Fun and Easy Homemade Laundry Soap

My husband has green shirts that he is to wear under his uniform (AKA Camis). Apparently he has held onto the ones he purchased back when he first became a Marine (eww, right?). We've picked up 2-3 new packages of t-shirts but they don't fit right...his words, not mine. It is a freakin' under shirt! Oh well. He is pretty lean so most men's shirts just don't fit right and bunch. So whatever. I've been given the task of finding a way to get the smell out of them. They really don't stink after washing but I guess something happens when he wears them-- something that doesn't happen to any other clothes.

I tried vinegar, baking soda and even my dear Rockin' Green soap. So far no luck. We were about to try some bleach...something I try not to keep in the house because then we find reasons to use it. But a friend suggested Borax and some recipes for making our own laundry detergent.

When I read Peppermint laundry soap from Soulemama, I was sold. So today the girls and I drove around town getting the ingredients for the recipe. I had to go to 4 stores just to get them all. Next time, I know exactly where to go so it will be cost effective. I'm going to see how far this homemade batch goes and figure out if it truly is more cost effective than other eco options.

So Soulemama's recipe calls for
1 cup of baking soda (0.59 cents)
1 cup of Borax ($2.99)
1 cup of washing soda/soda ash ($3.49)
2 cups of finely grated soap (Peppermint Dr. Bronners--1.5 bars at $4.49 each, $8.98)

Total spent $16.05, my usual Rockin Green Soap is $14.95 for 90 loads. However, to make an additional batch I will only need to spend $4.49 for a new bar of soap (I have half of one leftover). This would bring my per batch cost down to $10.27.

Grating was really easy but I am worried I didn't get it fine enough.

Little Avery loved grating the soap. Actually- she wanted to hold and smell the bar all the way home. She unwrapped them both and was SO proud of the detergent we made that it was the first thing she wanted to show daddy when he got home. The stuff does smell great- the whole Creative Space smelled like it until I put it in a sealed container.

I'm running my first load of diapers with the detergent now. As soon as the door locked I had a bit of remorse. I sure hope the soap rinses out easily...yikes...we used the finest holes on the grater but I have read about people using food processors. I'm running an extra rinse just to be sure.

We shall see!