Laundry, Laundry, Laundry

  With cloth diapers and 2 babies, my washer stays busy, but I haven't bought laundry detergent for 2 years or dryer sheets and stain remover for the past year thanks to great simple recipes are gentle yet tough on clothes and HE efficient nevermind being dirt cheap, about 3 cents per load.  Here are my recipes for laundry care:
   Detergent
     1 bar Zote or Fels-Naptha (I prefer Fels-Naptha due to grinding ability but both clean equally)
     1/2 C Borax
     1 C washing soda
   Let bar dry out and then grind to fine powder in processor (some people grate their soap w/ a grater).
   Add other ingredients and pulse 10 times or until will mixed.
   Use 1 T per load.

  Softener
    Add 1-2 T baking soda in wash, and then add 1/4 C vinegar to rinse cycle.

 Stain remover (Oxyclean)
   1 C water
   1/2 C washing soda
   1/2 C hydrogen peroxide
  Mix all ingredients.  I usually pour over stains.  Here is a before and after of MK's shirt.  Literally took one minute for the stain to go away, and just think, all natural ingredients!

Before 

After!

I could not believe how good these results were, especially since I didn't do this until 5 days after the mess.

Bonus recipe- Dishwasher detergent

   While you have the processor out to make the laundry detergent, whip up a batch for the dishwasher.  It costs the price from 12 cents a load down to 4 cents a load.

   Equal parts of dish detergent, borax, baking soda, and washing soda.  Mix well in processor, and you are done.  I use dish detergent in it b/c you have to citric acid to get rid of  streaks, and I have yet to find citric acid in the store.