So now on with the laundry detergent. I actually found this on Pinterest. http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent is the actual site. This is her recipe and it is WONDERFUL. Thank you for posting. All of the instructions are on the website to actually make it.
1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle
1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle
1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (This is optional but I highly recommend adding it)
2 (14.1
oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (we chose to do pink
for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels
Naptha)
2 (2 lb)
Boxes of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle (You
could also get 1 4 lb box, we just couldn’t find it when we went)
1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- Found in the detergent aisle (This is 100% optional. Like I said, my laundry detergent must smell good and I really like soft towels)
I have to say the hardest part of this whole thing is actually grating the soap. Use a fine grater and you can grate the soap in about 10 minutes. I only used 1 Purex Crystals but I think I am going to put the 2nd one in.
This whole recipe made a HUGE bucket of detergent. 326.2 Oz (20.3 lbs) to be exact!!!!! Now here is the REALLY interesting part. You only use 1-2 Tablespoons of detergent to wash clothes. 2T = 1oz. :-) That is 326 loads of laundry...... WOW. Now Im going to make it even MORE awesome for you......
| Quantity | Ingredients | Weight | Ounces | Total Price | ||||
| 1 | Box of Borax | 4 lb 12 oz | 76 | $3.52 | ||||
| 1 | Arm and Hammer Washing Soda | 3 lb 7 oz | 55 | $3.74 | ||||
| 1 | OxyClean | 3 lb | 48 | $1.99 | ||||
| 2 | Fels Naptha | 14.1 oz | 28.2 | $1.97 | ||||
| 1 | Purex Crystals | 55 oz | 55 | $4.50 | ||||
| 2 | Arm and Hammer Baking Soda | 4 lbs | 64 | $2.07 | ||||
| 326.2 | $17.79 | |||||||
| Total/Load | 0.05 |
Yep... you read that right. It cost 17.79 for all the ingredients that I used. (Thanks Costco!) It made 326.2 oz of detergent. 17.76 / 326.2oz = 0.05 cents per oz. Remember what I said above? It takes 1-2T to wash clothes? 2T=1oz ...... 1 oz = 0.05 :-)
Now ..... Im going to show you what I WAS Spending!!!! This really hurts.....
| # of Loads | oz /load | Amt / OZ | ||||||
| 1 | Gain Liquid Detergent | 170 oz | 170 | $15.00 | 110.00 | 1.55 | $0.09 | $0.14 |
| 1 | Downy Fabric Softner | 170 | 170 | $13.00 | 197.00 | 0.86 | $0.08 | $0.07 |
| 1 | OxyClean Tab | 19 | 19 | $6.99 | 18.00 | 1.06 | $0.37 | $0.39 |
| $0.59 | ||||||||
| $34.99 |
Yep.... .59 cents per load. We do about 10 loads of laundry per week. That is almost 6.00 per WEEK!!!!! Doesn't sound like much till you look at it like this.....
5.90 * 52 = 306.8 / year - Holy Cow!!!!!!!!
Home made detergent = .50 * 52 = 26.00 / year. I truly think I can live with those savings :-)
