Laundry Day

Today is Laundry Day!

Above I have pictured a container that contains all of the supplies I typically use for laundry. I am using recycled materials to keep all the laundry supplies together.

In the top picture I sewed together a neat little bags for the fabric softener sheets and quarters for payment at the laundry mat or apartment machines. The fabric softener sheets are contained in a bag about the size of a pencil bag and the quarters are kept in a bag about the size of a tube of large toothpaste. The fabric used to make the bags was found at a local used goods store. I can't exactly remember if the fabric was found from an old garment or jacket of some sort......it is very durable fabric.

On a side note, I just read that fabric softener sheets can be made by taking an old wash cloth, soaking it in fabric softener, letting it dry and then adding to the dryer. I will have to give that a try and let you know the results. Or to prevent static.....add a ball of foil to the dryer.... Otherwise to save money on softener sheets only use 1/4-1/2 of a sheet per load and reuse the same sheet.... Or better yet, hang the clothes out to dry on a line and get crisp clean smell and extra bleached white clothing.

In the small container on the left, I have stored color safe bleach. Sometimes I use Tide color safe powdered formula, generic Oxyclean and other times I use a generic brand of liquid oxygen bleach. I usually add a small amount of this with any heavily soiled load of laundry or with whites.

In the large 24oz container, I have stored the homemade laundry detergent. The simple recipe of 1 shaved bar of soap(ivory works well), 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup washing Arm & Hammer Soda really does the trick in cleaning the clothes cheaply and effectively. Before using the detergent shake the container to mix the ingredients well. This recipe can also be converted into a liquid form if you have more storage space available. Also in the container I have placed a 1/2 cup measuring cup. 1/2 cup of homemade detergent is all it takes to do a full load of laundry.

In the small container on the right, I have stored the homemade fabric softener. The simple recipe consists of 1.5 cups of conditioner and 2.5 cups of vinegar which can be stored in a 24 oz container. A small amount of the mixture can be poured (about 1/8-1/4 cup) to the rinse cycle in a load of laundry.

All of the above fit neatly into a nice 1 gallon ice cream pail. When ever I need to do laundry away from home, I do not need to take excess detergent and equipment because it all fits so neatly into the pail. Not only do I take the ice cream pail but I also take along a spray bottle of stain remover (1 c. Dawn, 1 c. ammonia, 2 c. water). Making laundry supply from home saves you dollars and sense.