While it is always a good thing to be optimistic about the future (and I am) I think it is always prudent to forward plan for a ‘rainy day’. Right now it is becoming somewhat of a rainy day (or at least a shower) for many of us, whether we are jobless, on furlough, on benefits or our circumstances have recently changed. Coping with a downpour without an umbrella is difficult so before it rains harder there is nothing wrong with making some changes now…

At the moment in my household, we are working on making some changes. Many of these changes are small, seemingly insignificant, but one thing I know is that every small drop of water or crumb, collectively over time, becomes a vast ocean or a basketful of bread! Drying my clothes outside on a sunny day instead of using the tumble dryer saves 50p, growing food and preserving it saves a little money too (and provides a store of available food during difficult times), baking bread from scratch saves 50p a pop, using a cool short eco wash for laundry saves on power and water, and the list goes on.

I recently saw a friend of mine on social media making a batch of liquid laundry detergent and thought what a great idea! I immediately researched it, watched several videos and decided that it would indeed save me money, quite a bit!

I decided to order in the three ingredients needed and make a batch of:

1. Washing powder for hot washes and whites.
2. Liquid laundry detergent for most daily washes using the eco cool setting. (more economical – recipe tomorrow!)

I would also test each of these out for effectiveness and economy as well as the process of making and storing.

Today I made the dry washing powder for longer hot washes and whites. I found this REALLY quick and easy to make. It made enough for up to 40 loads using a tablespoon per load (you may need more for large or dirtier loads.) Based on using 1 cup of borax substitute, 1 cup of washing soda and 1 x 4 or 5 oz bar of household soap it cost me less than £2.50 to make enough powder to wash 40 loads. This would save you about 50% on the cost of a regular powder. I worked this out as roughly £30 per year.

The clothes came out really clean, suds were very low in the machine (I have very hard water). If you love the strong artificial perfumes used in modern laundry detergents and like that your clothes smell strongly of the perfumes in the detergent when the clothes are dry then you may be disappointed. The clothes smelled lovely and clean but didn’t really smell of any fragrance. I didn’t add any essential oils as it was a dry powder (for the liquid detergent I will though).

The powder seems ideal to use on a long hot wash to get lighter clothes bright and clean.

Warning: Obviously with any chemicals please protect your hands and eyes and do not inhale.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of borax substitute
• 1 cup of washing soda
• 1 x 4 or 5 oz bar of household soap (grated)

Method

1. Mix the borax and washing soda together in a bowl with the grated household soap.
2. Ideally add the mixture into a blender and pulse until the grated soap and powders are well blended into smaller particles. (**Please ensure that you do not inhale the powder so wait until the dust has settled before opening the lid of the blender)
3. Place powder in a glass jar.
4. Use 1 flat tablespoon max. per load.