Of Crunchy Granola and Laundry...

My friend Jen says I'm granola...I say I'm just cheap. After spending months lamenting the cost of buying enough laundry detergent to clean cloth diapers and the MOUNTAINS of laundry two little boys can produce I decided to do something about it and thus began the laundry making experiment. Now -- almost 9 months later -- it's a tremendous success and I LOVE IT!! So here's the recipe (that I found on someone else's blog) and a few pointers.

Tools and Ingredients:
stock pot or large pot
box grater/cheese grater
1 cup washing soda (made by Arm & Hammer -- NOT THE DETERGENT)
1/2 cup borax -- optional but highly recommended (I use 20 Mule Team)
1 bar of soap -- vegetable based is best (I've used Ivory and Dr. Bronner's but you can use just about anything)
large bucket or container with a lid (some people use a 5 gallon bucket -- I use a large rubbermaid container that sits on my dryer)
approximately 3 gallons of water
something to stir with (I use a wooden spoon)

A Note about Ingredients: I have found the borax at Kroger and Wal-Mart. Kroger is the only place I've found washing soda. All can be ordered online if you need it. Be prepared for an initial investment of around $12 -- and know that I've only purchased borax and washing soda ONE TIME since I started this!

Directions -- Remember this isn't baking...nothing needs to be exact!
1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, grate the bar of soap. I use a box grater and end up with tiny soap curls. (Occasionally I've found that the soap crumbles into a powder if it's been exposed to too much moisture...it doesn't affect the final product).
3. Slowly add in the grated soap. Stir until dissolved. Don't add all the soap at once or it will clump together and be difficult to dissolve.
4. Remove from heat

At this point you will end up with warm, soapy soup. Your water will take the color of your bar of soap so if you use a dyed bar of soap be prepared for this (ie Irish Spring).

5. Add 3 gallons of warm tap water to your large container. (For future recipes, I've found it easier to mark a "Fill Line" on the side of my container so I don't have to measure every time).
6. To this add your soap soup, washing soda and borax. Stir well in between each addition. (I stir until I can't feel grit with my spoon)

Now you will have a bucket of soapy water. Remember the color of your batch will vary depending on the type of soap you used...don't get bogged down in this.

7. Cover with a lid and let sit for 24 hours.

When you return you will find something like runny jello. You can stir it if you'd like. You can pour it into a recycled detergent container and shake before each use. I just use a measuring cup and dip in each time -- getting some liquid and some of the gelatinous "stuff".


Some stuff to know...
1. Yes it works. Either that or my family's been walking around in dirty clothes for almost a year! For the boys' clothes I've found sometimes I need a little more oomph -- so I add a little more borax to that load. AND sometimes I have to pull out the big guns and use every stain fighter that's been made...
2. This detergent can leave a film in your washer. You can either do a periodic rinse with white vinegar OR use white vinegar as your fabric softener (I put mine in the downy ball).
3. If you want to add scent, you can do it one of two ways: add it by using a scented bar soap or add some essential oils to the process. I've tried it with bar soap and it was alright -- not terribly strong so not worth the added expense of the scented soap.
4. You can add 1/4 cup liquid bluing (will turn your soap yellow not blue) to get whites whiter without the use of bleach. This is on my to-try list for the next batch. You can find liquid bluing at Kroger.
5. Yes it really saves you money. Each batch costs approximately $1.50 and I'm able to use it through several laundry rounds and multiple diaper cycles.
6. It's all-natural so the soap is safe for cloth diapers. If you have sensitive skin and usually use "free and clear" use Ivory soap and then you've made your own "free and clear" detergent.
7. I use approximately one cup per extra-large load.


I'll include some pictures on this post when I make my next batch. Let me know if you have questions!

Got a little somethin' right there...

Someone should teach this kid to use a napkin. Seriously what's wrong with his parents?!

Sam's adventure with a powdered sugar donut (excuse the wall-paper destruction backdrop).

Another adventure...this time with a pink-iced chocolate cupcake

Baby dedication

We celebrated Grace's first spiritual milestone February 14th with Baby Dedication. We stood with Grace and declared to God and in front of family, friends and our church congregation that she belongs to God, making a vow to lead her spiritually in the model that was set for us in scripture. We are excited to see the plans the Lord has in store for Grace unfold over the coming years.

Our little beauty on Dedication Day.

(There is no requirement to wear white but I found this little dress in a lace shop in New Orleans and fell in love with it so I decided to use it for the big day.)



Would you like to know more about spiritual milestones? Check out the Legacy Blog written by Brian Haynes, author of Shift: What It Takes to Finally Reach Families Today. Brian outlines very tangible ways to live out Sh'ma.

Prayer request for Baby Jack

Praying Friends -- I want to introduce you to little Jack W. Jack and his brother Ben were born one day shy of 26 weeks gestation. Baby Ben fought hard for almost a week before he was welcomed home to be with Jesus. Jack is still fighting and is doing well but he has a long road ahead of him. Pray for Baby Jack and for his mom and dad, Matt and Bailey W. I put their button on the blog so we can all keep up with little Jack's progress and remember to pray for him daily.

This is the stuff dreams are made of

In a house of brothers

Sometimes you end up with a dart stuck to your forehead...

In the last 30 minutes

In the last 30 minutes I have: unearthed a keepsake outfit for Grace's 4 month pictures from the mountain of boxes in the attic, responded to a call of "mom, emergency! the bathroom is about to become a swimming pool!", fed baby, changed baby and mommy due to Niagara Falls of urine issuing from diaper, found underwear for mysteriously naked little boy (he had pants on when I started nursing...), broke up MMA fight in living room, responded to call of "mom! emergency! there are bubbles everywhere!"

I'm exhausted...and it's only 10AM.

Luck O'the Irish

My little leprechauns on St. Patrick's Day -- a salute to their Irish heritage.


I was trying to get a good, wrinkle-nose smile from Grace but she wasn't in the mood. Nonetheless she's still our bright-eyed beauty isn't she!

Pizza with the Pastor -- Sam style

The end of February brought with it the Pre-K and Kindergarten Bible Study teachers' day to have pizza with the pastor. The idea is to allow pre-school workers, who are often sequestered from "big" church and other adults, the opportunity to fellowship with like-servants and hear a word of encouragement from the pastor. I always like getting a chance to talk with other pre-school teachers; we're friends with many of them (my OB actually teaches kinder down the hall from us). And it's nice to catch up with our pastor's wife -- I taught their son my first year in Katy, she and I taught VBS together one year and now they've adopted a little girl with the same birthday as Grace. Needless to say I was actually looking forward to this commitment. And apparently so was Sam...

When Barbara, our pre-school minister, began speaking Luke leaned over to Sam to tell him to quiet down because, "Ms. Barbara is talking." Sam's response was an extra-loud declaration of "I talkin' too!" on repeat. Fantastic.

Then Alex, our pastor, stood to speak -- he said, "I'd just like to say a quick word." And before he could say the quick word, Sam belched loud enough to shake the foundation of the building. It was brilliant comedic timing and the room burst into laughter. I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

And thus ended our Pizza with the Pastor...