Living in today’s world we have been pretty spoiled with the fact that we can just go to the store as we need products and buy them. We should, however, have been learning how-to live-in Yesterday’s world in case the need should arise. It’s always nice to just buy what you need, but if you can’t, do you know how to create a product that will compare? Will you have the basic ingredients to make this product? Just because you know HOW to make a substitute doesn’t mean that you HAVE to use it in the now. If it’s easier for you to buy store bought, do it. The key is that you CAN make it if you need to. This means not only homing in the skill or recipe, but also the ingredients at home.
I have slowly been talking through “systems” and another system to seriously be thinking about is laundry. I did a post recently about what you would do if there was no electricity to do laundry, but let’s go further into that. So you have a way to wash the clothes, But what will you use for soap or detergent? Making your own laundry detergent really is very simple and cost-effective. I have played with several Recipes over the years, but this has been my go to.
My recipe is
1 cup of washing soda
1 cup of borax
1 cup of oxyclean or the like
1 bar grated of “laundry soap” like zote or laundry bar... this time I used up the last of my zote flakes.
Mix together, then 1 cup at a time put in blender on low to “powder”. Not to long or it will start to melt and clump. When it all ground, mix together again and jar. If you want extra scent you can add about 20 drops of essential oil to the batch and stir in.
1-2 tablespoons per large load. Is HE safe. This makes approximately 80 normal loads.
Here are some other things that you can use to wash clothes. soap nuts! These are actually nuts that are harvested and dried. They contain high saponin which act with cleaning and sudsing abilities. They can store a long-term and last for quite a few loads before you need to refresh.
Another thing that is pretty easy to grow here is a plant called Soapwort. I have done videos before showing you how much they suds up with washing your hands. I haven’t tried playing with these in the dried form to be able to use during the winter months, so I’m not sure if they’re sudsing ability is only when green or if it would be left in the plant after it was dried. I’ll have to look into that. Having these things all at your fingertips will make your life a whole lot easier if you ever have to step back from modern time back into “past time.”