Homemade Laundry Detergent
The other day I was doing some laundry and noticed I needed to go to the store and buy laundry detergent. When I was thinking about everything I needed for laundry. I remembered back when I was in high school my mom and step dad would make their own laundry detergent. I loved it so much that I requested they make me some when I left for college. They made me a big container full- it lasted me the whole year! The laundry detergent smelt so good and everyone would go on and on about how it smelt.
Long story short after my first year away at college I decided to move back to my home town and just go to the community college. I was still trying to figure everything out and totally forgot about that laundry detergent. This whole time I’ve been buying laundry soap from the store every couple of weeks when I go grocery shopping.
If you’re anything like me and you have children, then you’re probably doing loads of laundry all day every day. Even if you don’t have children you might even still be doing loads of laundry on a daily. Let’s be honest sometimes we all get behind on that.
So, when I thought about the detergent I called my mom to ask her all about it. Boom! The recipe to the homemade detergent ended up in my hands. Within, minutes I left to head to the store to get all the items I needed. I spent close to $30 on all the supplies. Which the recipe should last me close to a year. I usually buy the 138 FL OZ liquid detergent which I’d end up having to buy every few weeks. That itself cost around $17 which that can add up quick. In my opinion I’m saving money in the long run. All of the items needed you should be able to find them all in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store.
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Items Needed:
- 1 box of Borax (65oz)
- 1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (55oz)
- 1 box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (4lb)** Use 2 cups out of the baking soda**
- 1 Scent Booster Crystals (24 oz). I used Arm & Hammer Clean Sensation( It’s your preference)
- 1 box of OxiClean (5 lb)
- 3 bars of Fels-Naptha (my mom used Zote Soap as well. I just used the Fels-Naptha) -So again your preference
- Cheese Grater
- Container
Directions:
Grate the bars of Fels-Naptha or Zote Soap or even both into a large bowl or container of some sort. Pour a small amount of the OxiClean in that bowl just to keep the pieces from sticking together. Mix that up.
Next, either get a bigger container or even a trash bag. I used a trash bag just so I could mix everything really good. If you use a container just grab a wooden spoon to mix everything. My parents would use some power tool. Use whatever you prefer.
But you’ll take the rest of the items and pour them into the trash bag or container of some sort make sure you add the grated soap as well. If using a trash bag just tie off the top and shake the mixture all up. When you’re ready to pour the laundry detergent into the container just cut a small hole at the bottom of the trash bag so it doesn’t pour out so fast.
After you pour into the container of choice it is ready to use. You only need 2 TBSP for a small load or 3 TBSP for a large load. I grabbed the cup from the OxiClean container and filled it up with 2 TBSP and drew a line then the 3 TBSP drew a line for the larger load. When you’re done doing all of that your detergent is ready to use.
Hope you enjoy- if you have any questions feel free to ask.
