I decided to take my pantry stuffing a bit further and try to cut down on the one item that costs me the most each month. Laundry soap. I am allergic to almost everything but Gain products so for me, I need to find something that washed well and didn't cause irritation to my skin. This project was a trial and error type of thing and as you will find out, not every project you try comes out perfect the first time. This project required more attention to detail than I had expected and some safety tips that I wish now I had known. It is very important when you are working around any type of chemicals, whether they be natural or man made that you are fully aware of your allergies, Asthma condition and use as much protection as you possibly can. Despite the fact that the majority of these chemicals I have chosen are natural, I still found myself with a few chem burns and an Asthma attack. So please heed my warning, get proper safety gear when doing this project. I will choose to do things differently the next time I do this and leave out the Borax and maybe not crush up the gain pellets but we will talk about that later.
What you will need:
1 bar of Castile soap
Cheese Grater
1 cup Measuring Cup
White vinegar
Baking Powder
Wooden spoon
Borax
Essential Oils or Gain in wash pellets
Mixing Bowl
3-4 Ice cube Trays
Safety glasses
Face Mask
Good pair of gloves
Step 1: Grate an entire bar of your favorite Castile or all natural soap. This actually didn't take very much time a the soap is soft and the cheese grater is perfect for the size of shavings you will need.
I chose Kirks Castile Soap which I got at Walmart for $3.28 for 3 bars. So your paying about $1.09 per bar.
Just open the package and start grating really..I did it with a nice hot cup of coffee and a good movie, before I knew it the entire bar had been shaved. The soap is very gentle on your hands so I didn't really need to put my gloves on just yet.
Step 2: Mixing the dry ingredient
If you are Asthmatic then you may want to wear a face mask or use a bandana around your face. Most of the ingredient I used in the dish pod blog I have shared with you and none of them gave me any major issues. I think the issue came down to the fact that I ground up the Gain in wash scent booster and that was a big mistake. DO NOT DO THAT. I have done it here but again I caution you on this. In my 2nd attempt, I am going to wait until the last minute before scooping them into the ice trays and leave them whole. You may want to do this as well and save yourself a chem burn or attack. Do not use rubber gloves. You do not need to be a chemist to realize that rubber doesn't hold up to chemicals very well. Use something like cloth or work gloves so keep your hands safe. The original recipe for this calls for essential oils for scent and for a more natural base. I really should have done with that. Oh well, next time!
I used the entire bar of Castile Soap
2 cups of Washing Powder
1 cup of baking soda
1/2 cup of borax
Half a container of Gain in Wash Scent Booster
1/2 cup of Vinegar
3 cups of water.
You can place the Castile soap in a blender if you want a smoother finish but it is not necessary. I did and really like the texture once it was ground down. I added the Castile soap and Gain in wash booster that was now power and mixed them in a bowl. Make sure this is well blended together before moving forward.
You may want to wear safety glasses, a mask and gloves during this part of the project. Depending on your sensitivity level. Mine was at an all time high during this part of the project.
Once you have your dry mix ready, add the vinegar. This will cause it to foam up like a high school science glass volcano but it will dye down quickly. Once you've mixed in the vinegar, very slowly begin to poor the water in. You may need to work quickly here as I realized how fast this mixture can turn to cement. If it does, don't worry you can slowly add more water as you go. The faster you work, the better off you are.
