Wordless Wednesday

All summer I have been picking up random pieces of laundry off the ground under the clothes line. I was starting to think I needed to invest in new clothes pins. Well, the other day I looked out the window and saw this:

My cat Chloe attacking the laundry!

Homemade Laundry Soap

I started making my own laundry detergent a while ago. I found this recipe and it works great. I am saving money- costs less than $10 for the ingredients. The boxes of Borax and Washing Soda make at least 5 batches (I think I am under estimating here). Only one tablespoon of this soap is needed for a regular load, 2 tablespoons for a large or extra dirty load, so a batch lasts a while. I am also lessening my carbon footprint, as I am no longer buying a plastic bottle of detergent every other week. I use it in my He machine, but I do NOT use it on my cloth diapers. I am afraid that the soap might leave a build up on the diapers.

 

Ingredients:

1 Bar of Fels Naptha Soap (I have found this soap in the hand soap aisle and the laundry soap aisle of the grocery store)
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda)
1/4 Cup Oxy Clean powder (optional, I don't use it)
Oil for scent (I use lavender oil, but I'm out right now)

Other:
Grater
Bowl
Large spoon
Something to store final product in

Grate the soap using the holes on the grater that are this size, or close:

After grating 1/2 the bar, I stop to check on Sophie.......

                                                                             
                                                                 ......and to switch grating arms.

When done grating, soap will look like this:

 

Add rest of ingredients. It will look like this when done:

Sophie will look like this when done:

I store my final product in this:

 

Enjoy!

Diaper Washer Back In Action!

So the hubby finally made it to the basement today to see what's up with the washer. Apparently, the only thing I didn't check was the lever that turns the water flow on/off to the machine. YUP, that's all. He insists he did not turn it off. I didn't turn it off. I suggested maybe one of the cats hit it (because they are always climbing the walls in the basement?!), but it's hard to turn. That means we now have a ghost. Sweet.

RIP Top Loader Diaper Washing Machine

Just like every other diaper washing night, I load the diapers into their own washing machine, add the Charlie's Soap, and turn the dial to Super to start the soak. I pull the knob out to start and....mmmmmmmmmmmmm...... WHAT??? No sound of water, just a quiet.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm..........Panic takes over. My hand is shaking. I turn the dial to Regular, convinced that it's just Super setting that isn't working...mmmmmmm..... Fingers fumbling, I turn the size load to Medium. Yeah, that will fix it......mmmmmmmmmmmmm......One more knob to turn.  I know when I change the water temperature it WILL WORK...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....  CRAP. CRAP. CRAP.  Figuratively and literally, because now I have to stick my hand in the wash basin and take all the crappy diapers out and put them in the front loader. Time to review the blog posts from last weeks Cloth Diaper Carnival on how to wash diapers in a front loader. I am telling my self this is only temporary. I KNOW my parents have an extra top loader in their basement they aren't using (thanks to an uncle that drives a garbage truck in a rich town) and it has my name written all over it!!