.: Mock-Up Monday- Laundry Detergent

Ok PL Follower! I am now going to be postings, EVER Monday, detailed descriptions of "Pinterest Projects" that I tackled over the weekend. I will be taking common ingredients I normally use for baking and "bring 'em out of the kitchen". Meaning I will show you how certain cooking appliances and ingredients can have multiple purposes! I will also revel to you the troubles I run into when preforming these task (that they may not tell you about on the Pinterest postings)--what you can do to make it easier, how long it took, ect. So I hope that you can find these "Monday Mock-ups" helpful!
. .

This weekend I decided that I was going to make my own laundry detergent! I thought that it was time that I realized the health benefits and the satisfaction that comes from knowing you can make your own household "staple" items. So I went on Pinterest and found some great ideas, and narrowed down to a powdered lavender detergent. So I tried it! Hope you like it...

First thing that I had to do was look and see all of the items I needed to gather to get this party started.

Here is what you need:
-Entire box-Borax (72oz)
-4 bars of Lavender Castile Soap (4oz ea.) You can also get different scents!
-8 boxes Baking Soda (18oz)
-3 tbls Lavender Oil (you can get whatever scent you want, I just love lavender)

I found the Castile soap tricky to find, but all you need to do is go to a natural food store (Whole Foods, Village Foods) and you should not have a problem. These stores will also have the oils that you will need. As for the Borax and baking soda, you can find that at any chain or local store.

Now that you have your items, lets go through the EASY 5 steps.

Step One: Grate the 4 bars of Castile soap. This is not as easy as it might sound. It took me about 30-35 to grate each bar. (But it's TOTALLY worth it)

I used a cheese grater and it worked just fine.

I tried two different ways (between the legs--dumb idea or on the counter like a normal person) to grate faster, but I found that holding it upright on the counter worked best. But my fiance bought my a Ninja for my birthday and I probably should have used that! (note to self)

SIDE NOTE: I found grating four bars of soap to be obnoxious, and the stupid grater cut the ends of my fingers and knuckles. So wear some sort of glove or use a fancy grater that does not hurt you. When you are in the middle of the third bar just repeat multiple times "This is worth it"..it helps.

Step Two: Now that is over with, it not the easy part. Find a jar or container that is about 2 to 3 gallons. OR you can make half a batch at one time (this is what I did) You will not put the soap into the container and add the ENTIRE box of Borax (if you;re doing 1 full batch)

Step Three: You will now add 8 boxes of Baking Soda ( these are surprisingly cheap so this was not "breaking the bank"). I usually use baking soda for cakes and certain crust.

Step Four: Now add in the 2 tbls of your desired scented oil.