As I have mentioned before, I am a big fan of saving money. When my husband and I got married, I took stock of where I was spending money that I could easily cut down, and laundry detergent was one area that I tackled right away. One of the most convenient advantages to me of making my own laundry powder is that I honestly have gone over a year and a half without having to buy detergent at the store. The boxes of Borax and washing soda pictured above are the same ones I bought originally, and they still have about two batches left in them! I have just recently (yesterday, actually) purchased more bars of soap but I was able to get them on sale and with a coupon. :)
Start up costs for me were the boxes of Borax ($3.99 at Meijer), Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not to be confused with Baking Soda! $2.99 at Meijer), Dial bar soap ($1.15 for a pack of three, the ones pictured above are a package of 8 bars that cost me $2.60 after sale and coupon), a hand held grater ($1 at a dollar store), and a measuring cup (already on hand).
For those of you interested in reading an article about homemade laundry detergent and how to make it, check out this website. The detergent the author is making is liquid so if you prefer that, go ahead and follow his directions. I used to use store bought liquid detergent, but when deciding to make my own, I decided that for me, powder would be easier to make and store afterward. I have a friend who makes her own liquid detergent who has commented on it being lumpy and separating. To each their own. :)
My recipe is simple(that's why I like it!):
1c Borax
1c Washing Soda
1 bar of soap, grated*
*I pictured the hand held grater because the first batch I did, I used the cheese grater I already owned and had trouble getting the soap out afterward. This way, it makes less of a mess(I grate the bar right into the measuring cup), and I don't have to worry about cleaning up the grater since it's only use is for my laundry soap.
Mix the ingredients together into some sort of storage container. I used a locking plastic container I already had on hand and it works very nicely. One other reason I like the hand held grater is that I use it to stir everything together as well.
That's it! You've made your very own laundry powder. I have a measuring spoon that I keep right with the container. You only need 1 tablespoon of the powder per load. You can use more on heavily soiled laundry, but I personally have never had a problem only using one tablespoon for normal loads.
I personally do not own a HE washer, but from articles I read while doing my initial research to start making this, it is completely okay to use this in HE washers. As always though, double check by doing your own research.
A few notes on this blog: There are many different ways to make your own laundry soap. I know a lot of people use other bars of soap. I personally went with the cost when I started, and since I had no problems with Dial soap, I chose to stay with it. I have read about concerns with using colored bars of soap so I have stayed as close to white as possible. Also something to keep in mind is that this kind of laundry soap just does not suds up or foam as much as store bought detergents so do not feel as if it's not doing it's job.
You may have noticed the jug of white distilled vinegar pictured with my laundry soap. This was done intentionally because it is something I use on a regular basis with my laundry. For normal loads, such as my clothes and loads of towels, I do not use anything other than my laundry soap. However, dear husband's socks tend to, well, stink after he spends all day working in them. After researching online, I tried adding some white distilled vinegar to his clothes when washing, and voila! The smell is gone and his socks smell fresh. I am continually amazed by the power of vinegar and use it often. :)
I know this is a long post, but on a final note, I have found a way to cut laundry costs even more.
Before getting married, I got sick of spending so much money on fabric softeners and dryer sheets. Then I actually started researching and realized you're not supposed to use both at the same time so I was already wasting money from the start! Even though only doing one at a time cut costs, I started hearing about these dryer balls and how they eliminated your need for dryer sheets because they agitate and fluff your laundry in the dryer by their bouncing around. I had vaguely heard mention of people using tennis balls in their dryer for the same effect so when it came time to do our wedding registry, I threw a few sets of dryer balls on the list figuring what better way to try something than free.
We got married a year and a half ago, and we are still using the same set of dryer balls! That's why the ones pictured are still in the package because we haven't had need for them yet, and we haven't used a single dryer sheet either. Though we got ours as wedding presents, they are about $10 and can be purchased at Bed, Bath, and Beyond where they always have 20% coupons out.
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