The Leen

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I wrote most of this post yesterday while at the Laundromat doing about eight loads of laundry. Although I will admit that watching the clothes go around and around in the machines is oddly mesmerizing, I had to try do something to fill the time.

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I never realized the sheer volume of laundry three people can generate in about two weeks, but it’s a LOT. When I walked into the Laundromat yesterday pulling our big red wagon piled high with dirty clothes, even the Laundromat attendant said, “Wow, you have a lot of laundry.”

Why, yes, I do. That’s what happens when you have a husband who works a job where he’s constantly getting covered in ground coffee and a baby who likes to smush chocolate Cats Cookies for People into her shirt and rub her hummus-covered face into my shoulder. It’s time to get a washer and dryer, I think. We have the hookups, I just haven’t done it yet. Having to go to the Laundromat is a great motivator, though. I think I’ll make it a priority for the week.

Since I’m on the topic of laundry, I figure this would be a good time to share the homemade laundry soap recipe that I use. Several people have asked me about it in the past, so here it is.

It’s easy to make, extremely cheap, and I think it cleans our laundry just as well as commercial soap.

Powdered Laundry Soap
2 bars Ivory soap, grated (about 4.5 cups)
2 ¼ cups Borax
2 ¼ cups Washing Soda

Grate two bars of ivory soap. (I use my food processor’s grating blade, but before I had a food processor, I used the small side of a regular cheese grater.)

Combine grated soap with Borax and Washing Soda.

If you have a food processor, process for about 1-2 minutes or until all granules are uniform in size. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can just stir or shake it up, but be aware that the larger grated pieces of soap may not dissolve well in your wash, especially if you’re using cold water.)

Use 2 Tablespoons per load. For best results, you should start the washer, add the soap, and then add the clothes, especially if you grated your soap by hand. (I don’t always do this and it’s fine now that I process it in my food processor.) Oh, and it doesn’t soap up really big like Tide or whatever. There are definitely soap bubbles, but fewer than with store-bought detergent.

Sometimes I add a little bit of essential oils (tea tree, lavendar) to the rinse cycle if I remember, or I shake a few drops onto a washcloth and throw it in the dryer with the clean clothes.

However, now that I’m used to this very low-scent soap that just makes my clothes smell, well, clean, and not Mountain Fresh or whatever, I find that adding a scent is completely unnecessary. When I’m at my mom’s or my in-laws and I do laundry using their soap, the scent totally overwhelms me, even after my clothes are clean and dry. I go to put them on and am blown away by the scent-y-ness of them. I guess I’m just more sensitive to it than I once was, especially since I tend to make a lot of my cleaners and rarely use heavily-scented products anywhere in the house anymore. My one throwback scenty product I do use is this Arm & Hammer shower cleaner that is supposed to be lemon-scented, and every time I use it I feel icky because of the strong smell. **shrug** But it works, so I keep using it because I hate scrubbing soap scum out of a shower.

I’d be interested to hear any iterations on the laundry soap you come up with if you try it. Let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to answer them!

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There’s lots more going on that I should blog about: I’ve been knitting a bunch, we’ve been enjoying getting to know the city, Elanor’s changing and growing quite a bit, I’m geeking out over how organized my baking cupboard is with the new Tupperware storage containers Brett’s mom gave me for my birthday, I’ve been doing some freelance editing/design work, and I’m only days away from having a bike to ride.

For the most part, life is good. Sure, there are frustrations and annoyances that pop up but for the most part I’m really enjoying our new apartment, our new city, and the friends we’re meeting. I’ll try to expand on everything more in the near future!