Laundry Hacks

First, I have to share an AWESOME homemade laundry detergent I found! It's cheap, one batch lasts a whole year, and it smells super yummy. Triple win. 

 

Here's the recipe! 

*one 4lb 12oz box of Borax 

*three bars of grated Fels-Naptha bar soap (don't ask me to pronounce that one) 

*one 4lb box of arm and hammer baking soda 

*one box of arm and hammer super washing soda 

*4lbs of Oxy Clean (I used the one with the green lid)

*2 containers of laundry softener crystals. I used Downy Unstoppables.

Mix it all up! I lined a 5 gallon bucket with a garbage bag, dumped all the ingredients in, put the lid on and shook it around. 

Each load only uses 2 tablespoons of detergent, so the whole batch is supposed to last around a year. So far we love it! It smells good and our clothes feel nice and clean. 

Note: if you're using a HE washer, put the detergent in with the clothes. Don't put it where you would normally put liquid detergent. 

Original recipe here.

 

Laundry hack #2... Baking soda.

Jake works hard and gets sweaty in his clothes, and his jeans all had that funky musky/mildew smell after you wash them that builds up over time. 

We put them in buckets (1 pair per bucket), dumped about a cup of baking soda in each, filled it up with water, and let those babies soak. Hours later we took them out and voila. The water was NASTY looking. Like a detox for pants. I'll spare you the pictures. Let's just say, we basically want to soak everything now to see what the fabric is holding onto. The best part....they smell brand new and have for a couple of washes. Winning!