Money Savings Tips & Recipes: Homemade Laundry Detergent

With the new baby coming I am trying to find way to save some money but it doesn't take too much of my time. Plus I see in my future even more laundry than I already do since we will be a family of five! So here is a recipe for laundry detergent that even the "Duggers" use!

This worked out great and only took me about 10-20minutes to make! I tested it on our normal clothes first and then a load of Colin's work clothes and everything came out clean and smelling normal! I think I am in love with this stuff! You buy these ingredients but you hardly make a dent in using them when you make your first five gallon batch!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to pick up: (Got everything at Wal-Mart except the Fels-Naptha they were out so I went to Central Market where it costs more so will keep looking for it to be at Wal-Mart.)

• Borax ($3.38 76oz)
• Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT Baking Soda–$3.24 55oz)
• Fels-Naptha Soap Bar ($1.99 at Central and $.97 at Wal-Mart if they have it in stock. You can one bar or about 5 but for this first batch you only need one)
• 5-gallon bucket with lid (Wal-Mart $5.00)
• 10 gallon milk jugs (or other containers) that have been cleaned and rinsed (the concentrate will disperse more evenly if you go ahead and divide it up. I just used a container I found from Wal-Mart that had a pour spout. Pictured in the picture below)
• OPTIONAL: Essential Oil Drops for fragrance (we did not add this, so I am not sure how much it costs)
 
*As far as how many loads go I am working on getting a total which will be awhile. I have been told around 200+ loads though.

 

 1. Grate the entire bar of Fels-Naptha soap.

2. Put in a pot with 4 cups of hot water. Stir continuously over medium-low heat until all of the soap flakes have dissolved and mleted. (About 10 minutes. Do not let boil or it will start to sud up) It should be slightly foamy with no "chunks" or flakes.

3. Fill your 5-gallon buck half ful of hot water and pur in the soap mixture.

4. Add 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Boraz. Stir. (To stir you need something pretty long. My husband got a wire hanger and bent it to form a heart like shake and put in his drill and used it that way. You could also get a painters stick. You can submerge your hand to get down to the bottom just make sure your fluid isn't too hot before doing that. )

5. Fill the rest of the 5-gallon buck with water until it is fulll and stir again. Cover and let sit overnight. When you open the top up the next day, it should have gelled some and thickened slightly. Stir again.

6. Get your pouring container that you will be using and use a funneel to fill the container. Fill it half way full with the soap mixture from the 5 gallon bucket. Fill the other half with water and shake.

 

*This can be used on HE machines. See below.

Here are washing amount instructions:

1. Shake your container before each use

2. Use 1/4 cup for an HE machine

3. Use 5/8 cup for a regular machine or I just use my cup from my old detergent bottle and fill it to the top. It comes out to be around 2/4 roughly and seems to do the job.

4. Use an added stain remover for tough stains. I also have used a cup of vinegar or a cup of the washing soda.

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try and answer them! Hope you enjoy this savings! You will probably only spend about $15-20 a year on laundry detergent now!