Recipes and Tips for Healthier Living and Smarter Budgeting

Monday, February 6, 2012

Budget Saver Tip #30: Homemade Laundry Detergent

Well, I finally, finally, finally made that laundry detergent I mentioned back here, which I've been meaning to make for ages.  And the verdict is...I'm hooked with this detergent too! Here are my reasons:

1) It's very inexpensive to make (see the cost breakdown here)--about .05 cents per load,
2) I know exactly what's in it--and there are only 3 ingredients,
3) It will last a long time, since so little of it needs to be used per load, and
4) It makes my clothes smell fresh--just a hint of a scent--without smelling perfumed (which gives me a headache).

The recipe I used is from diyNatural:

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent
Note: I made about 6 times this recipe at once (the amount of soap that would fit in my food processor). But as is, this makes about 32 oz. of detergent.
  • 1 bar of shaved bar soap (I used Ivory and some leftover Zote I had on hand, and I put it through my food processor, which did a perfect job)
  • 1 c. Borax
  • 1 c. washing soda
Mix together thoroughly for five minutes.

That's it!

You only need about 1 Tb. detergent per load, 2 Tb. for a heavily soiled load.

2 comments:

Ashley Miller said...

What exactly is washing soda? And where do I get it?

Katrina said...

You can find it in the laundry section at Wal-Mart, though other stores probably carry it too. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find it the first time I looked for it, either, since I'd never noticed it before, but it was right there on the shelf close to the Borax and is just called Washing Soda.

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