I love laundry

I actually do kind of love laundry. I didn't like it as much before, but since moving here it's become something I actually enjoy. For one thing, I've been making my own laundry soap for years but now that I'm home with the kids all day it's become a fun project for us (they don't do the the parts that involve hot water!). I've heard mixed reviews from other bloggers who make their own, but for me it has always worked great. I'm one of those people who used to buy the really expensive laundry detergent to try to avoid harsh chemicals, but this works better and is a whole lot cheaper.  Also, a few of the people in my house have pretty sensitive skin and this soap doesn't bother them at all.
In case you want to give it a try, here's the recipe:

1 bar of Ivory soap (or your homemade soap if you make your own) OR 1/3 bar of Fels naptha which    is a heavy duty laundry soap
1/2 cup of washing soda (Not to be confused with baking soda!)
1/2 cup of Borax powder

Grate the soap into a sauce pan with 6 cups of water and heat until the soap has melted. Add the washing soda and borax, stir to dissolve. Pour 4 cups of hot water into a bucket then add the soap mixture to the bucket. Stir, then add 1 gallon plus 6 more cups of water and stir again. After you let the soap sit for 24 hours it's ready to use. The consistency will be a watery gel and produces only a very small amount of suds (it doesn't need suds to work!) . Use 1/2 a cup per load. You could also add essential oils to give it a fragrance if you want. I don't, only because we have a family member who is very sensitive to smells and is more comfortable with fragrance-free products.

The other part of doing laundry that I actually like? Hanging all the clothes on the clothesline. It's fun. Seriously. And they smell like fresh air!