Since I haven't been working a full time job in quite awhile, I've been trying to be creative with ways to save money! I hate saving money... I like spending it! I know we all do, but really, I get some sort of satisfaction from shopping that is un-met by other pastimes. However, whenever I get to spend money in order to save money, that makes me happy too! Like today, I decided to try my hand at making laundry detergent. I figured, I'd get to shop to find the ingredients, but the husband should be happy because it will save us a LOT of money in the long run! ** Note: I did use this for several loads of laundry, and I'm very pleased! Everything seemed super clean, and smelled like a fresh breeze :) It has a very light scent, so if you like your laundry to have more of a scent, I'd add laundry crystals, but for me, it was perfect! **
Ingredients:
1 bar Fels Naptha
3 cups Arm & Hammer washing soda
3 cups Oxyclean (or store brand equivalent)
4 cups Borax
1 pound box baking soda
Grate the Fels Naptha either in a food processor, or with a hand or rotary grater. I used a cheese grater for mine. It worked great, and then it looked like this: (
and don't worry, it will dissolve in the water!)
Next, mix in washing soda, Oxyclean, borax, and baking soda. Make sure you evenly mix all ingredients. You are now ready to use it! Use only one tablespoon per load, as this recipe is very concentrated! Hope you enjoy the spending to save as much as I did!!!
I've been meaning to do something like this, but I haven't been able to find the washing soda anywhere. Where did you get yours?
ReplyDeleteAmy - I found washing soda at the Walmart in Robinson - they had a ton, and it was on sale!
DeleteAwesome Kristi....how many loads do you fiqure you will get out of it...did you figure out what it cost to make?
ReplyDeleteCherie... I have no idea how to estimate how many loads I'll get, but I'll keep you update for sure! My purely math-based guess: 16 tbs. to a cup; this yielded about 12 cups, so approx. 192 loads using 1 tbs per load? I've decided to keep a tally on the side of the container, so I'll let you know for sure!
DeleteAs for the cost:
- Baking Soda: $.49 at Aldi
- Washing Soda: $2.50 at Walmart - using 1/3 of box = $.83
- OxyBlast: $5 for two at Giant Eagle - using 1/3 of 2 containers = $1.67
- Fels Naptha: $.97 at Walmart
- Borax: $3.38 at Walmart - Using 1/3 of box = $1.69
So total for this batch: = $5.65 -- Not too bad if I really get mroe than 150 loads!!!