Okay here is the deal, and trust me, before did something about it I complained and ranted and raved and complained some more. The cost of laundry detergent is ridiculous, just sayin’…so is the cost of gas the cost of groceries, the cost of everything!!!
Anyhoo, before I get going and am unable to stop my rants let me tell you what I did!! I made my own laundry detergent!! Yep, I am no longer going to give all my money to the big corporate people that make my laundry detergent for pennies on the dollar, nope I will make it myself! HA!
Here is what I did….First let me introduce to you the cast of characters that helped me make this possible…
There are many recipes on the internet on how to make laundry detergent and they range from liquid to powder. I opted to make the powdered version for two reason, one it was easier to make and two it would take up less space because the liquid makes a lot and they store it in a five gallon bucket. I do not have the room for that in my laundry room! If you like liquid form better, than go for it. I have a friend that makes it liquid form, so it comes down to what ever floats your boat….or laundry…HA!
Anyways, in my handy dandy, older than dirt, food processor I first grated the bar of Ivory soap. Then I chopped it to death with the chopper attachment. As for the soap, my recipe said that you can use any bar soap that you would like. I used ivory for the first time since I was wanting to stick to the recipe word for word, but if you are a girl, like me, that loves her laundry to smell all flowery and such, than go for something with a scent you like.
After I chopped and pulverized the poor bar of soap to smithereens, I added to the food processor a cup of Borax and a cup of Arm & Hammer. Then again, I chopped it until it was a fine power like this.
I use two tablespoons per load of laundry (the recipe said one to two tablespoons) and it works like a charm!! I am so happy! Also, for y’all HE people out there with wonderful Energy Efficient washers like myself, THIS IS SAFE FOR YOUR WASHERS! I did some research before I embarked on this journey to make sure that I would not kill my washer in the effort to save money. The main thing about HE laundry detergents is that they are low-sudsing. They are low-sudsing because HE washers use less water. All the ingredients used to make this detergent are low-sudsing as well. I also have been keeping a very close eye on it to make sure! So in a nut-shell if you follow this recipe, it is safe for HE. Of course, you will have to take that on a leap of faith like myself! All I can say is I have been using this for almost two weeks and I am more than satisfied with the results!!
So are you ready for the cost comparison?? To make this laundry detergent, it cost me:
Borax 76oz box $4.79, 1 cup breaks down to roughly $.19
Arm & Hammer 55oz box $2.79, 1 cup breaks down to roughly $.20
Bar of Ivory Soap $.42
It makes enough detergent for roughly 18 loads and it cost me $.81, which breaks down to $4.5 cents a load! Woo to the hoo!! Also if you do not have teenage boys and feel more confidant with using just one tablespoon of detergent, you will save even more!
I was spending $.27 cents per load or roughly $17 for a bottle of detergent and there are times that I use more than the recommended amount because of the filth and grime that teenage boys laundry seem to come with, so actually the $.27 cents a load was being very generous!
As soon as I run out of auto dish detergent, I am going to try to make that as well!!!
Do you make your own cleaning supplies? If so tell me more, I am looking for anything to cut cost around our household! :o)
