Soap Nut Laundry Soap

So I just haven't been happy with the laundry soap that I've been making since 2008....I haven't been happy with it since moving to South Carolina.  I'm going to presume water conditions, etc have affected the formula.  That said, I put the call out, and my mom answered, and I can't believe how wonderful and easy this laundry soap is to make!  And, it leaves clothing OH so soft (and clean too;).

The Recipe: 

12 soap nuts
8 cups of water
1 tbsp salt (preservative, these ARE real nuts:)
1/4 cup borax

Boil/simmer the soap nuts in 8 cups of water for 30 minutes.
When cooled a bit, add borax and salt.

If the water needs a boost (alkaline water, add vinegar if necessary in the rinse cycle) 

remove soap nuts and it is ready!

Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of laundry soap per load.

 Add desired essential oil drops on a per load basis if desired.


***note: keep dried soap nuts and use for things like home made bug spray base, or fertilizer for garden, potted plants (can't be reused for laundry soap)

ALSO: instead of dryer sheets, I now use Lambswool balls!

Liquid Castile Soap Recipe

We started using Dr. Bronner's about 14 years ago.  We used to have it special ordered into the Vitamin Shoppe by the gallon, and then we'd pick it up.  It's good stuff, but of course it's not easy on the piggy bank:)  About a year ago, after one year of resisiting, I caved and opened up a Pinterest account.  I now have almost 5000 Pinterest stalkers, which doesn't say a whole lot about my habits:)  The good news is, I've cut WAY back on my e-life time....and it's been a beautiful thing:)  Anyway, I digress.....I found some liquid castile soap recipes on Pinterest, played with them, and tweaked, to find my perfect formula:)  We use this as body wash and liquid hand soap....and it's perfect!!

**note: you'll want to save a few smaller, sturdy containers, such as your Dr. Bronner's, for refills.  You'll also probably need two gallon size plastic containers for the bulk soap.  (I just washed out plastic orange juice containers...since they are under our sinks, they don't have to be pretty:)***

and....here's the recipe!

--4 cups (about 3 bars) of shaved castile soap bars (I use Kirk's brand, that I just find at Target or Walmart; Dr. Bronner's also offers castile soap in bars as well). 

--16 cups of water (I use reverse osmosis water)

--8 tbsp of  liquid glycerin (I had trouble finding this in my small-townish neck of the woods, so I ordered this off amazon

--essential oils, optional

Bring your water to a boil and slowly add glycerin, and soap shavings.  The soap shavings wil probably clump together, no matter how slowly you add them.  Stir (I use a silicone spoon, so nothing sticks), and heat until the ingredients are completely dissolived.

Let cool on stove top.  It may start out watery, but will gel up as it cools.  Transfer to large and smaller containers as desired.

***I use essential oils in mine....lavender is my favorite to use, or sometimes peppermint oil.  I add the desired amount of drops to the smaller containers and not in the big batch, because I love the smell:)***

***Your liquid castile soap will gel up in the smaller containers over time.  This is a beautiful thing, as you just thin it out with warm water, shake it up to mix, and you wouldn't believe how long you can stretch one batch of soap!***

***Liquid castile soap is great for cleaning too***

Enjoy your home-made soap, and the unbelieveable cost savings!  (We used to spend $45 for a gallon of this, now we spend about $5 for 1.5 gallons!)

a great way to clean fruit

Create Liquid Castile Soap recipe

Making Your Own Homemade Liquid Castile Soap

I love Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, the only problem is that when you use as much castile soap as I do the price can add up. The price around here is about 5 dollars for one of the smaller bottles. I had heard of Kirk’s castle bar soap, so I bought it to use in the shower. I really loved it and it is super cheap too compared to other soaps. It is all natural and made with coconut oil, but it does not smell like coconut.  I found it in the regular soap aisle at Wal-Mart, less than $1.50 for 3 bars.

I had made liquid hand soap out of other bars of soap before, so I figured I could make this into liquid castile soap like Dr. Bronner’s. I grated up a bar of Kirk’s, put it in a big container, covered it with 10 cups of hot water, stirred and let it sit 24 hours.



