A year ago I would not have labeled myself a "from scratch" type of person, but since all of our food is made by hand from scratch I started looking into other things that I could make at home. I immediately thought of the things I spend the most money on. Tide is currently $17.00 at my local grocery store and we use allot of it! So, why not try and make my own. Saving money isn't the only reason for making your own laundry detergent (although the savings are tremendous) I also love how environmentally friendly it is - no more giant plastic laundry detergent containers. I also know exactly what is going into my soap and therefore what is resting on my skin for 12-14 hours a day. And the best part is...IT WORKS!
WARNING: Borax is a sodium product, but when ingested into the human body it becomes Boric Acid which is extremely toxic to our bodies. Do not get Borax into your eyes or ingest it in any way. When making your homemade laundry detergent, keep your mixing area clear of children and pets. Keep ingredients stored safely in a locked cabinet with other cleaning supplies.
Laundry Detergent
1 bar soap, grated (I used a lavender soap)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
water
Laundry Detergent
1 bar soap, grated (I used a lavender soap)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
water
5 gallon bucket
Start by grating your bar soap with a cheese grater. Then fill a medium sized pot with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Slowly add a little bar soap at a time stirring until you have added all the bar soap and it's completely dissolved. Fill your five gallon bucket half full with hot water. Add the melted soap, laundry soda and borax. Stir well. Fill the rest of the bucket with hot water, stirring again. Then cover and let sit overnight. The consistency will turn from a cloudy liquid to a cloudy thick mixture. If you find it clumping into Jello-like balls, that's okay. You can either stir it as needed or just add the clumps into the wash. They'll blend in with the wash and it will not affect your laundry load.
Start by grating your bar soap with a cheese grater. Then fill a medium sized pot with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Slowly add a little bar soap at a time stirring until you have added all the bar soap and it's completely dissolved. Fill your five gallon bucket half full with hot water. Add the melted soap, laundry soda and borax. Stir well. Fill the rest of the bucket with hot water, stirring again. Then cover and let sit overnight. The consistency will turn from a cloudy liquid to a cloudy thick mixture. If you find it clumping into Jello-like balls, that's okay. You can either stir it as needed or just add the clumps into the wash. They'll blend in with the wash and it will not affect your laundry load.
Add 1 cup per load for medium to large sized loads.
**For front loading, high efficiency washers, use 1/2cup of detergent. If you find your clothes not as fragrant, you may use 1 cup without harming your machine.
Price Breakdown
I purchased all of my products at HEB in the health & cleaning sections. I purchased the 5 gallon bucket & lid at Home Depot. These ingredients will make 35 gallons of laundry detergent which is 560 loads of laundry all for $8.19 (excluding the bucket). This works out to 1.5 cents per load!!!!
7 Bars of Soap $2.99
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda $2.19
20 Mule Team Borax $2.99
5 Gallon Bucket $2.60
Thank you very much for sharing you method of how to make home made laundry detergent soap, definitely I will try to make it. Happy New Year and lots of blessings!!!
ReplyDeleteI washed several loads today & they turned out great! I hope you enjoy the savings! Happy New Year to you as well!
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