We are a family of four and I’ve been washing clothes with the wonderwash hand crank machine for 9 months. I also bought a spin dryer from Laundry alternative and that’s a huge timesaver. I can wash, spin and hang a load of clothes in 15 minutes and they’re usually bone dry in only a few hours. All my city friends think I’m crazy, but our clothes last so much longer now. I’ve also started making my own detergent and fabric softener. Here are the recipes I use:

Powdered Laundry detergent

Ingredients:

2/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap (equivalent of 1 cup grated)
½ Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
½ Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.

Container large enough to hold 2 cups of laundry detergent

Directions:
Grate the Fels Naptha soap with a grater or use a food processor. Approximately 2/3 of a bar of soap will make 1 cup of grated soap.
Add the ½ cup of Borax and ½ cup of washing soda to the grated soap.
Shake and/or mix well
Use:
One tablespoon of detergent is sufficient per load of wash. If you have a high-efficiency machine, you might want to experiment with using a little less detergent for normal loads. If your clothes come out feeling stiff, lower the amount of detergent. For clothes that are heavily soiled, add a teaspoon more of the detergent..

Yield:
The recipe yields 2 cups of laundry detergent. If you use 1 tablespoon per load, you will be able to wash 32 loads of clothes.

Cost:
20 Mule Team Borax: $2.50 for 70 oz. – Cost per batch: .14 (4 oz needed for recipe)
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda: $2.50 for 55 oz. Cost per batch .18.(4 oz needed for recipe)
Fels Naphtha: $1.24 per bar. Cost per batch: .83 (2/3 bar of soap needed for recipe) *
Total cost to make: $1.15 Yields 2 cups which translates to 3.5 cents per load.

Use 2 bars of soap and triple the recipe

FABRIC SOFTENER

6 cups of water
3 cups of vinegar
2 cups of any hair conditioner

Mix this in a gallon container and stir. Do not shake, this will cause foaming.

Use in the same amount you would commercial fabric softener.

Happy laundering!