Well Christmas has come and gone and once again my children are happy campers, and I have spent the last 3 days doing my after Christmas sales and cleaning/organizing my house!
My children got a large amount of clothes from Christmas and as always I decided to wash them before I let my kids wear them, but I noticed that my detergent had gone low and I did not have enough to wash even one load with.
This used to be a problem for me, I hated having to go all the way to the store to get detergent week after week spending anywhere from $7-$10. We do a lot of laundry having a dirtball for a son, and from doing daycare in my home. I wanted a better way to do laundry that would not have me spending a ton of money on detergent. That is when I ran across an article about making your own laundry soap, and I decided to give it a whirl!
I tried a couple variations on this detergent until I got it to the right formula for me, this formula is very versatile and can be changed for your families needs! It is also HE efficient!
- Box of Borax
- Box of WASHING soda (I use Arm&Hammer)
- Box of Baking Soda
- Feels Naptha Bar
- Oxi-clean (optional)
- Scent Additive ex. Downy Unstoppables, Gain Fireworks (optional)
- Large Container to hold Detergent
Everything on this list can be found in the detergent section at Wal-mart, the beautiful glass container can also be found at Wal-mart in the canister section. It is a 2lb "jug" and I only paid $9.89 for it! It is very stout and sturdy! I added the ribbon myself with some I had leftover in my craft closet and just hot glued it into place.
The making of this detergent is very simple! All you do is add all the powders together, mix as you add layers, the 1st time I did this I added everything then tried to mix it, it took a lot more muscle and time to get it mixed all the way! whoops!
Then all you need to do is add in your scent, and then grate the feels-naptha bar! This will take some old fashioned muscle, unless you have a food processor with a grater attachment ;)
Viola! You have made your first batch of detergent! Grab a tablespoon and add it to the inside of your detergent jug or you can buy a nifty little table spoon measure from http://rockingreensoap.com/. It comes in handy and has a magnet to stick to your washing machine!
Mini Review
I use 1 tablespoon for small loads and 2 tablespoons for large loads.
Scent additives do not need to be added, this is a personal choice
I only use the small $3.22 tub of Oxi--clean
My son and myself both have severe eczema this is the only soap that does not irritate it
Clothes & Towels softer, no fabric softener needed!
Total cost to make $28 (including jug) This might seem like a large start up cost BUT this batch last me a year!!! compared to paying $7-10 every week to two weeks!
Store Bought over a year total = $240
Homemade over a year total = $28
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