Making Your Own Laundry Soap and Dishwasher Detergent

I had lots of inquiries about how to make the laundry soap.  I got my original recipe for it from my friend Maryjane at

The Beehive Cottage

This is the only way that I have made it, and I love it.  But now there are several variations of this on Pinterest and out in Blogland. You can google it and find several different ways.  Including making liquid laundry detergent.  

Here is what you will need.

  Here are the amounts of each that you will need. 

I used my Cuisinart to shred the bars of Zote.  It sure goes fast that way!

You are going to need a couple of BIG bowls to make this!

I love that pink!  Open up your boxes of powders and pour them into something very large.  I used a plastic washtub for this.  It makes mixing this large batch of soap much easier!

I like to take a large spoon and crumble up any lumps in the powder, if there are any.  Mix that and then add the shredded Zote.

Give it a good mix and then pour into your containers.

You can see that it makes a bunch.  I use about 1/4 cup per load.  Alter it according to the level of clothing, and cleaning needed.  The recipe says 1 to 2 T per load, but I think I probably use a bit more.  I only wash full loads too.  You can also add a few drops of essential oils to make your detergent a little more scented.  I added a few drops of Linen essential oil to mine.

After that, I made a large batch of dishwasher detergent.  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  Here is what you will need.

Here it is written out for you.

Mix all ingredients, then put into containers. 

I put mine in the antique Ball jar, and attached a cute scoop.  I saved the dry creamer containers from Christmas when I made homemade hot chocolate mixes.  This works great to put the detergent into too, since it has a pouring spout.  I wanted to make some for my son Drew who just moved into an apartment.  In this photo is also a bottle of Linen scented essential oil.   I added a few drops to my laundry soap for more fragrance.  I purchased all ingredients at my local Walmart.  To make all of that laundry soap, it cost $11.65.  It will last for months.

To make the dishwasher detergent it cost $5.86, and I have half a box left over of each.  The sugar free lemonade drink mix was the store brand and cost .12 per packet.  It gives it a nice lemony scent.  You can use white vinegar in the rinse dispenser of your dishwasher for a streak free load of dishes.  And you can also use it in your rinse cycle of your washer instead of fabric softener.  However, I love the fragrance of fabric softener, so I will stick with that.  Geeps is going to put up a clothesline for me out back this weekend to line dry our clothes on sunny days.

I also cook and make my own dog food for our Wheatie, Ducey.  He has terrible allergies!  We have tried everything from prescription food, to injections, to steroids in his food.  To expensive shampoos, and sprays, and so on and so on.  NOTHING has worked.  And we have spent HUNDREDS trying!  We did some research and decided to try this homemade remedy for sensitive skin doggin's.  I buy hamburger meat in bulk. I cook it, and freeze in in increments for one week at a time.  I cook rice, hard boil eggs, shells and all are minced finely to go into the food, and steamed spinach.  Then I put a Tablespoon of canned pumpkin on top.  He gets a half cup in the morning and 1 1/2 cups at night.  He seems to be better on this than on anything else we have tried.  Sheesh, the things we do for love!   Believe me, I would much rather scoop out a couple cups of kibble and call it a day.  But since this helps, I do it. 

As I said, our son Drew has moved into an apartment, and I am walking past his empty room every day.  A little tug at my heart.  But I am happy he is in his own place too.  It is time.  I cleaned the carpet in there, and now I am wondering what to do with this room?

Geeps kind of wants to make it into an office.  Put the desktop computer in there, and file cabinet and such.  I am scouring Craig's List for a desk.  

But with the one wall mirrored like that, I am thinking a little gym maybe.  We could do our yoga, nordic track.  I wish we could figure out how to get the treadmill in there, but we have tried and nearly taken out a few doorways trying.  I am wondering if it can be disassembled to get in, and then reassembled?  Greg just rolls his eyes!  Drew is coming this weekend to take the dresser.  Even though he doesn't really have room in his bedroom, he think he will use it in the living room and put his telly on it.  So then the room will be empty.   Sniff-Sniff.

He didn't take that telly.  That was a gift to us when we married from Greg's parents, 33 years ago.  It still works, but it is on it's way out.  My Mom gave Drew a telly she wasn't using.  Every time I walk past this shelf, I stop to look at what is on it.  I get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.  This is a picture of Drew with my Dad.  Drew was about 4. 

And a couple of signed baseballs from a good friend of ours who played for the Expos and Dodgers.  One signed just by Tim, and one by all of the Dodgers.   Next to those, a photo of Drew playing his first paid gig at a local coffee house.  He was only about 18 here.

Then a framed photo of the Twin Towers in NYC.  Drew had written a poem in grammar school following that terrible day.  My dear friend Ally lives just across the Hudson River in New Jersey, and happened to have been there on a ferry a couple of days before the attack on 911 and took this fabulous photo.  After I shared the poem with her that Drew had written, she had put it into this beautiful frame, along with the photo and Drew's poem, done in a patriotic theme and gave it to us as a gift.   I treasure it.

And lastly, sitting there among some old hardback books on that shelf, is a photo I found a long time ago while looking through some things, and put it up there for him to see.  It is a picture of Greg giving him some snuggles when Drew was about 15 mo. old.  I have always loved this picture.  You can see the love Greg has for him, and how tickled Drew was at that moment.

And so, we are empty nesters once again.  It is odd.  But as we have with each time one of the kids has left to embark on their own lives, and spread their wings to fly, we adjust.  Me and Geeps. 

Thanks for visiting tonight!

XO  Kris