Sunday, August 2, 2009

My Homemade Home

Back on the topic of sustainablity again, prompted by my mini soap box on consumerism over at clutter punk.

Some of the things I have been making at home to reduce our purchasing and waste. Here is my homemade laundry powder. I love this so much - it smells fresh, does not irritate anyones skin and is kind to the environment. Also cheaper and less packaging - great!

I mix a few cups of Lux flakes with a bar of grated Sards soap (I grate it in my food processor for ease and to prevent bloodied finger tips) and a few cups of washing soda and about 20 drops lavender oil. Mix it all up and pop in a lovely canister (who said doing the washing was a bore?).

One can buy all these ingredients at the supermarket in the laundry aisle

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I have also been whipping up some concoctions for me. I made these lovely blue flannels from an old muslin baby wrap last night. I use them with my homemade facial cleanser, instead of makeup removal wipes. The cleanser is 2 parts sweet almond oil, 1 part castile soap and about 10 drops of essential oil (I use lavender or rosemary). It is a great cleanser, even removing eye makeup and does not dry out my skin.



I also scent castile soap with essential oils and use as a body and hand wash. Castile soap can be bought fairly inexpensively in large bottles from ebay and other online soap makers.

Happy brewing!

2 comments:

  1. Hey thanks for the laundry powder recipe. I've wondered about making it before but only found american recipes with ingredients I didn't think I could get hold of. I might just give it a go when we get back to tas.

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  2. Thank you for this guide to making washing detergent. I first made it about 6 months ago and absolutely LOVE the beautiful fresh smell it gives my washing as well as the results.

    I have just bought a new washing machine and decided this time to buy a front loader washing machine instead of the top loader I have always had. Am I able to use this detergent in my new machine. If not, do you have a recipe suitable for front loaders?

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Why hello there, thanks for commenting!