Green Laundry

My best efforts to green up the laundry, which include making my own laundry soap and buying somewhat expensive mirco fiber "quick dry" towels which I can line dry, were heading me in the right direction. I was also considering enforcing a no-clothes-on-weekends policy but no one would ever forgive me for that.

I never considered adding a green crayon to the laundry, which is what happened this week, when a little chunk was hidden away in one of the kids' pockets. So the laundry came out far greener than anticpated, if a little uneven.

Laundry Karma

This is what a tube of Burt's Bees lip balm looks like after it's been through the wash. Guess what? There's no more lip balm inside. It's on the brand new $50 Drifter T-shirt I just bought at Neda's. Smeared over the spot that drapes the left clavicle.

It wasn't my fault this time. Sometimes a request for help backfires, and you become even more convinced that you have to do things yourself.

But I'm not sure I see a pattern. I think it's just an unfortuante circumstance, one reminding me that instead of admiring the elegant way the inverted darts on the designer T added umph to my sagging bustline, I should have been considering other people's harships. After all, it was May 13.

By the way, I wear the shirt anyway since I love it so much. I just hand washed it with (ahem, Burt's Bees) Citrus Ginger bodywash, which smells amazing. The stain is a reminder of, um...the imperative of a control freak to come to terms with an imperfect world.

Laundry Rapture

I made a batch of homemade laundry soap Wednesday night, this is my big big fun. I didn't have any Zote laundry bar soap, so I used the bar of Octagon I got from Key Food. Octagon, the name makes me happy. Is there a diagnosis for that?

I grated half the bar of soap. Once I start grating soap, it's a little hard to stop. It makes me wonder what it would like to be a tallow renderer, like Benjamin Franklin's father.

I added the grated soap to a pot of boiling water and in a little while it dissolved. Then I added 1/2 cup each Borax and Washing Soda and some more water, and stirred fast because it started to get really thick and cool, very slimy. Since the Octagon soap is a brownish grey color, my laundry soap was looking pretty much exactly like snot. When I use Zote, it's bright pink snot.

Then I added the stuff in the pot to a large bucket half filled with cold water and added a few drops of grapefruit extract. When it's cool I filled up my 3 empty Seventh Generation containers with it. It works really, really well and costs a fraction of store bought soap. But what I'd really like to know is if Zote, Octagon or Fels Naptha, the three laundry bar soaps I can get, (Zote at C-town and Mexican stores, Octagon at Key Food, and Fels Naptha via mail order) contain phosphates. People ask me, and I have no idea.

The picture above shows what a pad of post-it notes looks like after it's been through the wash. In case you ever wondered or theorized about that in your spare time. They no longer stick to anything.


Laundry Soap Recipe

(There are recipes for making the soap dry but I found that I don't enjoy breathing in the powder (i.e., huffing it) so I make it wet.)

1/3 grated bar of zote soap
1/2 cup borax
1/2 washing soda

In a large pot, dissolve grated soap in 6 cups water over medium heat. Add washing soda and borax.

Put 4 cups hot water in a bucket add soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water. Use 1/2 - 3/4 per load.

I've seen 20-Mule Team Borax (best brand name ever) and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda for sale at the Windsor Terrace Key Food and Park Slope C-town. If Key Food is out, I'm sure you can request it. Ask for Michael Jordan, the manager/part owner, and say Amarilla sent you if you feel like it. I wonder if they'd start stocking Zote?

Is this soap gentle enough for a baby? I don't know, but it hasn't aggravated my 10-years old's eczema or affected my 3 or 6-year old in anyway.

Laundrette on 9th

I was surprised by the beauty of this laundromat on 9th St. in Park Slope. Almost makes me wish my dryer would break. This is the Naomi Campbell of the laundromats I've been in so far. More pictures at the Museum of Laundry.

Goodbye Washboard Launder Center?

I'm not sure what's going on but I peaked in the door as a workman entered and saw there were no longer any washing machines inside. I never washed any clothes there but I'm a big fan of that voluptuous L in Launder and that tiny washboard so easily overlooked on the the shingled "roof." Inside I saw white stucco walls crossed with dark beams like you'd find at The Swiss Chalet back when you could drop in for fondue.

Don't Dye Here

Happy New Year and Don't Dye Here! I guess the guy in black is a mourner. This sign hangs at Rob's Stop and Wash along with 6 others with similar charm. They aren't taken for granted. Thanks JB for drawing my attention to this outpost of laundromat style. To see the rest of Rob's signage, visit 54 5th Avenue, or the museum of laundry blog.

soapy curds

Here's the results of the laundry soap experiment, this pink semi-liquid jelly you have to squeeze out of the bottle. Luckily, nothing exploded and as far as I know I'm not on any homeland security list as of yet.

The stuff is weird and funky but I'm not complaining; according to the math, this costs around 1 cent per load, compared to the 70 cents per load I was paying for the 7th Generation detergent.

Here's the figures if you enjoy equations:

1/3 bar Zote laundry soap at $.99 a bar
1/2 cup borax (20 Mule Team) at 3.79 for 79 oz.
1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda at 2.49 for 55 oz.
plus 32 cups of water
use 1/2 cup per load

Which equals...cheap.

I have become obsessed with Borax. I wonder if it's a key ingredient in teflon. I know it's crucial to the signature properties of Silly Putty. But that's another story. Let me just say that a 20 mule team has become an icon of intent and endurance that gives me strength in hard times, and hope, the hope that I'll be able to haul my ass out of whatever rut I fall into, be it Death Valley, the Mojave or just a bad attitude.

Or maybe a reliance on petroleum based packaging. If you are in the same rut, I hope you are happy to learn that you can buy bulk concentrated powdered detergent from Biokleen at Pumpkins Organic Market on 8th Avenue and 13th St. At $2.49 per pound it will cost you about $.30 cents per load and it's really good stuff, smells good, clothes come out soft and clean. And of course it's biodegradable, enzyme powered, easy on the Gowanus or where ever the wash water ends up. But wait until the end of the week to get it; today I went in and the jar was empty.



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The Givers

Laundercenter on Prospect Park West. My kids went in trick-or-treating, with success. I wasn't sure it would work out because I couldn't see the proprietor around anywhere inside. They also hit Farrell's and Forest Liquor, where no crowds had gathered. After he had given them candy, the old man that works at the liquor store summoned my toddler back in to give her a little teddy bear. I think one amazing thing about Halloween is how much people appreciate being given a way to give that's socially sanctioned, financially light weight, risk free and so sweet. Thanks, all you Halloween givers. I kept reminding my kids to say thank you, over and over again, and really started to sound like a shrew to myself. And then I realized that the givers didn't seem to care if the kids forgot, they weren't waiting there to pitch a fit over some kid's bad manners. They were just having a great time.