Home made laundry powder

I had heaps of washing to do yesterday, and I ran out of laundry powder on the first load....so instead of going down to the local iga to buy some, I thought I would finally make laundry powder. I have had the ingredients sitting under our laundry tub for the last 2 years or so, just always seemed easier to use the bought stuff. It honestly only took 5 minutes to make, I whizzed it all up in the thermomix instead of hand grating the soap, which made things easier. I also used my hand made soap, which made the end result not quite as dry and fine as if I had used laundry soap. I finished all the washing using this mixture yesterday, and the end result was really good. Even the white socks which get a bit grubby around here, came out really well.

I used:
4 cups grated soap (laundry or handmade)
2 cups borax
2 cups washing (lectric) soda
1/2 cup powdered oxygen bleach (to give it a bit more oomph for the farm clothes)

I will try to make some laundry liquid next time, as I think it will be much more economical to make. I will post about that when I make it. Damian and I spent the weekend working on the soon to be craft studio...I will post some photos about that in the next post, it is coming along really well :)

Home made Woolwash

I have made this wool wash, rather than buying it, and it works brilliantly. It leaves the woollens really soft and smelling lovely, and I also use it when I am wanting to freshen up sheets and doonas etc, and for sterilising these items while they wash. It's also great for towels. I have had this 1st batch for at least 6 months, and I freshened it up a week or so ago by adding some hot water to it, as it had hardened up and was becoming hard to scoop out. It is now really good again, and should last many more uses before I need to make any more. This is the recipe:

Home Made Wool Wash
200ml methylated spirits
300g lux pure soap flakes or grated laundry soap
100ml eucalyptus oil

Mix all ingredients and store in a wide necked jar.

Use 1- 2 tablespoons per wash.  Mix with hot water and then add to a warm wash.