Thursday, April 15, 2010

1 of my least favorite tasks...Laundry!

So...for about a week now I have been using my own homemade laundry detergent....and the verdict is in.......FANTASTIC with a capital F!!!!! Seriously.....so super easy to make and CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP which you know I strive to be! :) You use WAY less and I am really convinced it works better than store bought detergent! Here is my "recipe" I found from a daily e-newsletter I get (everydaycheapskate.com) The items were surprisingly easy to find and I have almost a full box of borax and washing soda left since you only use 2cups of each per batch. The only thing you have to purchase for each batch is the bar of soap which runs under $2!

1 5.5oz bar Fels Naptha soap
2 cups washing soda
2 cups borax

***you can find all of these in the laundry aisle @ the grocery store or Walmart, Target,etc.)

Use a cheese grater to finely grate the bar of soap (@ the smart advice of a friend of mine, you should leave this grated soap out on the counter for a couple days to really dry out, then either run it thru a food processor to make it really fine or I just mashed up the shredded pieces thru a colander and it worked great!) Find a container w/ a tight fitting lid and mix in your borax & washing soda.

You will use anywhere from 1-2TBS for a HE front loader or up to 1/4 cup for a standard top loader. If you have really soft water which we do thanks for our softener you will use less, I use about 4TBS per load and it seems to work well!

Happy Washing :)

8 comments:

  1. That is awesome - I will have to try making some. I wanted to come over and say hi. Thanks for following my blog. I am excited to get to know you!

    XOX
    Jen

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  2. I found your blog on the homemade laundry detergent and wondered if you still are using it and if you still love it....?
    Thanks!

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  3. I do still use it & love it! Very happy so far & saving $$! Works great because my girls have sensitive skin and there are no perfumes or dyes!!

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  4. I followed the link you left on MSM. Thanks for leaving it for this recipe. I had made my own laundry soap about a year ago but it was a liquid and had to be stirred quite often or it got lumpy. I like the idea of having a powder so it is less bulk as well.

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  5. very interesting. I, too, came here from MSM. I am out of laundry detergent right now and I think I may try this instead of spending the $$ on buying the liquid right now.

    The only thing I'm wondering is if it dissolves completely - my daughter has sensitive skin and I am very careful what we use in everything. I guess I'll find out :-)

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  6. I have had no problems with it at all! I use a cheese grater to grate the bar of soap on the smallest holes and it comes out perfect! I dont even bother running it thru a food processor or trying to get it any finer than it comes out right from the grater! Thx for visiting my lil ole blog :)

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  7. To make my powder detergent, I cut my Fels Naptha bar into pieces, then I used my 'Magic Bullet' and into turned it to powder in just seconds. Very easy!

    Vicky Cook

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  8. Thanks..I want to give this a try. I am allergic to alot of detergents and have to use Dreft..which is so expensive. Do you think this would be good to use for people who are allergic to most detergents? I use Ivory bar soap so thats what I would use in this mixture. I would like feedback from others who are allergic to detergents to get their opinion.

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