We say we need a dishwasher because their's just broke. Need a washing machine and dryer. Need a 70 inch TV. Need a new car because their's is 3 years old.
In reality, we WANT these things because they make our life easier to manage. If we are honest with ourselves, we need to clean our dishes for sanitary reasons. A sponge, hot water, soap, and our hands has got the job done for hundreds of years.
We want to put our clothes in a couple of machines and presto! Clothes are done and ready for our wardrobe. We don't want to put them in a 5 gallon bucket with some soap and a plunger and agitate water. Dump it. Rinse it. Ring it out. Then clip it on a string outside and wait a few hours to dry in the sun.
We deminish our intent when we mix up need and want. We say things like, "I need to pick up a grill for my husband for father's day." Instead of, "I want to pick up a grill for my husband for father's day." The first statement sounds like a chore. Something on a list. Something that is beyond our control. If I don't do it, something bad will happen. The second statement sounds like a choice you have conciously made. Something that thought went into.
We seem to fill our life with chores, and not choices, or at least that is what we put out in the world when we mix up needs and wants.
So I got to thinking about what I mix up as a need and want. So this week I started thinking about laundry (I know you are thinking, the title says Laundry, when are we getting to laundry?) Washers and dryers, in today's society, seem to be a need. If you don't have it in your home, then you probably go to the laundromat and pay money to wash your clothes there. In contemplating moving out on my own, I contemplated whether I needed a washer and dryer in my residence or if I could live with shlepping it to the laundromat. I didn't even consider there being an alternative. I considered the upgrade charge of getting an apartment with a washer and dryer which averaged about $50-$100 more. I also considered that that would cost extra electricity. I considered the price of going to a laundromat, gas, time, expense, planning ahead, and the inconvenience of not doing laundry while I slept. Monetary cost was about $1.25 per wash load, and $2 per dry load. I average about 3 loads a week. This would be $39 per month.
So I began to think what my ancesters would have done. They didn't have washing machine and dryers. They had clothes lines and wash boards. While in Japan, my host family had a washer and then dried the clothes on drying frames that they placed in front of a screen door. Could I do something like that at my apartment?
I researched manual washing machines and came up with the design for a washing machine made out of a 5 gallon bucket and a plunger (I will write more on that at a later date.)
The manual washer seemed a severe first step at getting back to basics. So I aimed at reducing another big cost to laundry; laundry detergent.
I found a recipe for homemade powder laundry detergent. The items I needed:
One time charges:
Coffee scoop: $1.67
Cheese grater: $7.97
5 gallon bucket: $2.97
Lid for bucket: $1.17
Total One Time Charges: $13.78
Ingredient charges:
Borax (1 box): $3.97
Oxyclean versitile stain removed (1 container): $7.52
Baking Soda (1 box): $2.24
Super washing soda (1 box): $3.24
Zote soap (2 bars): $1.94
Total Ingredient Charges: $18.91
Estimated monthly for homemade laundry detergent (powder): $1.58
Sale price of brand name liquid detergent: $11.99 (that's the "yeah, it's on sale!" price). That lasts my family of two about 1 month.
One year worth of liquid detergent: $143.88
That is a savings of $10.41 per month and $124.97 per year!
How to do it:
1) Leave the Zote soap unwrapped overnight. It will be easier to grate.
2) Grate the Zote with the fine side of the grater.
3) Most instructions suggest layering the ingredients in a 5 gallon bucket and then stirring until well mixed. I thought putting the mix in a trash bag would be less work and reduce the possiblity of breate in the powders. This method worked out great! I would use a lawn and leaf bag instead of a regular bag because it will probably hold up better. So place the Zote soap, Borax, Super Washing Soda, Baking Soda, and Oxyclean in the trash bag.
4) Twist the top of the garbage bag. Then start squishing the bag in order to mix the ingredients. Continue mixing until well combined.
5) Place combination in whatever container you would like.
Each load=2 tablespoon (how much a coffee scoop holds)
They say that if you have sensitive skin, leave out the oxyclean. If you like scented soap, they now have scented crystals that can be mixed in.
Additional Note:
The oxyclean powder was the largest expense in this recipe. Since I have sensitive skin, I would personally leave out the oxyclean. That puts my cost at $11.59. If it lasts a whole year, that would be $0.95 per month. A savings of $11.04 per month over liquid detergent. $132.48 per year.
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