I'm doing most of my laundry at home by hand these days,

[kestrel91316]

using my homemade laundry soap gel. And I dry it on my wooden dryer rack. It's been so hot, things dry really quick if I put the partly dry stuff under the dining room fan (DR gets pretty warm because the AC unit is not nearby).

I am feeling especially virtuous. I used to do this for years, but after the move I just didn't take the time. But that's silly. Walking down to the laundry room repeatedly and having to remember when the washer is done, and checking the clothes in the dryer, really monopolized MORE of my time and energy.

I put a bunch of clothes in the kitchen sink in the evening and let them soak in the soapy water all night and BOY do they get clean. Then, depending on their dirt status, I might put peroxide in the first rinse and soak a good while longer. I do admit to putting ammonia OR bleach into the wash water on occasion, but it's the exception rather than the rule. I put a glug of white vinegar in the final rinse.

I have no qualms about this little bit of manual labor. It's second nature to me now. I like the results, and I still have the laundry room for sheets and towels and bulky or heavy stuff. Oh, and I like not always having to have the frickin' quarters on hand!

[windoe]

1. This is a great idea,

what is in your homemade laundry gel? I may be doing my laundry this way myself :) Thanks!!

[kestrel91316]

3. I use the standard laundry soap recipe: I use a bar of Zote soap for

the lovely pink color and fresh scent, plus water and some washing soda and borax. It made 5 gallons of the stuff, and I use 1 Tbsp per sinkful of laundry, so I am still working on the batch I made several years ago.

Somebody on this thread probably has a recipe handy. Mine is at home.

[knitter4democracy]

2. I often think of how Steinbeck did it in Travels with Charley.

He hung a bucket (with a lid on it) from a bungie cord in the back of his camper, and the jostling the bucket got made his laundry really clean. He'd hang it up the next day and have it dry in a day or two. Smart. I wonder if I could rig up something similar in the cars.

[Longhorn]

4. I get such satisfaction from hanging my clothes out to dry.

Even as hot as it is here so that I come back into the house dripping with sweat, I enjoy seeing the clothes flutter in the hot breeze. I can get the laundry done is much less time and many of the clothes need little or no ironing. And of course, there's the added bonus of not running the electric dryer for most of two days and hearing the irritating buzzzzzzz when a load is finished. :hi:

[MJW]

5. some of you guys make me feel like

a big lazy lout:hi: my washer and drier are my friends!

[Hippo_Tron]

6. I feel like I could do the washing part, the drying is a different story

[kestrel91316]

7. I am in an apartment - I have a wooden dryer rack I set in the bathtub to drip dry my clothes.

Not doing it during our cold, rainy weather though.

Works great in the summer - stuff dries in a couple of hours.

[seemslikeadream]

8. Here's some recipes I've been collecting

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Cold Water

Dissolve Fels Naptha in 3 pints of water over low heat. Add washing soda

& Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot

Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket

with cold water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture

thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.


I use Zote (or Fels-Naptha, or Kirks Castile) for my powdered

homemade laundry detergent concoction. I also use a microplane or food

grater to grate it.
Powdered Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 c. grated Zote (or Fels-Naptha, or Kirks Castile)
1/2 c. washing soda
1/2 c. 20 Mule Team Borax
1 c. SUN Oxygen Cleaner (cheaper than Oxy-Clean)

Mix together and store in an air-tight container. Use 2 T. for light loads

and 3 T. for heavy loads. Be sure to pre-treat any stains.
--------------

My mother used to grate homemade lye soap, or one of the store-bought

brands of bar laundry soap mentioned above, and add it to a quart jar of

hot water (not sure how much - maybe 1/2 inch of the bar). This quickly

melted the soap and made it easier to use to pre-treat stains and then

she added the remainder to the load of laundry. We had very hard well

water, and pre-dissolving the soap seemed to make it work quickly.
------------------

Yet one more recipe: (You could easily use Zote for the Fels Naptha.)

Ma's Liquid Laundry Soap
2/3 bar Fels Naptha - grated
2/3 bar Kirks Castile Soap
2 c. washing soda
2 c. borax
1/4 c. glycerin
2 gallons hot water
20-30 drops essential oils (suggested: Rosemary, Lavender, Tea Tree Oil,

or Grapefruit Seed Extract - or combination of)

1. Place 1 quart of water into a medium pot over medium heat. Add the

soap and stir until melted.

2. Add the Soda and Borax and mix until the mixture thickens.

3. Place one 1/2-gallon of Hot water into a three or four gallon bucket

and then pour in the soap mixture and stir well.

3. Add the glycerin and essential oils to the mixture and fill to the two

gallon mark on your bucket or simply add another 5 quarts of hot water.

5. The glycerin acts as a stain remover and the essential oils suggested

have anti-bacterial and/or antifungal properties.

6. Set in a safe place (out of reach of pets and kids) to cool.

7. Stir and use 1/2 c. to 1 cup per wash load depending on size and level

of soiling.

8. Use directly to pretreat stains.



Speaking of the dryer-you don't have to buy dryer sheets. I bought a

huge bottle of the cheapest fabric softener I could find about 2 years

ago (less than $2 for the bottle) I bought some sponges from the dollar

store (4 per pkg) and cut two of them up into 8 pieces each. I soak the

pieces of sponge in a mixture of about 1 part softener to 8 parts water.

When I throw my laundry in the dryer I squeeze out a sponge until it is

just damp and throw it in with the laundry. When I fold the laundry I

take the dry sponge and throw it back in the mixture. I've read that

some folks like to put their mix in a spray bottle and either spray it on a

washcloth and throw it in, or else just spray it onto the laundry.

I absolutely love Zote soap. I grate up a bar by hand into a large bowl

and let it set out for a few days, turning it over everyday to get a little

dry. Then I grate it into a fine pebble-y like powder in a blender (or food

processor). Once that is done I scoop my mixture of zote and borax into

plastic containers (you can find them in the grocery usually used for

storing pasta, beans, cereal etc. I use 1/2cup of borax to every 1cup of

finely grated zote. It works beautifully in the wash with no problems,

even in cold washes; I use 1/4 cup (2-3 tablespoons) for normal loads and

up to 1/2cup for large or heavy soaked loads. I also add to every wash a

scoop of "OxyClean" or Wal-mart's brand "Sun Oxygen Cleaner" (MUCH

cheaper than oxyclean) but I do not mix this ahead of time into the zote

mixture (as some websites would have you do) For fear it will not get

enough of it per wash.


you can make washing soda from baking soda. just stick it in an oven

proof dish and bake it at 300 F for 2 hours.