Homemade Laundry Detergent

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A while back, I decided to take the leap and make my own laundry detergent.  I had heard of people doing it but I always thought that it was just too much effort.  But after I realized the ridiculous amount of laundry that I do, I came to the conclusion that I was really wasting money on store bought detergent.  And for just a small amount of effort, I can make my own detergent that costs less, lasts longer, and cleans just as well as expensive bottled detergent.  I was amazed at how easy it is.  
 
 
If you want to take the leap and make your own (I HIGHLY recommend it), here is what you need:
 
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
2 bars Fels Naptha
 
 
That’s it!  You can find all these items in your local grocery store in the laundry section.  I bought mine at Harris Teeter.
 
Grate the Fels Naptha soap using a cheese grater.  Use the side of the grater that will produce the smallest particles.
 
 
Take the grated soap and run it through your food processor to grind it down into a fine powder.
 
 
Mix together with the 2 cups Borax and 2 cups Washing Soda. 
 
DONE!
 
(Make sure to mix it a bit better than I did here!  
You want the color to be uniform throughout so you get an equal amount 
of all the ingredients per spoonful).
 
It only takes a teaspoon to do an entire load!  I calculated it out and it comes out to approximately $5.59 per batch, depending on the price of your items.  My items were Fels Naptha ($3.38), Borax ($5.39) and Washing Soda ($3.49).  You don’t use the whole box of Borax and Washing Soda so you can save those for future batches.
 
If you do 4 loads/week this will last you 6 months and will cost you approximately 6 cents per load!  You can’t beat that!   I do WAY more than 4 loads a week but I wasn’t sure what the “average” is.  It all depends on how dirty and stinky your family is 🙂
 
I have read that you can use Fels Naptha to make a paste for stain removal.  I have not tried this yet but it is next on my list.
 
Do you make your own detergent?  How much money do you think you are saving?
 
Don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for my Fabulous Friday link party!

 

11 Comments

  1. I am thinking I am going to give this a try soon!I buy laundry soap at Costco when it is on coupon and it works out to 9 cents a load. Angie xo

  2. New follower from blog hop! I make my own detergent too. I actually did a review on it when I started my blog a couple of weeks ago. I use the Downy Unstoppables to give it a better smell. Look forward to following you!

    naptimeshopper.blogspot.com

  3. funny my friends were just talking about making this today thanks for sharing post I will definetly share with them

  4. This is awesome! I was looking for an easy recipe to make my own detergent. I shared this on FB with all my peeps too.

    Regina @ thecrazynutsmom.com

  5. I’ve been making this for awhile. It’s just me so you can imagine ow long it lasts. I don’t know for sure, but I’m going to make a note next time and see. Thank you for sharing, I didn’t know to make the FelsNaptha a fine powder.

  6. This is so much easier than I imagined! Do you know if you can use it in high effiency machines?

  7. I was just having a conversation with a few friends last week about home made laundry detergent and they were on the fence about the savings. I think it is a wonderful way to keep things little bit more natural! Thanks for sharing!

    Take care,

    Trish

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