Natural Stain Stick
I’ve needed this stain stick for about as long as I’ve been a mother, or at least as long as I’ve been a mother to my dear, sweet Eloise. Benjamin, my meticulous, type A Virgo, has gone his entire life without letting as much as a green bean fall into his lap. He’s careful, cautious, hypervigilant. As a baby I joked that I could safely sprinkle arsenic on the living room floor - I was that confident he’d crawl around it without the slightest show of interest.
Eloise, ELOISE, on the other hand, is my dreamy, immerse-yourself-in-the-loin-of-life kind child. As a toddler, her first words were “dog” and “chocolate” and her favorite pass-time involved building nests. While most 2-3 year olds were stacking blocks, she was arranging lambskin rugs, wool blankets, and feather pillows in the most comfortable formations she could muster.
As one might expect, Eloise brought the same joie de vivre to eating. She ate like an artist, immersing herself in food like a French chef, not just interested in how it tasted but also how it made her feel. Motivated by comfort and feeling good inside, she ate with the sort of vigor you’d expect from a litter of baby piglets. She traded napkins for the cuff of her sleeve and used the floor as a catchment basin. Sometimes, after a meal, I’d carry her straight to the bathtub; now that I think about it, I probably should have fed her there too!
Lest you think I’m mocking her, let me assure you I’m not. Watching her relish in the simple pleasures of life has been one of the greatest delights of my life. I don’t consider her messy, as much as I consider her present, engaged, joyful. ALIVE.
I will say, though, her joy leaves a trail of stains. And that, THAT, brings me to this stick.
I shared several laundry recipes in my book, Simply Living Well, but some recipes - including this laundry stick - didn’t make the cut. Earlier this week, I was using it to scrub hot sauce off a new linen napkin and thought it deserved a home here. It’s saved many a shirt, pant, and dress, and is the most essential ingredient in Eloise’s laundry basket.
Although it’s easy to make, I have a few tips to prevent confusion and save you time. First, if you find similar recipes online or in magazines, they’ll often instruct you to melt the soap “completely” which, in my mind, means until the soap turns to a uniform liquid. But, as far as I’m aware, it’s not possible to melt soap to a uniform liquid; for this recipe, your soap is “completely” melted when it’s soft, mushy, and lumpy like rice pudding. If that sounds unappealing, don’t worry - after you melt the soap and mix it with the other ingredients, you can mix them in a high speed blender to create a uniform blend that has the consistency of cake icing.
My second tip is to use a pastry bag to transfer the mixture to your push-up tubes. If you don’t have a pastry bag, a turkey baster will do. if you have neither of these tools, a spoon will do.
Finally, when you’re ready to use the stain stick, be sure to wet the tip so that it lathers on your garment. If you wet the garment too, you’ll get suds, which is even better. I’ve had great success using this on new stains, but stubborn stains may need more than one treatment. Hope you enjoy! And please hug those messy eaters for me!
Ingredients
1, 5 ounce bar of fels naptha or castile soap
1/4 cup washing soda
1/4 cup borax
2 tablespoons liquid castile soap
6 tablespoons water
high-speed blender
small sauce pan
DirectionS
Grate the soap into small pieces (I use a high-speed blender or a food processor to save time).
Place the soap in the top of a double boiler and melt on medium-low heat. The soap will not completely melt down to an even liquid state but it will condense into small, soft pieces.
Once “melted”, remove the double boiler from the heat and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well with a fork, then transfer the mixture to a high speed blender and blitz until evenly mixed. The mix will have the consistency of cake frosting.
If you have a pastry bag, transfer the mixture to the bag, then squeeze it into the cardboard tubes, being sure to pack it down as you go. If you don’t have a pastry bag, transfer it slowly with a small spoon.
Let the mixture set on a counter at room temperate for about an hour. Then place the cap on the tube until ready to use.
To use, dampen the tip of the stain stick and the fabric, then rub the stain stick on the fabric. Wait 30-60 minutes, then wash as usual. Some stubborn stains may require more than one application.