A few months ago, I began looking into
making my own cleaning supplies with the intent of saving money on our grocery
bill. I decided that as I ran out of cleaning
products, I would replace each product with my own DIY version. This week I will be sharing some of those recipes with
you.
I’ll start by sharing the DIY dry laundry
detergent that I have been using for a couple of months. The following recipe is simple, and it smells good.
In my research, I found this to be a
popular recipe among DIYers. I have
found that it leaves my laundry clean and fresh, and the cost of each batch is only
$1.80! It’s definitely a keeper for me!
INGREDIENTS:
1 c. Borax
1.c Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1Bar of-Fels Napthia Soap
(all ingredients found in the laundry section of grocery store)
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I used Fels-Napthia bar soap, because the purpose of that
particular laundry bar soap is to get out stains. It is about $1 a bar. In my
research, I found this to be the most common soap in DIY detergents. My recipe
is the same as the Duggar's, and I figure that if this recipe fights the stains
of that many kids, than it works for me. However, if you are looking to save
even more money, you can buy regular bar soap, although I have no experience
using it for this recipe. If you are looking to be more natural and organic,
you can use Dr. Bonner bar soap. Just be aware that Dr. Bonner is around $5 a
bar, and for me it defeated the purpose of saving money.
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DIRECTIONS:
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Before
you begin, you will need a grater, a spoon, a measuring cup and a container to
store the detergent.
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Using a cheese grater, grate the bar soap into your
container. I bought a cheap grater at Goodwill, and I only use it for
making detergent….not cooking. Some people throw the grated soap in a blender or food
process after they grate it to make the soap finer and more powder-like. I skip that step, and my detergent seems to work just fine. The texture of the
detergent is more of a personal preference for some.
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Once
the soap is grated, add the soda and Borax and stir all of the ingredients
together, and that's it! Couldn't be easier:)
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Now let’s break down the cost of
this recipe. The total cost of
ingredients is as follows: 55 oz of washing
soda ($3.24), 76 oz of Borax ($3.38) and one bar of Fels-Napthia ($1). The cost of each batch of detergent breaks
down as follows: washing soda ($.45), Borax ($.35) and Fels-Napthia ($1 a
batch). That’s a total of $1.80 a batch,
compared to the $5.99 I was paying per bottle of Purex. Using 1tbs. of detergent per load of laundry,
one batch of detergent yields 40 loads of laundry. That is also the same amount
of loads I get out of bottle of Purex.
In our house of two, I only need
to do three loads of laundry a week, so I go through a bottle of detergent
about every three months. Since one
batch of the DIY detergent only filled about half of my jar, I doubled the
recipe. One jar of detergent = 80 loads
= $3.60 for six months……and if I only need to make it twice a year that’s a
year of laundry for $7.20! Yay for saving money on laundry! Mission accomplished!!!
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This is amazing stuff…..tried it a GF house that I stayed with for a week and loved it. I came home, bought the ingredients and use it every wash day! Love it!
ReplyDeleteI am definately making this!!
ReplyDeleteok do you know if this is safe for he washers? just wondering...
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest running the whole mix through your blender to get a nice smooth finish. It allows it to more evenly be mixed together. You may also try to add a cup of Oxy Clean. Or even better get the generic "Oxy Clean" from the dollar store, or Walmart.
ReplyDeleteI just made this for myself! I couldn't find actual washing soda, so I'm using baking soda instead. Here's to hoping!
ReplyDeleteBaking Soda & Washing Soda are NOT the same thing.
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_carbonate
You can add Baking Soda to your mixture, but without WASHING SODA it's not really getting your clothes clean.
May I ask where you got your container?
ReplyDeleteHow much soap would I use in my HE topload washer?
ReplyDeleteI have an HE washer, is this recipe ok for those kinds of washers?
ReplyDeleteIs it 1 bar of soap per batch ? or per box of borax , and washing soda?
ReplyDeleteHow does it smell? Do you recommend adding a special scent of your choice?
ReplyDeleteI have been making this for a couple of years, but I also include Oxy Clean (get mine from Dollar Tree), & Purex Crystals. Quite by accident I discovered if you unwrap the Fels Naptha soap for a few weeks, it is SO much easier to grate and is finer instead of clumpy. If I'm out of Purex Crystals, I add a few drops of essential oils for a nice scent. I get these at a local candle shop.
ReplyDeletePlease be careful - you need to make sure it is grated very fine for a front load washer- If not it can gum up your dispenser badly- take it from someone who knows- I put the grated soap into my food processor with a little of the baking soda and make it sure fine because of this.
ReplyDelete