I started the hunt for ingredients for my homemade detergent experiment today. I found Borax at Safeway ($6.49 CDN) and London Drugs ($4.99 CDN). Safeway also had washing soda by Arm & Hammer but it smelt like it was perfumed which I’d rather stay away from. No luck finding Fels Naptha Soap yet. I did find some Sunlight bar soap at Safeway that would work but it came in a plastic package that couldn’t be recycled or composted so my hunt continues. I think I need to find an old time pharmacy as the mainstream ones only carry Tide and it’s competitors.
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Random Inspiration
At that moment, it struck me that without even trying, we've been creating another kind of world here. It's based on solidarity, one in which no one knows when he'll be paid for what he does, let alone get rich. It may just be survival, but it's survival in the best sense of the word: People surviving as considerate, sharing beings. No one demands anything of anybody except to get along with each other and work hard in cooperation. We do this simply because we love to. In Gaviotas, we're driven by something different than competition or pecking orders. And we're content here. Whatever this is, it can't be underestimated
Go to http://www.SoapsGoneBy.com you can find all that you need there. If you don’t want or can’t find Fels Naptha, you can use Octagon soap.
I have recently tried this formula & I have found it works well for me & others in my family love it also. Many of us have allergies to most chemical products and this hasn’t bothered anyone & cleans very nicely
2 Bars Octogon Soap.. shredded or shaved (I use potatoe peeler)
1 gallon boiling water… and then another gallon to be boiled and added
1 cup baking soda (not washing soda)
1 cup Borax
In your bucket, add the first gallon of boiling water & your soap shavings… stir & stir, and stir… then add some more water & stir & some more water & stir… until you have all of the boiling water & the soap shavings well blended.
then add the baking soda and the borax & mix some more… then you can pour this mix into jars (I re-use juice jugs for storage).. the beuty about this one is that you can store this formula with a lid on it (you can’t really do that with washing soda)
So here is the washing method:
use 1/2 cup to a regular sized load. Add 1 tablespoon of either washing soda or oxyclean (I use a generic oxyclean)… you will be washing slightly alkaline
I throw a downy ball filled to the downy line with plain white vinegar so it will activate in the rinse water. If you don’t have a downy ball, simply add 1/2 cup of vinegar to your rinse water.
Octagon soap has lemongrass oil in it & it smells great without being over-powering, perfumy, or anyone in my family having allergic reactions
If you are washing a really grimy load of clothes, you can double any or all of the components.
Hope this helps
Make lots for you & lots to gie away to, your family & friends will thank you for it