Hi there!

Welcome to The Sugared Magnolia
 
Today I am launching into the blog-o-sphere.

Recently, I have had a few people suggest that this would be a great way to share some of the things I love.  I have no idea where this blog will land in the future, but for now I will be posting  random things that I find interesting.

Currently, I am exploring the world of healthy living and have discovered a handful of ways to use essential oils in my every day life by making various items.

The first thing that was a successful creation is laundry soap.  I have always preferred unscented detergents and, have therefore, spent much more money on it than I needed to over the years.

Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 bar Soap (Fels Naptha, Zote, Dr Bronners, Ivory)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
20-40 drops Essential Oils for scent (can be left out if no scent is desired)

Grate the soap bar, mix together other ingredients in a glass jar.    

I have found cutting the soap bar in chunks and then pulsing in a food processor works very well, then add washing soda and borax and pulse to blend all ingredients.

Use 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon per load.  For extra dirty laundry use a bit more of the powder.

This is enough for my family laundry for 6-8 weeks.  The cost to make is $1.75 and that breaks down to about $0.07 a load.

At my local Publix 
Washing soda $2.99
Borax $2.99
Fels Naptha $0.99
(the Washing Soda and Borax boxes hold roughly 8 cups each)

I first found this laundry powder at this blog: http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-laundry-detergent-soap/

This powder works in HE machines, just use the smaller amount noted above.
It also works on cloth diapers, actually cloth diapers are the main reason I started exploring the world of chemical free detergents.  More on that in another post.