I Made A Change

Most of you probably know I make laundry detergent here at home.

You may also know that I no longer use the fels-naptha bar ('cause it's petroleum-based and was "clogging" my clothes--not just 'cause no one knows how to pronounce the brand name.)
Instead, I've been using a bar from the Goat Milk Stuff company (which I LOVE 'cause they're name is easy to say, and 'cause they homeschool a bunch of kids and live on a farm, too.)

Well, I got to thinking back to the original detergent recipe that I'd found somewhere on the internet years ago.  I remembered that it listed Kirk's castile bar as an option instead of the fels.

Since I started using Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap to make some body scrubs and our shampoo (which is SO, SO EASY--I'll tell you about it soon), I've been interested more and more in castile soaps.

Now, I've been doing the homemade laundry detergent for at least four years now.  Could be longer, might be less--I can't remember for sure.
I've tried all the bars listed on that recipe--the Fels-Naptha, Kirk's castile, Ivory, and Zote.  Ok--I never came across the Sunlight brand, so I amend that to say almost all the brands listed.
They were okaaaaaay, but nothing really knocked my socks off (pun intended).  I was satisfied with the results and overjoyed that I was no longer lugging home gallon after gallon of detergent from the store and not spending mega bucks to wash the clothes.

When I did switch to using the laundry bar from the Goat Milk Stuff company (again, I LOVE their bar soaps....black raspberry, baby powder, luv spell, rosemary mint....), I was definitely more  satisfied than I had heretofore been.

Heretofore is kind of a fun word to say, don't you think?  I think I'm going to try to use that more often.

But--BUT!!! As I said, I got to thinking about that castile option...and what the hay--I thought I'd give that a try.
And I'm SO glad I did!

I like this bar  better than any I've used thus far.
It's about $3.00 less per bar than the goat milk soap, so that's a plus for me.  (Now I can just buy the yummy-smelling body bars.)
I can also get the Dr. Bronner's locally, so I don't have to pay shipping.  (If you live near me, Meadowfarm carries these.)

But best of all, I think it's doing a better job of cleaning the clothes.  I'm not really sure why that is, but I really can tell a difference.

I was a bit nervous of "wasting" a whole batch of detergent if my experiment failed.  I didn't know if it would work to make laundry soap out of that specific bar.  I decided to go for it in a daring moment--it was on the same day that I painted my fingernails two different colors--on purpose.
I live on the wild side from time to time, people.
Don't believe me?  Well, sometimes?  I load the plates in the dishwasher facing the opposite direction than usual.
I KNOW.  
Not everyone can handle wild like that.

Anyway, I'm so glad I took the plunge and trusted my instincts and acquired knowledge (HA!) and that it actually worked!
Now I have a NEW way to be a bit more frugal and resourceful for my ever-growing, constantly-clothes-wearing-and-dirtying family.