Place a spoon full of mixture into the ice trays. The consistency of your mixture should be that of cookie dough but not too runny. The more water you add, the harder it is for the pods to dry and the bigger the mess you will make. You do not have to use all of the water, 3 cups is a lot but pour it slowly and mix often to get just the right scooping elasticity. Every scoop I put in an ice tray, I would turn back to a bowl of cement and have to add more water. I decided it was best to take a bit of cement at a time and re-animate it the best I could. This proved to work perfectly in the first ice tray I filled. Once you have filled your tray, smack the entire thing on the counter to level out the pods, making them a more uniform shape. Let dry for 24 to 48 hours and you have officially taken one last thing off your shopping list and out of your budget! This made over a 30 day supply of laundry pods, should I be so inclined to do laundry everyday for a month, I would be covered and for about the same price as a pack of toilet paper. The first tray of pods came out amazing...the next two...well not so much. I have learned that not every project I start is going to be perfect. Sometimes that is enough to prevent someone from doing the project itself. For me, you have to expect a learning curve, I mean have you ever made laundry soap before? Yeah, me either so I can not expect to be an expert on anything. I also am not sure what my preferences are just yet and you need to try things and sometimes mess things up to find what works for you. I have taught myself many new things this way, including that even thought I messed up once I know now what not to do and can move on to learning what you are to do. If at first you don't succeed...pour a glass of wine. lol get over yourself and try again. It is, at least for me, that simple!
Trial and error
Well, ya learn a thing or two the first time around and you really need to be open to the experience. I have so many things in this world holding on to myself esteem, I will just be damned if laundry pods would get the better of me. The rest of the pods, didn't come out as the glorious little chucks of B. Hive fabulousness I was hoping for.
Here's what went wrong:
The first thing is, I added far to much water. I figured they would harden eventually no matter the amount of water I used...well this is the mess I made.
Truth is they never did dry properly so I had mini cement chucks to dig out of these trays. lol Normally they just pop right out but when these came apart...they were still soaked in the middle. I had assumed that the Ice trays would need to be filled all the way to the top to make the pods work, not taking into consideration the lack of flowing air. They were packed pretty tightly in there. I was wrong there as well and the result are these lovely not-so-pods!
Adding to much water, while making it far easier to work with...also made it unable to dry. I had packed the ice trays to the top and did not take into consideration that it being to runny may prevent it from hardening in the middle. I have two suggestions for this. The first is only pour a small amount of water in at a time, working with a smaller portion of your now cement at the bottom of your mixing bowl. This will help keep your consistency and make it so you don't ruin the entire pot. The second is, use more shallow ice trays or only fill them up half way. This way you can guarantee that from tray to tray, they stay the same size and relative weight.
My biggest mistake of all however was my judgement, I used Rubber gloves. Rubber gloves are not made for this type of work and I am glad that I can take the burns on my hands so that you don't have to learn this lesson. Using proper safety gear is a must while working with soap. It can have nasty effects and in some cases even kill so be careful if you take up this project.
I am not a big fan of Borax for laundry soap. I believe the next time I do this I will leave it out. Its pretty harsh and I have sensitive skin plus it does nothing for the senses. I have once used it as an ant deterrent and have never seen creatures react that way to a powder before. I think its great in the dish washer because it can really break down some pretty evil stuck on gravy but not so sure I want it so close to my skin. I think when I try this again in the future I will leave it out and use essential oils for the fragrance.
Despite the misshapen and uneven bars of soap, they are still being utilized in my pantry. I have also learned that they make excellent mop bucket pods too. Cleaned my floor like a champ. So despite the fact not all of my pods came out perfect, I learned a lot for the next time and I have to look at that like it being still an awesome thing. This is something I had never done before and the next time I try it I think I could prefect a new art. Things do not always turn out the way you want or that you planned, this is life and a painful lesson to us all. The trick is, to create your own ingredient for life, mix in what works..take out that which doesn't and mold whatever that is into something more beautiful. We all have a few lumps to deal with, at least with this, you can crush it down or repurpose it and start over. This too is also life. Just know your worth the shot to find out!
When you create the world around you, there is no one else to paint its colors. You design it, your furnish it, you support and place love within it. It is up to you what you choose to allow in your life, it is up to you to choose whom you share that space with. But at the end of the day, is it also you that can prevent that world from coming to a reality. Believe, build, create and never fear! You can find yourself in your own creations!! I promise!!
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