After 24 hours I had a nice liquid soap, but very thin. I was actually a little disappointed and thought that I had watered it down too much, until I used it. It was still very sudsy and effective! You could use less water if you wanted it thicker but for me this works just fine. Here are some of the ways that we use it around our house:
Face/body wash in the shower (add baking soda for a great exfoliating wash)
Hand soap (in a regular pump bottle or about 1/4 soap to 3/4 water in a foaming dispenser)
In place of Dr. Bronner’s in my homemade shampoo (I double the amount for this)
To clean fruits and veggies from the store (to remove germs and pesticide residue if you buy conventionally grown produce)
In place of Dr. Bronner’s for cleaning (Diluted with hot water for mopping the floor, cleaning the walls, cabinets, etc.)
Bathing pets
Pest control in the garden (Drop bugs into a bucket of hot soapy water)




I really love this stuff and you can’t beat the price. You get 10 cups per bar of soap so that is almost 2 gallons for less than 2 dollars  Little changes like this can make a big difference in your budget and eliminating toxic chemicals from your life. It takes hardly any time at all to make, it is cheap, all natural and works wonderfully. If you can think of any other uses for this please feel free to share in the comments. Enjoy!
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Homemade Liquid Castile Soap:
1. Grate 1 bar of Kirk’s castile bar soap into large pot or container.
2. Add 10 cups hot water, stir and cover.
3. Let sit 24 hours, stir.

Note added on Feb. 6th 2013 – This liquid soap seems to thicken or gel up when cold, store in a warm area of your house and it should remain runny like it should be. 
http://ashleyshomemadeadventures.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/making-your-own-homemade-liquid-castile-soap/

Blessing in a Bottle---(cleaning solution)

Blessing 'in a Bottle

12 oz. of White Vinegar

12 oz. of Dawn Dish soap

1 tsp. of Laundry Detergent

also known as "kitchen Magic" This stuff will get through anything, make your sink and shower shine like new, and save you when just about nothing else works. The laundry detergent is optional-I add it simply to cover some of the vinegar smell! 

http://littlemsrobinson.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-cleaning.html

Homemade Dish Soap

 

1/4 cup soap flakes or soap shavings (I used Fels Naptha.)
2 cups water
1-2 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar or lemon juice (I used vinegar.)
1 Tablespoon glycerin (optional) 
Pour water and soap into a saucepan and slowly heat it over medium heat. Stir the mixture and keep heating it until all the soap has melted into the water. DO NOT let the mixture come to a boil. Turn down the heat if needed.
Allow the soap mixture to cool a bit, then stir in the vinegar. Keep it sitting in the pot until it is completely cooled, then pour it into an old dish soap bottle. I decided to use the DIY Mason jar dispenser I’d made. This recipe made JUST the right amount to fill it!


You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if desired. I used about 5 drops of Lemon and it smelled so lemony fresh clean!
Two very BIG difference between the homemade stuff and the store-bought stuff  —-  Bubbles (or lack thereof) and Thickness (or lack thereof). This liquid dish soap won’t have any bubbles to speak of and it is pretty runny…but I personally don’t mind. I learned LONG AGO when I started making my own laundry detergent that bubbles do NOT equal CLEAN. 
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/09/how-to-make-your-own-dish-soap.html

Homemade Fabric Softener

Homemade Fabric Softener

Ingredients:

6 - cups Hot Water

3 - cups White Distilled Vinegar

2 - cups Hair Conditioner (any brand)
1 - Empty Gallon Container

Directions:
In large (microwave safe) bowl, mix the vinegar and hair conditioner together (it will look a bit clumpy).
Place the whole bowl in the microwave and heat for a minute or two. This will ensure the ingredients will blend together more easily. Remove from microwave and stir. (I used a whisk).
Add hot water and mix to make sure everything is blended. Pour mixture into a one gallon container and store in laundry room.
Use the same amount you normally use in a rinse cycle (approx 1/2 cup).

Note: Add to fabric dispenser department, downy ball or directly in the second rinse cycle. Before each use give the bottle a good shake to mix it up. 
http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2012/09/homemade-fabric-softener.html

Homemade Carpet Shampoo

Homemade Natural Carpet Shampoo/Cleaner For Carpet Cleaning Machines

Print

Author: Rachel @ Surviving The Stores

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 quarts of hot (NOT boiling) water
• 1/4 cup of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (it’s the regular hydrogen peroxide that you can get at any store)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of White Vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Dish Soap (we use Seventh Generation and it worked great)
• About 1/8 of a teaspoon of your favorite essential oil(s) – either just one or a combination.  Vanilla and lavender would be a good one.  I had ginger and lavender on hand so I used those, but I’m going to get vanilla for next time.  (**we used Tea Tree Oil)

Instructions

1. Mix all of the ingredients together (be sure to add the dish soap to the water and not the water to the dish soap – you’ll see why if you do it the wrong way just once)
2. Pour into your carpet cleaning machine.
3. Clean like the directions tell you to.      (from: http://www.survivingthestores.com/homemade-carpet-cleaner-shampoo-recipe-non-toxic-machines.html

Home-made Stain Spray and Bleach Substitute

Pre-Wash Stain Spray1⁄2 cup white vinegar
1⁄4 cup baking soda
3 cups water
Stir together and fill a labeled spray bottle. Spray on soiled spots just before washing. Always test a hidden spot first.

