Homemade Laundry Detergent

So I’ve been on a DIY/Make My Own cleansers kick lately, and since I’ve neglected my blog and all of you for so long, I’m kind of hoping a couple of handy homemade tutorials will grant me some grace; even just a little.

I've been looking at Homemade Laundry Detergent recipes for some time now. It's just been one of the many things I WANT to do, but neglect to make a priority. And I have to admit, it all felt a little overwhelming and out of my league. But alas, took the plung and purchased the ingredients. YEP, 3 whole ingredients! Wow, that was hard!

Ingredients:

¼ cp Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

2tbsp Borax

¼ Bar Fels Naptha Soap

Price Breakdown

55oz Arm & Hammer Washing Soda- $3.24

76oz Borax- $6.46

Fels Naptha Soap- 97¢

At ¼ cp per batch, the Washing Soda will make 27.5 batches of Detergent, costing 12¢/batch.

At 2tbsp per batch, the Borax will make 76 batches of Detergent, costing 9¢/batch.

Using ¼ bar per batch, the Fels Naptha will make 4 batches of Detergent, costing 24¢/batch.

Our grand total comes out to be an astounding 45¢/batch!!! And wait, it gets even more ridiculous because at ¼ cp per load (for HE machines), this batch makes enough Detergent to do approximately 176.442 loads of laundry!!!

Because I decided years ago to purchase safer, cleaner products for my home, I have been spending $16.99 for a 96 load bottle of Melaleuca’s MelaPower Laundry Detergent for my HE washing machine. Their bottle was costing me about 18¢ a load. However, my Homemade Laundry Detergent is only costing me 002¢ a load! IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? Why yes, yes it is! According to Google (and Google knows EVERYTHING), the average American family does about 400 loads of laundry per year. At 15¢ a load, this would cost $60 a year. However, at 002¢ a load, you will spend only $1.00 a year on laundry detergent. Did you catch that?! $1.00 a year on laundry detergent!!! So, have I convinced you yet? Are you ready to save some money? Here are step by step instructions to make your own Homemade Laundry Detergent.

1. Gather your ingredients/materials:

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

Borax

Bar of Fels Naptha Soap

Cutting board, knife, & grater

Sauce pan & stirring spoon

Large bucket (with lid if possible)

2. Divide your Fels Naptha into 4 equal parts

3. Grate 1/4^th of the bar and store the remaining 3/4^th in an air tight container.

Put your grated soap and 1 cup of water in a medium pan, cooking on medium heat. Stir constantly until the soap is completely melted. You don’t want any chunks left behind.

4. Pour 10 cups of water into your large bucket.

Add your melted Fels Naptha, ¼ cp Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, and 2tbsp Borax to the water. After mixing well, add another 10 cups of water to your large bucket mixture.

5. Cover with lid (or clear wrap if your container doesn’t have a lid, like mine), and let it sit overnight.

6. The next day it will be thick and have a jello consistency. Stir well to soften mixture and allow pouring into containers. It will be clumpy but mix as well as possible.

7. Fill containers half full and fill the rest of the way with water. (I used my old Melaleuca containers because after all, going out and buying new containers would destroy my $1/year laundry budget. And believe me, the hubby is rather happy with the new Detergent price tag.)

To save myself time on future batches, I also printed the ingredients onto an address label and attached it to the back of my containers J

8. Give your bottle a good shake and go start a load! Use ¼ cup for HE machines and 5/8 cup for regular washers.

9. Enjoy fresh, clean clothes, an abundance of cash, and a happy hubby.

10. Now go here and learn how to make Homemade Softner and Dryer Sheets!!!! 

(Disclaimer- I’m NOT a photographer. Photos are strictly for tutorial purposes and NOT for enjoyment.)

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Five Minute Friday- Story

Most weeks I read my dear friend Tresta’s Five Minute Friday write up and am incredibly blessed. How does she do that in five minutes!? Well, this morning I too took the plunge. Five Minutes? I’ll give it a shot. I can ramble for five minutes! Today’s writing prompt- Story-

GO

We ALL have a story. We are ALL living a story. As I lay in bed last night, I reflect on the day’s visit with my wonderful friends at the lake, the great scare we had as our dear friend and her two boys almost got swept away in the tides that have their own story.  I reflected on the life I’ve lived with these wonderful women and their children- years and years of growing and learning, failing and learning some more, receiving grace, offering grace, learning, always learning. And I see that STORY taking shape. I know someday there will be not only a precise beginning, but a clear climax and an ending. Today I look at my life and think- where are we going… what am I doing? But in the midst of the story, you can’t actually SEE the story can you. While I LIVE the story day in and day out, I cannot fathom where I am in my story or what the outcome will be.  I long for those days of ‘knowing.’ I want to reach into the past and take them back. We knew we would have nap time and we would have snack, and we would watch a 30 minute Veggie Tale. We KNEW! Now, I don’t know what’s happening in my story and it makes life HARD. The unknown is hard.

STOP

And I find I had so much more to say and five minutes goes by far too quickly! Thanks for the prompt Lisa-Jo, and for your faithful five minutes, Tresta!

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