Avoid unnecessary toxins in commercial laundry products by using easy homemade laundry soap and wool dryer balls.
I use this recipe because it is quick and easy to follow and does the job well. There are many natural laundry soap recipes online so have fun with it and find the one you like.
Laundry Soap Ingredients:
- 1 cup Borax
- 1 cup Washing Soda
- 1 bar of Kirk’s Castile Soap grated (other options available)
Mix the ingredients. Use about a tablespoon per load.
I’ve been using handmade wool dryer balls for a long time since I have fiber animals and I love to craft. If you’re not familiar with wool dryer balls, they are added to your dryer and help your clothes dry faster and make them softer by bouncing around. They are a wonderful replacement for commercial fabric softeners.
You generally need 4-8 wool balls per load.hey can be naturally scented with essential oils. These balls last pretty much forever unless your kiddo or pup walks off with them. You can also buy them, but they’re easy and fun to make.
Now, time to get your hands wet and soapy to make your wool dryer balls! Watch my short video clip.
Handmade Wool Dryer Ball Materials:
- 1-2 ounces of wool per ball
- Stocking
- water/drop of soap in a container
Instructions (best to watch the short video clip)
- Roll up the wool into a ball and place inside stocking
- Put in water with a drop of soap, soak well
- Squeeze and roll for 5-10 minutes until the fiber starts to poke out of stocking
- Take out of stocking and continue to roll until desired firmness
- Rinse the soap out, let dry
- Add essential oils to the wool ball for natural scent
When buying wool for your ball, you can buy it in roving or batt form. The video shows the batt form which will be faster to roll up. Generally, sheep’s wool will felt easier and faster but a note of caution- there are sheep breeds that don’t wet felt as well. Fiber sellers/farmers are a friendly bunch and can talk your ears off about their fiber, so just ask if the wool you are planning to buy is good for wet felting. They will know. I highly recommend checking fiber sellers who raise their own animals on Etsy.