Bleach/Brightener Substitute
1 cup hydrogen peroxide
1⁄4 cup lemon or grapefruit juice
12 cups water
Store in a labeled plastic jug. Add 2 cups per load along with detergent.

Extra tips:For extra-clean clothes, follow your detergent with ½ cup of borax, an all-natural laundry booster. Add baking soda to wash water at the same time as detergent to soften and freshen clothes and linens.

Read more: http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/homemade-cleaners/homemade-laundry-detergent.aspx#ixzz1zBzbicPP

Green Homemade Weed Killer

1 gallon of vinegar (5% acidity) 2 cups salt & 7 drops of dawn dishwashing soap. Works great! Put it in a spray bottle but be careful of overspray if you spray dandelions because you will have brown spots where it also kills the lawn.

Kim's Window Cleaner Recipe

1/4 c rubbing alcohol, 1/4 c white vinegar, 1 TBSP cornstarch, 2 c warm water. Best stuff ever. Takes an extra couple wipes but cleans better than Windex and no streaks!

Homemade Laundry Soap

This is a different kind of recipe--but so worth your while! We've been very environmentally conscientious LONG before the "green" movement became a fad. I've been buying as much organic food as possible since the late 1990's using canvas bags for almost as long (I always have about 10 in my car, and keep a collapsible one in my purse for when I forget to bring one in for quick purchases). From there I made the switch to organic/ natural personal care products and make up. And the easiest switch of all came around 2001---cleaning supplies! For the most part I clean with vinegar and baking soda, for almost everything. I've been buying earth friendly dish soap for about eight years--I never used the dishwasher (not wanting to waste the water)---but about two years ago, finally gave in as doing the dishes was not only taking up too much counter space, but I found a lot of the day was taken up in keeping up with the dishes that could have been spent with my little girls---the few plastic things we have were handwashed, but I gave up on that too (plastics are not the healthiest choice for food storage, but there isn't a lot of choice with spill proof cups, etc. We did order a couple of "spill proof" cups that are in more of a thermos material for the girls a couple of years ago, but they didn't work too well:). Ok, so anyway, I tried making my own dishwasher soap, but the dishes were left very spotty--as they were with Seventh Generation dishwasher soap--(my dishwasher is old:)--so, I do admit to using Cascade for that.

Now, the real reason for my post (yes I tend to be long-winded at times:), Laundry Detergent--since I started buying earth-friendly laundry detergent back in 2000, we had been spending about $20 a month on it!! Yes, I thing that's steep, but we felt a responsibility to do that. Well about a year and a half ago my mom found a recipe that I've been using since, that is super simple to make, only has to be made once every 1.5 months or so--and costs less than $1.50 to make for about two gallons! I think everything comes out very very clean, and I love this (and it's fun to make:):

• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap (I found this at Ace Hardware)
• 1 cup washing soda (NOTE: must be washing soda, not baking soda)
• 1 cup Borax powder

You will also need a small bucket, about a 2 gallon size.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap melts. Add the baking soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon (16 cups) plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You can use 1/2 cup per load.

A few things to note:

• The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel (looks like egg drop soup).
• The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don't see suds, that's ok. Suds don't do the cleaning--it's the ingredients in there that cleans.
• I sometimes will add a few drops of my favorite essential oil to the soap as I'm doing a load of laundry--e.g. lemongrass or orange are nice--if I'm doing sheets and bedding, I use Eucalyptus essential oil (a little goes a long way)--as that kills dust mites.
• If you find the soap has separated, just keep a large spoon in you laundry room and mix it together--it probably means when you prepared the soap, you didn't let the fels naptha melt all the way before adding in the borax and washing soda.
• This does work very well in my relatively new efficient front loader washer

Try it, it's fun, takes very little time to make, it's so much cheaper than ANY commercial soap, earth-friendly or traditional--and you can feel really good about doing something better for your family and our beautiful earth!