Homemade Laundry Detergent on the cheap! HE approved!

So, I decided to start making my own household products to save money and be earth friendly. My first cleaning product kitchen cleaner, which was cheap, super easy, and works fantastically! Fill a spray bottle with organic distilled white vinegar, add 10 drops of essential oils, shake and you are done! I added 5 drops of cinnamon leaf and 5 drops of orange essential oils, it smells so good!

My next venture was laundry detergent. I was skeptical, so for all you skeptics out there, do yourselves a favor and just try it! You will not be disappointed!

Ingredients:

~ 1 bar of soap (Fels-Naptha, Pure & Natural, Zote, Ivory, or organic soap works best. I used an organic oatmeal & almond oil soap - it worked just fine)
~ 1/2 cup Borax
~ 1 Cup Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate) Arm & Hammer makes this and I found it at Wal-Mart right next to the Borax in the laundry detergent aisle. Baking soda will NOT clean near as well, don't try it!
~ 5 gallon bucket w/lid
~ recycled gallon jug, juice container, or laundry soap container

Heat 4 cups of water in a pot on the stove
Grate or cut up bar of soap and add to pot of water
Heat over LOW heat for approx. 30 minutes or until soap is completely dissolved - do NOT boil
Once soap is dissolved, fill the 5 gal. bucket half way with HOT tap water
Add melted soap + 1Cup Washing Soda + 1/2 Cup Borax to the 5 gal bucket and stir.
Fill the bucket the rest of the way with HOT tap water, put the lid on and let it sit overnight.

That is it! Then fill recycled containers with the soap as you need it. You only need 1/4 cup for HE machines or 1/3 cup for regular machines or if you have an exceptionally dirty load. You may also add OxyClean to the load for extra cleaning power and 5 drops of essential oils per load for scent.

The detergent will look strange, it is supposed to. It can be anywhere from "normal" looking detergent to what looks like globs of whiteish slime in water. Once you transfer it to a smaller container and shake it up, it looks normal and it all washes the same. You WILL want to make sure that the globs are broken up before you add it to your washer, some washers will not dissolve the golbs all the way and you will be left with a soapy residue. This is why it is important to transfer the detergent to a smaller container that you can shake before you use. I reuse Simply Orange juice containers - they work perfect!

Trash to Treasure!

When our roommates moved out they left an old wooden dresser in our garage. I secretly hoped this would happen because I knew it had potential! So, it became my first furniture-refinishing project, and I had a blast! The bottom coat is Valspar Poetic Purple (any dark purple would work) and the top coat is just a random teal color we found. The teal is brushed on lightly so that the purple shows through slightly. From a distance, it looks antiqued, as if the wood is showing through. I love it! Next project is making my own glass knobs for it!

Here is a before picture:

And here is the finished product: