Home Made Laundry Detergent

My home made laundry detergent for around $20!

I was so excited to try this, but being on a budget I decided I would only buy one item a week. That would give me time to use the rest of my Tide Pods and it wouldn't cost me $30 (when the items aren't on sale and no coupons used) at once. I got a little excited when I went to make it and forgot to add the Fels Naptha Soap that I had grated, so I had to go back and add that. Note to self, double check the list before mixing! The blog I got this from said this should last a year. I only do about 4 loads of laundry a week, so this should definitely last a long time! 

Drew picked me up the 5 gallon bucket from Fire House Subs for $2. It smelt like pickles so I bleached it then let it air out. If you get a "Pickle Tub" don't open it in your house. Very bad idea! The only coupon I was able to find for my items was for the Purex Crystals which was for $1 off. I was able to get the Oxi Clean for only $4 on sale at Target! That was the great thing about buying this a little at a time, I was able to find sales on every item I bought. 

I've decided to fill the Purex container and use it for everyday use. The top has lines inside of it and the middle one measures about two Tablespoons! I filled the Purex bottle using a funnel. I definitely need a larger funnel because the soap kept getting stuck. I also refilled the Oxi Clean container and will use it to give samples to my friends. That way they can try this before they commit to making it. 

Since I have a High Efficiency washer and dryer, I put the soap directly into the drum rather than using the drawer. 

Keep in mind that the Oxi Clean and Purex Crystals are optional. I decided to use them because Selah is constantly staining her clothes. As far as the Purex Crystals, they are just for smell. I only bought one small bottle of Purex rather than the large one it calls for. If I decide I want it to smell better then I can always add more later. I get headaches easily and didn't want the smell to be too overpowering. 

How much it makes: The bucket is a 5 gallon bucket and it is about half full. I decided to round down for this estimate. 2 gallons makes 512 tablespoons. So 2 tablespoons per load equals 256 loads!

  

Below are the ingredients minus the soap

I knew I was planning on making this today, so a few days ago I went ahead and grated the soap while Selah was napping. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos. Basically it looked like grated cheese. 

I added a little bit at a time mixing after each ingredient was added

I found that mixing with a whisk was very easy 

My finger is pointing to the line showing how much this recipe makes. 

Next time I will double and make an entire bucket full. 

I had to go back and add the Fels Naptha so below you can see the orange cheese like soap

Ingredients: (Click the link that says Coupon and it will take you to a coupon to print)

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle. Cost me around $3

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle. $3 Coupon

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (optional) $4

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Fels Naptha- Found in the detergent aisle. $0.98 each

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the detergent isle and cooking isle. $3 Coupon

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- Found in the detergent aisle (optional) $4 Coupon

The prices are what I paid. 

Directions.

1. Grate Fels Naptha soap with cheese grater 

2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket. (I added a little of each and used a whisk to mix, then repeated) 

3. Use 2 -4 Tablespoons per laundry load and add directly into drum. 

This is the Blog where I found this recipe at thanks to Pinterest!