the 101's: lavender laundry + a children's craft

Making your own laundry detergent is cheap and easy.  Holy cow, it's so easy, awesome, and cheap!  I used to buy Tide Free&Clear HE double concentrated detergent, which at it's cheapest (which of course I never found for this cheap) comes to $0.18 per load.  When you make your own detergent, you spend less than $0.08 per load, or even as low as $0.04 if you like to use less detergent.  Your clothes will be very close to just as clean and will smell better than the heavily perfumed, and almost cloistering, scent of most commercial detergents.  And you save at least $0.10 per load.

This recipe that I am sharing with you is a slight variation of a popular web version, used by the famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) Duggar Family and other thrift-conscious bloggers.  There are many recipes out there in the blogosphere and all are nearly equally efficient and economical.  I prefer a liquid but you can spare yourself the extra trouble and space and make a dry, powdered version.

For the basis of my detergent, I use Fels Naptha (thought there are a few others you can choose, found in the "how-to") which has a fresh citrus-y, balsam type smell and I also added lavender essential oil to my detergent (described in the recipe).  My clothes come out with virtually no odor, only the light scent of having been left near a field fragrant with lavender or flowers.  I think the last I was at the store, a little, old lady was sniffing my shirt, asking if I had just come from rolling in a meadow of flowers.  Alright, I totally made that up, but since I'm making up stories, how about this: once you use this detergent, the sunlight will follow your children wherever they frolick and roses will bloom beneath their feet.

30 minutes of your time making the detergent will make 5 gallons of concentrated detergent.  Seriously.  This is what you end up with.

And this is what's leftover after your first fill of a reusable container.

Soon, I'll pick up a small sample of regular detergent and do a side-by-side test with my homemade detergent.  That should be exciting!  Nothing quickens the blood like a fair competition...who will win?  The highly-engineered version from labs and thousands of dollars of research or the old, humble stand-by?  I'll keep you posted!

This last week, the Pixie's class had to assemble a basket to auction off during a fundraiser.  We chose an apple theme and found lots of goodies like candles, pie, baking goods, and games to put in the basket, surrounded by orchard-picked apples.  My favorite part was having the children apple-stamp cloth napkins and kitchen towels.  We cut some apples horizontally (for a circle with a star in the middle) and others vertically (for a traditional apple shape), sponged some acrylic paint onto the dry, cut surface, and let the children stamp away.  This photo was taken with my phone and it does no justice to how cute they turned out.

This is a really fun fall project for children and might make a nice gift for neighbors or just to have as Thanksgiving Feast napkins.  Using leaves with the apples would add more creativity and visual interest.  We might do this again here at home during our fall break! 

Comments

[Raven Blackmane]

How funny I just made some detergent on Saturday. I love it! I love that it's cheap and works great. Cute craft, I think I'll try that with my kiddo.

[Ingrid]

isn't it fabulous? It's amazing how well it cleans for how cheap it is. You would expect the opposite to be true. We made it a while ago and then took a break b/c of a mysterious the husband had but we're back to this detergent. I felt so cheated everyday I had to buy detergent!

[Amy]

Love homemade detergent! We've been making ours for about 4 years and don't think I could ever look back! I keep some essential oils in the laundry cabinet and add a few drops to a damp washcloth before putting in the dryer (homemade dryer sheet ;) when I want some scent, but rarely add scent to the detergent....my husband complained of smelling like an old lady.... LOL!

[Ingrid]

such a clever idea! I bet you get a stronger scent that way too (when you want it). Love the idea and love that you've been doing it for four years already!