My daughter has had contact dermatitis since she was a baby and her doctor suggested that it may be from the detergent I was using. So, I switched from my normal laundry soap and tried dye free, fragrance free, organic, natural, blah, blah, blah detergents with no luck. She continually broke out in an annoying rash. I had just about given up when I read about homemade laundry detergent. It seemed easy enough, so after perusing many sites and collecting as much info as I could, I headed out on the homemade laundry detergent journey.

Please note that my detergent recipe is one that works for me – and for my daughter. Since using the homemade detergent  (for about a year, now) she hasn’t had one single outbreak of dermatitis. If you want your clothes super-fragrant and fluffy, this isn’t the detergent for you. If you expect lots and lots of suds when washing…you won’t get that with this detergent. What you will get is super clean clothes at a fraction of the cost of regular detergents!

I’ve made both the powdered and liquid types of detergents – they both have their pros and cons which I will share with you.

Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe

• 1 bar Fels Naptha (Kirk’s Castile soap, Zoat or any hard milled/castile soap)
• 1 box Borax
• 1 box Washing soda

All ingredients can be found in the laundry aisle at your local supermarket. Use one entire bar of Fels Naptha grated (you can use a metal cheese grater or a food processor). Make sure the soap is finely grated. Add one cup of Borax and one cup of Washing Soda. Mix well, store in airtight container. When making the detergent I usually double or triple the recipe so I have a large quantity on hand. If you’d prefer more of a fragrance you can add a few drops of any essential oil. I use lemongrass or spearmint in mine. Use approximately 3TBS per large load of laundry. It is suggested that with every other load you add white vinegar to your rinse water to avoid getting soap build-up in your washer. I just add the vinegar to the fabric softener cup. Als0, if you feel your clothes aren’t bright enough you can add OxyClean to the dry detergent as a laundry booster.

Homemade Powdered Detergent

PROS

• Easily made and stored
• Long lasting

CONS

• Must dissolve detergent in washer before adding clothing – hot water works best
• Must add vinegar in rinse water, every other load, to avoid soap build-up in washer
• Cannot be used in front-loaders

Liquid Laundray Detergent Recipe

• Fels Naptha 0r Kirk’s Castile soap
• Borax
• Washing Soda
• Liquid castile soap (like Dr. Bronner’s)
• Plastic container (1 gallon or larger – I use a one gallon vinegar container for easy pouring)

Grate 1/2 bar of soap, finely. Bring one quart of water to boil. Lower heat to medium and add grated soap. Stir and let soap dissolve. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup Borax, 1/2 cup Washing Soda, 1/2 cup liquid castile soap to melted soap mixture, stir well. Pour into plastic container. Add one gallon of very hot water. Shake or stir well. The mixture will be very goopy/chunky. Shake well before using. Use 1/4 cup per large load.

I use Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castile Soap which gives it a pleasant, not to over-powering scent. Dr. Bronner’s also comes in Almond and Peppermint which I will be trying soon. Essential oil can also be added for fragrance.

Homemade Liquid Detergent

PROS

• Dissolves easily in water
• Has more fragrance than powdered detergent

CONS

• Messy and time consuming to make
• Must have large storage container
• Doesn’t last as long as powered recipe
• Cannot be used in front loaders

Close-up of the chunky/goo

The ingredients cost approximately $8 – and that $8 provides me with 4 large batches (of the powdered version) which lasts almost a year!

Here is a great site that offers plenty of  recipes and FAQ’s about homemade laundry detergent:

TIPNUT

Good luck with your homemade laundry detergent venture. Please feel free to share your thoughts/recipes/findings with me. Happy washing!

The least expensive and quickest way to change any decor is PAINT. I am constantly changing my mind about how I want a particular room to look and the first step I always take is to grab a bunch of swatches (hey, they’re free!) at my local paint store (True Value, Lowes or Home Depot).

Next, before actually making the big change, I ‘live’ with the color for a few days. I take the swatches and place them next to the molding (if you can cram a swatch in between a bit of the molding that’s great, otherwise you can use just a bit of tape to adhere it to the wall).

Once I’ve decided on a color its’ off to the paint store. You want to make sure you get the correct finish for your project. My rule of thumb is as follows:

Flat finish: ceilings and hallways with little traffic (this finish is harder to clean than those with more of a sheen – I prefer to use it only on ceilings).

Eggshell: ceilings, walls in living rooms and dining rooms.

Satin: walls; particularly in kids rooms, bedrooms (this finish is suited to light scrubbing and washing).

Semi Gloss: doors, trim, cabinets, walls in high traffic areas: kitchen and bathroom (this finish withstands water and frequent cleaning).

Glossy: trim and accent furniture (because this has such a shiny finish and magnifies surface imperfections I actually prefer not to use this finish).

Once your paint color is mixed make sure that the salesperson makes a test swatch for you to ensure the color is correct. Always purchase enough paint for your project. Each time a color is mixed it will come out differently so it is important to have enough of one color mixed at once. It’s always better to have too much paint than not enough (you can always find another use for the leftover paint). I underestimated the amount of red paint I’d need for my dining room and when I went back and had a second gallon mixed, to my surprise, when I put it on my walls the color didn’t even come close to the red I had purchased the day before! I ended up running back to the store, having two more gallons of red mixed and having to repaint the entire dining room for a third time. Ugh!

Many stores are now offering paint in small sample sizes so you can test out the color on your walls before you make a final decision.

Some of my favorite paints:

Martha Stewart Valspar

Benjamin Moore

Behr

Don’t forget to purchase high quality brushes in a variety of sizes…and have fun!!