased with it.  There was one thing my room mate wanted to know.

“Well, what about fabric softener?” was the question.  I sighed.  One thing you can always count on when you live with other people, be they friends, family or a community, is that they will keep you grounded.  I was really excited about my home made detergent, and all at once, I came right back to Earth.  Well, what about fabric softener?  As it turns out, there are several good recipes out there.  I selected this one:

• 6 Cups hot water
• 3 Cups vinegar
• 2 Cups conditioner

Mix well.  I used cheap Suave apple scented conditioner, and I used an electric beater to mix it all.  The directions with the recipe say to use half a cup per load, but I’ve found that a half cup in a Downy ball gives me a nice, soft result.  One of the things that surprised me was the lack of scent when I use this fabric softener.  Without it, I got a nice scent that smelled just like the Fels Naptha soap I used for the detergent.  With it, there’s no scent at all.  My guess is that the vinegar does a really excellent job as a rinsing agent.

I’ve learned a lot from this experience, but right now I want to focus on what I’ve learned about the recipes.  First, I think it may be worth the effort to use the electric beater on the detergent.  It turns it into more of a liquid than a gel, and would make it easy to pour into smaller bottles (or a dispenser of some kind) that would be easier to use.  Second, I think that by cutting out some of the water in these recipes you could make a more concentrated version - again making it more user friendly.  I’m going to try exactly that with my next batches.

It took me a total of maybe 20 minutes to make both of these.  Trent over at The Simple Dollar did the cost analysis on the detergent, and recons it costs 2.25 cents per load.  Generally speaking, if I catch the sales right, I’m happy to get a price of 17 or 18 cents per load for the store bought stuff.  That’s a pretty big savings.  For the fabric softener I used vinegar I had on hand, and I paid $1.48 for enough conditioner to make 2 batches.  The best price I can find online for vinegar is $2.93 for a gallon, which seems a little high to me, but we’ll go with it for now.  That means for 3 cups, it costs 55 cents.  Plus 74 cents for the conditioner.  I’m using about half a cup per load, so my total cost is around 5.8 cents per load.  I honestly have no idea if that’s a good deal or not.  What I do know is that I feel much safer knowing what’s actually in my fabric softener.

So now I have simple, frugal laundry.  I’m looking at putting up a clothes line as well, but given that I live in Florida and this is the begining of the rainy season, I’ll have to be plan carefully where to put it up!  That will really Zen my laundry - simple wash, simple dry, happy Dan!