Little House on the Prairie: Homemade Lavender Laundry Soap

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"Wash on Monday,
Iron on Tuesday,
Mend on Wednesday,
Churn on Thursday,
Clean on Friday,
Bake on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday."

~Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods

In high school, my 12th grade English teacher assigned our class to create an additional circle of hell after reading Dante's Inferno.  I decided that the underworld lacked a fitting spot for corrupt journalists, and that it was my duty to envision one for them.  Looking back, I roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of my 17-year-old self.  Yes, I wanted to be a journalist back then, and yes, I was trying to think "outside of the box" since Dante had covered all of the biggest, baddest bases.  But knowing what I know now, I would switch my list of people deserving eternal torment completely around.  I'd push corrupt journalists way down the list and bump the people who REALLY deserve punishment to the top:  

#3 spot

The teenagers at Little Caesar's who have no regard for symmetry and cut my pizzas into 4 enormous pieces and 4 itty-bitty pieces, sending my children into a dinnertime brawl over who gets the big slices.

#2 spot

Grocers that display signs reading "20 items or less" instead of "20 items or fewer."  

(Grammar girls unite!)

#1 spot

Women who can fit into their jeans within 17 years of having a baby.

Regardless of the people I place in my own corner of Hades, the punishment in my imagination is always the same:  laundry.  Lots and lots of laundry.  I hate laundry.  I'd rather drop bleach in my eyes than do laundry.  Every time I peek in that dreaded dirty clothes chute, I feel just like Sisyphus in hell pushing that blasted boulder up the hill, only to have it roll back down.  I simply can't get ahead.  Yes, doing my family's laundry would be the perfect punishment for anyone on my "list."

Luckily for me, I have a sister like Miriam who can revolutionize my clothes-cleaning world with a simple recipe for homemade laundry soap.  I've seen this idea floating around blogland, but figured no homemade concoction could compete with good ol' Tide.  Miriam, however, assured me I had to try it.  She has been making her own laundry soap for a while now, so I decided to follow suit.  I took her "recipe" and threw in the scent of lavender to calm my stain-fighting soul.  Yesterday I did 11 loads of laundry with the homemade soap.  I scrutinized and smelled every piece of laundry in those 11 loads.  All I can say is, Miriam was right.  This homemade soap is not only just as good as my normal detergent, but it is a fraction of the price.  The batch I made made comes out to roughly 7 cents a load!  (That is less than half of the cost of normal laundry detergent).

So here is the recipe.  (Be forewarned, this soap doesn't have a strong perfumed smell, but rather a light and clean smell when it is done.  Even the lavender scent didn't really stick past the dryer.  If you want a stronger scent, you'll need to add more oil and/or stronger smelling soap to your batch.)

Homemade Lavender Laundry Soap

2 cups Borax (in the laundry aisle)

2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (also in the laundry aisle)

2 bars of Ivory soap (grated finely) (I used my cheese grater)

2 1/2 pounds Oxy Clean 

30 drops lavender essential oil

Mix in a large mixing bowl with a whisk and put in your desired container.   

Use only 1-2 tablespoons per load.  (Yes, I said tablespoons.  It works.  Trust me.)  

Add soap to the water before adding your clothes so the soap can dissolve.

I'm still not a fan of laundry, but at least I feel satisfied knowing that I'm saving money by making my soap the way Ma would have out on the prairie: by hand.

Happy Washing!

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As requested, here is the printable laundry label. The frame was from The Graphics Fairy, and we photoshopped the rest. Enjoy!

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