Patsy Terrell

Lived fully, laughed loudly, gave generously

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February 5, 2014 by Patsy

Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

I started making my own laundry soap because I love the smell of fels naptha soap. There are a ton of recipes online for how to do it, but here’s the one I’m using.

Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe
1 bar fels naptha soap, grated
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1/4 cup baking soda

Mix together and use about 2 Tablespoons per load.

I grate the bar of soap in my food processor, then add in the other things and swirl it around to mix it all up. I use the blade thing that fits into the bottom of the food processor, not the grating plates that come with it.

I’ve read you can microwave the bar of soap and it will just crumble. I tried this with a bar of zote, something I’d read some people preferred to fels naptha. I didn’t like the smell of zote nearly as much, and have not experimented with microwaving fels naptha.

When I’m making detergent, I try to buy enough soap to use up the boxes of borax and washing soda at the same time so I’m not storing a lot of unused product. Also, I don’t use my food processor often, so when I’m making detergent I want to do a bunch at one time and then be done with it.

I use about 2 Tablespoons per full-size load of laundry. I have an extra coffee scoop I use to measure. It’s roughly that amount, and it works for me.

There are a zillion recipes online for making your own laundry soap. There’s no magic to this one, so experiment until you find the one you like.

Some people also add in oxy clean or scent. At some point, it seems to me it’s easier to just buy laundry detergent. I just like the smell of fels naptha.

This is supposedly much cheaper than other detergent. I haven’t done the math on that, but I’m certain it is true.

People often ask where to buy the supplies. I live in Kansas and they’re all found on the shelves of Wal-Mart, local grocery stores and hardware stores here. However, I live near a large Amish community and that may affect the availability. Everything is in the laundry soap area of the store.

I’m gifting some to some friends in a few weeks.

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Epitaphs for Patsy

In a document she left behind for a good friend, Patsy listed five possible epitaphs that could be used at the time of her passing.

  • ‘Lived Fully. Laughed Loudly. Gave generously. Gone.’
  • ‘Lived, Laughed and Loved. Continuing that elsewhere.’
  • ‘Lived fully every day. No regrets now.’
  • ‘The journey continues It has been magical.’
  • ‘A magical journey so far no regrets.’

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Image courtesy of Richard Crowson

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In memory of Patsy Terrell • Curated by Greg Holmes • Website by Rosemary Miller

 

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