Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've been making my own laundry detergent at home for a while now. Are you over the shock? I don't know why, but people always seem shocked when I tell them that I do this. So I thought I would share how EASY it is and how much MONEY it will save you!!!

Part 1: The EASY Part

You will need the following ingredients:
Fels-Naptha Soap
Borax
Washing Soda

2 empty milk jugs

All of these items should be available on the laundry aisle at a Super Wal-Mart. Make sure you get Washing Soda and not Baking Soda. (Note: Sonic drink cannot be found on the laundry aisle, nor is it a necessary part of the detergent making process. However, it may make the process a bit more enjoyable!)

Step 1: Cut the bar of soap in half. Finely grate or chop the soap. I use a food chopper, it's quick and easy, but if you don't have one a cheese grater works fine.

Step 2: Put the soap in a large saucepan. Add 6 cups water and heat until the soap is completely melted.

Step 3: Slowly stir in 1/2 cup Borax and 1/2 cup Washing Soda. Stir until completely dissolved. Remove from heat.

Step 4: Pour 2 cups hot water into the bottom of each milk jug (4 cups total). Add soap mixture, dividing it evenly between the two containers. Mix well. Fill the containers the rest of the way up with water. Mix well.

(It takes approx. 1/2 gallon + 3 cups water to fill the remaining space in each container.)
Step 5: Let the detergent rest for 24 hours. It will be a thick gel, so you need to shake before each use. Use 1 cup per load.

Part 2: The how much MONEY it saves you part.

So I did the math (and yes, my blood pressure went through the roof) but, I figured out that it cost me $1.50 to make 2 gallons of this detergent. 2 gallons will do 32 large loads of laundry. Guys and Gals, that comes out to be 5 cents per load! 5 pennies!

Lets compare that to buying Liquid Tide detergent at the store. A bottle of Tide that only does 24 medium loads costs approximately $14. Which comes out to be 58 cents per load. Are you seeing the savings? I am and I'm not that good at math!

I have no idea if you can use this detergent in a front loading washing machine. However, if you can afford a front loading machine, you can probably afford the soap for it too. Did I just say that out loud?

So the big question ... does it work? Well, my clothes are clean, they don't smell, people haven't been complaining, so I would say yeah, it works and I use it all the time! I still pretreat any stains with OxiClean before washing, but I did this even when I bought detergent from the store. (I'm a firm believer in OxiClean.) Another bonus is it's all natural, there's no harsh chemicals in it, so it's great for babies and people with sensitive skin, not to mention good for the environment! Give it a whirl and let me know what you think!

And in case your interested...

Homemade Fabric softener:

It took me a while to convert to this, because I have a love affair with the smell of Downy. However, paying $9 a bottle for fabric softener finally got old and I started making my own. Again, it's easy, works great, and smells great too!

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda

6 cups distilled white vinegar

8 cups water

10-15 drops essential oil (I'm currently using coconut ... smells so good!)

Pour baking soda into an empty milk carton. Slowly add vinegar. Add water and essential oil. Cover and mix until baking soda is dissolved. Make sure to vent often while mixing or else the pressure that builds up will cause it to explode. This isn't rocket science, we just mixed vinegar and baking soda together, and now were shaking it up ... make sure to vent.