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“After the ecstasy, the laundry.” I’d say that this famous Zen saying also holds for agony. Yes, the laundry always awaits! Ecstasy or agony, laundry serves as a metaphor for everything about daily living that demands attention.

Homemade Detergent

For years, I had made homemade detergent out of borax, washing soda, and grated hard soap.  However, after a while, I found that the borax was irritating to my skin. 

Here’s my recipe. Toss these ingredients individually right onto the clothes you are about to wash:

• A good squirt of liquid Castile soap (three or four tablespoons).
• Half a cup of baking soda (light load) or washing soda (more alkaline, better at lifting grease/oils from heavy work clothes). Use protective kitchen gloves if you need to break up clumps of washing soda, which can be slightly irritating.
• A handful of plain salt (I use non-iodized kosher from a big box; brightens colors, helps remove stains).

Works as well as any detergent I’ve used. Give it a try yourself!

Homemade (non-chlorinated) oxygen stain remover

If you need an oxygen bleach, I have a recipe that’s a cinch to make. It not only works well on most fabric stains, but you can also use it to clean just about everything—even as a gentle disinfecting wash for fruits and vegetables.

Here’s how I make it:

• Mix equal parts of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and baking soda with two parts of hot water and shake well. For deeply set stains, use washing soda in place of baking soda.
• Funnel the solution into a light-excluding bottle to maintain the stain-fighting strength of the peroxide. That’s it!

Note: This homemade solution doesn’t spray the way commercial liquid oxygen bleaches do, because the baking soda settles. I just shake it well and squirt or sprinkle it onto stains, or add half a cup to the wash water.

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→ See more tricks to remove stains from clothes!