"Make it Yourself" Laundry Detergent

A friend of mine Melissa, has a family of 7. I went to her one day looking for some advice, how do i cut my monthly spending and bills? I knew if she could do it. I could to... So she told me she made he own laundry detergent. I kinda laughed in disbelief not really realizing you could do it yourself. So she sent me home with a bottle. Man was that stuff amazing! She told me " Go check it out on the Dugger Family Website" and get the recipe! 

Making your own laundry detergent has so many benefits! Some of those are; 

1.Its cheap! Each load can be about $.01 per load or less if you use sales and coupons! Compered to $.22 for the average name brand detergent. When you buy manufactured detergents you have no idea whats in there.

2.They put tons of complicated names and dyes which a lot of people are allergic to. Making your own laundry detergent can be like buying a container of DREFT for 3/4 the price. For all of those parents out there, we all know Dreft is awesome for your kids, but also very pricy.

3.You know what is in it!! It is natural!

4. I love the smell of Fels- Naphtha, It has a natural lemon clean smell to it. I have also tried Ivory and both work just the same! Actually, I find that home made laundry detergent makes my whites whiter and brighter!

5. These recipes are HE (high efficiency). Companies actually put in a chemical to make your cloths lather. And what they have on the shelf named "HE" actually all they are doing is taking that additive out.

To each is their own. Some people like the smell of tide, and if you are wanting to make your own, add a bottle of tide into your "Make it Yourself" Batch it will smell great but last you MONTHS! If you are really wanting to save your money making your own laundry detergent is the best way to go! You can make 10 Gallons of detergent for around $7.00 and most of that is a one time fee. I am going to add links to other recipes as well as post them. Some people don't need 10 gallons. 

Check them out below:

Here is the recipe:

• 1 Cup  Arm& hammer Washing Soda $3.49
• 1 Cup Borax (20 mule team) $3.59
• 1 Bar of Soap (ivory, Fels-Naptha, lever 2000)
•  5 Gal bucket w/ Lid
• Long Spoon

* Do not use a soap with lotions or heavy perfumes, The smell will become unbearable and to strong and the lotions wont set the detergent.*

1.Grate the bar of soap, Place it into a medium sauce pan with 6 cups of water, Bring to a boil and cook until there are no more Chunks.

2. Fill up your bucket 1/2 way with hot tap water.

3. Add your 1/2 cup of Borax and 1 cup washing soda

4. stir until it is dissolved.

5.When your soap is melted. Poor into the bucket. Stir.

6. Place lid on top and then let sit for 24 hours.

It should turn out like a gel. When you are ready to pour into your containers grab your hand held blender and blend and stir until it is even (you can even use a drill and stir attachment)

When filling up your container, Fill 1/2 way and add hot water to the rest.

Each load put in a 1/4 cup

Laundry Detergent Break Down: Do the math on your own laundry detergent. How much does it cost? How many loads per bottle? Is it HE? 

I did the math on our "HE" ALL we had been using for about 3 years. $11.39  a month (Sometimes more!) turns out to be $820.08 over 3 years. Okay to me that's pretty ridiculous! That is $273.36 A YEAR! WOW! I can think of so many things that are $270 a year! I could put that into my sons bank account, by the time he is 18 there would be $4920.48 ... Great to me so far! 

             Example:

All $11.29 – 96 loads per bottle, in one week if you end up doing 20 loads. $.11 x 20 = $2.35 x 4= $9.40 Compared to $.01 x 20= $.20 per week x 4 = $.80 a month!   

For Powdered Laundry Detergent 

Powdered Laundry Detergent 

•  1 ivory (fels-naptha) soap bar 
•  1 cup washing soda
•  ½ cup borax

Grate soap or microwave for 1 min or until powdered and gritty. Mix all ingredients together. Use a TBSP each load. Yield is 40 loads.

 *** pictures to be uploaded at a later date.***

Note: I have NO affiliation with any of the websites, TM names or stores listed above.