Do it Yourself Laundry Detergent

Finally! I am going to dive into DIY home solutions.  I have been wanting to do this for so long, and since Jason and I just started our home together, I figured this would be the perfect time to start. I am going to start my adventure with laundry detergent.  I love the idea because you know exactly what you are washing your clothes with, you can pick your own scent combinations, but most of all, it is extremely cost effective.  I didn't really how cost effective until I actually dove in and tried it myself...HERE follows my experience. :)

First, I perused Pinterest and other google searches until I found a recipe that matched my need.

1.  Clean smelling laundry.
2.  Stain removal.
3.  Cost effectiveness.
4.  Large amount.
5.  EASY, low commitment. :)

I adjusted the recipe I found because it made 5 gallons and that would last me and my tiny family about 5 years so I chose to adjust to make about a gallon. 

Here is what you need:

2 2lb boxes of Baking Soda

3 5 oz bars of Fels Naptha (or Zote soap, depending on your WalMart)

1 1.3 lb tub of Oxi Clean

1 4lb 12 oz box of Borax  (will only use half)

1 3lb 7oz box of Washing Soda ( will only use half)

1 28 oz Purex Crystals

Note:  The last two ingredients are used for tons of DIY cleaning solutions, so you only need half the box but there is so much to do with the rest of the box!

I went to WalMart to buy my ingredients because my Target did not have them all and I wanted to "One Stop" shop.  Here is my receipt to prove how little all this costs, and I didn't even have any coupons!

Step 1:  Shred the Fels Naptha soap bars.  I used my food processor but you can also hand grate.   BTW this stuff smells absolutely amazing, so clean and fresh, yum.  Don't worry, it cleans off easily, remember, it is just soap. :)

Step 2:  Mix everything else together in a big bucket, I used a new mop bucket. My husband had to step in because it was going to take me forever to get it all mixed, he was excited!

Step 3:  Use a paper cup to pour your mixture into the Purex bottle, this will be your "Everyday Use" container, refill this as needed, fill the cap for each load.  You really only need 1-2 Tablespoons.  I don't have it here but I made a pretty label for my Purex bottle. :)  Pour the rest in gallon jugs or just keep it in your bucket. :)



How easy was that?!

Because I majored in Math and I love saving money I did the calculations on this money saving DIY.

A Tide bottle for 32 loads costs $12.99 at Target, on sale.

A Downy bottle for 120 loads costs $8.99 at Target, on sale.

At these prices 120 loads of Laundry costs $57.70.

All the ingredients (Plus extra unused Borax and Washing Soda) cost me $20.47.

This "Cocktail" of ingredients made a littlre more than a gallon of detergent, at 1-2 tablespoons a load that is 270-280 loads of laundry!!!

Savings = $112.24!