Homemade Fabric Softener!

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

As per a few requests, I decided to post a quick fabric softener recipe as a follow up to our Homemade Detergent. This stuff is way cheaper, and has NO chemicals.

Ok, hold on to your seats. This will be the easiest recipe you have ever seen. So prepare yourself.

Ok... Ready? : )

Homemade Fabric Softener:

1/2 c. - 1 c. of Distilled White Vinegar

*Add to your softener compartment, or try to remember to add during the rinse cycle (for those of us not lucky enough to have brand new HE washers... not that I'm bitter against my GREAT, AWESOME friend Lauren... Ha ha!!)

And that's it! YOUR CLOTHES WILL NOT SMELL LIKE VINEGAR. As a matter of fact, it helps get rid of most any unpleasant smells from your clothing. The vinegar also helps with static cling, fluffs up blankets, and really breaks up soap residue. This is also great for baby items!!

This stuff works great even for clothes forgotten in the washer for too long that have begun to stink: Add a 1/2 c. to 1 c. of vinegar and re-rinse.

Also, if you use fabric softener a lot, you can buy this stuff by the gallon (as I do) and add 20 drops of lavender essential oil to the jug. Shake well before each use.

Love, love, love this stuff! I use vinegar all over the house! I'll cover that more later! : )

And, you can look here if you missed our Homemade Detergent!

Hope this helps!

~Page

The Wonders of Fels Naptha!

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I have to say that I just LOVE Fels Naptha soap! As Lauren mentioned in an earlier post, we are both making our own homemade laundry detergent. Although there are other soaps that can be used for this detergent (such as Ivory or Colgate's Ocatagon), we both prefer FN! It's just the best!! : )

I wanted to take a little time to highlight FN and all of the other economical things it can also be used for. The more uses for your product, the more bang for you $$$$! If you look here, you can see many of the uses listed below and then some!

"**Fels Naptha Soap is a fantastic stain remover and pre-treater. It works especially well on oil-based stains. Just rub the stain with a wet bar of Fels Naptha Soap. Let it sit for a while and launder as usual. It works great on baby clothes which have formula stains.

~For chocolate smudge on clothes, rub the stain with Fels Naptha Soap and let sit in your filled washer with 20 Mule Team Borax for 30 minutes. Launder as usual.

~Thoroughly wash all clothing including hats, gloves coats in Fels Naptha Soap to prevent an outbreak of poison ivy. Poison Ivy resin can remain on your clothes for over 1 year. Washing with Fels Naptha will eliminate the resin from your clothing.

~To remove Halloween makeup from clothing, simply work a little Fels Naptha into the stain and launder as usual. It may take a repeat washing to completely remove the stain.

~To clean white canvas tennis shoes, simply work the Fels Naptha Soap into a lather and use a soft brush to work into the canvas. Launder as usual without chlorine bleach.

~To remove old stains on colored clothes, make a solution of 2 cups warm water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Pour on stain. Let soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse well and work in Fels Naptha Soap. Launder as usual.

**Poison Ivy Prevention: Fels Naptha Soap has been used for over 100 years for the treatment and prevention of poison ivy, sumac and oak rash. If you think you have been exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, shower immediaetly with Fels Naptha to remove the resin from your skin. This will greatly reduce and in most cases, prevent any skin reaction to the poison ivy oil. Make sure to launder your clothes in some shaved or grated fels naptha (about 1/16th of the bar) to remove the resin from your clothes. Poison Ivy resin can stay on your clothes for over 1 year even if the clothes have been washed with normal detergent.

~Poison Ivy Treatment: If you are exposed to poison ivy and you have a reaction, simply shower with Fels Naptha to remove any resin left on the skin and it will help to dry up the rash as well."

FN also can be useful for certain lawn care aspects, cleaning paint brushes, or just general cleaning for really tough jobs.

I also wanted to put up a quick post on the liquid version of our detergent:

*6 c. Water

*1/2 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated

*1/2 cup Washing Soda

*1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

*3 Gallon bucket to mix it in

*22 c. hot water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 6 c. water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until dissolved and thickened, and remove from heat. Add 4 c. of hot water to large bucket (must be able to hold at least 3 gallons). Add soap mixture, and mix well. Add 1 gallon plus 6 c. (or 22 c.) hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

I have made the liquid version, which works just as well as the powder. I just like the simplicity and the "lack of wait" for the powder much more!! : )

Again, I love FN and hope you find it as useful as I have!!!

~Page

P.S. Having trouble finding FN? Watch for sales here and get it for as little as $0.99!!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Proverbs 31:17 "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms."

I NEVER, EVER, EVER thought that I would be making my own laundry detergent. However, I happened to watch a documentary on all the chemicals found in store bought detergents, etc. I was horrified! Chemical laden products are SO bad for us!! Can you say, TOXIC??!? That is another post altogether!

Anyway, thanks to my amazing, brilliant, wonderful, and ingenius friend, Page, I now make my own laundry detergent and LOVE it!!
It works, smells great, is economical, consists of only 3 ingredients, and I am never going back!

Now that you want to know the recipe, it is as follows: :-D

-1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (found at Ace hardware, some grocery stores)
-1/2 cup Borax (found at Wal-mart)
-1 bar of Fels Naptha bar soap, (must be grated, do it yourself or buy it that way) (found at Ace Hardware)

These are the only ingredients. Pretty easy huh? Now, if you want to make a double batch (which I highly recommend) then you'd simply double the recipe to-

1c Washing soda
1c Borax
2 bars Fels Naptha, grated
Triple, quadruple, this recipe if you so desire.

Now I did not happen to buy the Fels Naptha grated, so I must do it myself. If you have a food processor, then use it to grind the soap. If not, than you must succumb to an amazing arm workout by grating it yourself (or use it as punishment and have your kids do it! -muahahaha)

It really isn't that bad, and quite worth the effort! Grate, or chop and place into food processor. Whatever you do, you MUST grate the soap!

Now that we're clear on this. :-) Here is what it might look like....but hopefully yours is finer ground. Mine actually turned out a bit bigger than I wanted, due to the fact that I do NOT own a food processor.....yet. ;-)

The good news is that my beautiful HE washer has NO problem breaking these little pills down, thankfully! Whew!

** Yes, this homemade laundry detergent IS safe for HE washers - *Fels Naptha* is a low suds soap.**

Add your borax and washing soda to the Fels Naptha and mix. Voila! So easy, even a cave woman could do it! (sorry, that was quite lame)

Store in your favorite, pink, air tight container. ha! Use 1-2 tablespoons per load, we prefer 2tbls.

My husband and I were both a bit skeptical on how well we'd like this homemade detergent. I have to say that we LOVE it! Our clothes smell very fresh and clean every time!! Give it a try! You'll be so glad you did!! You'll feel extra proud of yourself, knowing that YOU did this, while saving your family money!

Oh and it's also nice to know EXACTLY what is in your laundry detergent.

I'm off to do some laundry! Yay!

~Lauren