Weird Science - Homemade Laundry Detergent

Last weekend's meeting with "Rapunzel" went well. Marlene's must have been visited by Merlin, because there seemed to be some... magic... in the air. I'll try to reconnect this weekend after the high school football game, and Saturday mid-day's NCAA matchup at Beltown Pub.

On the Financial Independence front, the cell phone is all sorted out - no iPhone 6 for THIS mustachian. One of the more interesting posts I found on the MrMoneyMustache.com website was the following recipe for making your own effective, yet non-allergenic laundry detergent.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to pick up:
1. Borax ($3.38 at Walmart –in the laundry aisle)
2. Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT Baking Soda–$3.24 at Walmart)
3. Fels-Naptha Soap Bar ($.97 at Walmart)
4. 5-gallon bucket with lid
5. OPTIONAL: Essential Oil Drops for fragrance (we did not add this, so I am not sure how much it costs)
Grand Total: $7.59 for 640 loads (180 loads in a top-loading machine). That’s a little more than 1 cent a load! And the savings are even greater the next time you make this because the only thing you’ll have to buy is the Fels-Naptha soap bar!
1. Grate the entire bar of the Fels-Naptha soap.
2. Put in a pot with 4 cups of hot water. Stir continuously over medium-low heat until all of the soap flakes have dissolved and melted (about 10 minutes). It should be slightly foamy with no “chunks” or flakes to be found.
3. Fill a 5-gallon bucket half-full of hot water.
4. Pour in the soap mixture. Add 1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and 1 cup Borax. Stir. My husband happened to have a paint stirrer that goes on his drill, so that helped. But if you don’t have one of these, just use the end of your mop (or something that can reach to the bottom of the 5-gallon bucket).
5. Fill the rest of the 5-gallon bucket with water until it is full. Stir again.
6. Cover and let it sit overnight.
7. When you open the top up the next day, it should have gelled and thickened. Stir again.
8. Use a funnel to pour the mixture in a used/clean laundry detergent container only HALF full. Fill the rest of the way with water and shake.
Once you’re ready to use the laundry soap, shake it in the container first. Then add:
-5/8 cups for a regular top-loading machine
-1/4 cup for a front-loading (HE) machine
I HIGHLY recommend getting a paint stirrer to put on your drill…trust me. I don’t even use an old detergent bottle, I just leave mine in the five gallon bucket and I have a quart sized rubbermaid bottle w/ my detergent at the wash. I have very sensitive skin, and therefore have to use a free and clear style laundry soap if I buy it, but this stuff doesn’t bother me a bit. Bonus points, it really gets clothes clean. It even gets my husband’s car clothes clean, and that’s saying a lot.

To predict the questions: 1) No, I haven't DONE this yet, but I'm planning to pick up the ingredients soon. 2) WHY would I WANT to do this? To quote Doc Brown, "It's a SCIENCE Experiment!" (Great Scott!) Seriously... Doctor Bronner's Magic Soap (peppermint) is some of the best laundry detergent I've ever used, and the recipe for the soap (above) sounds enough like a Dr. Bronner's soap that I want to try it. I'll have enough laundry soap to last for years. 3) You say you want to try some? Let's chat once I've tried it.

The rice cooker is on slow-cook mode with a new vegan 'Boston Baked Beans' (NOT the candied peanuts) recipe as a way to cook 2 pounds of the 25 pound bag of pinto beans. And I had no idea molasses is used in cooking boston baked beans.