Just My o"PIN"ion On Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ever since I announced that I started making my own laundry detergent, I've had tons of people ask for me the recipe and even more people wanting to know what I thought of it. So, I thought this was perfect for this week's Just My o"PIN"ion post!
I went with the simple recipe from DIYNatural.com because it was SO SIMPLE! Just 3 ingredients and a little elbow grease!

Supplies:
Did I say just 3 ingredients? You will need Borax, Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and I chose Fels-Naptha as my bar soap but you can chose between others. You will also need a grater, a container to store it in, a measuring spoon and I use my food processor.

Directions:
Basically you grate your bar soap into a container. Add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of the washing soda and combine until well blended. What I do next is stick it in my food processor. I wanted mine to be really fine and well blended. The food processor did the trick! Next time I am going to see if I can just cut the bar soap into bigger pieces and then see if it will grate it for me! Then just add 1 tbsp. per load of laundry. I might add a little more if it's a really dirty load but otherwise I've stuck to those measurements.

My Experience:
I LOVE this stuff! It is well worth the elbow grease of grating the bar soap! Mine has lasted me for well over a month and I am just now out. So I think it lasts a little longer than my big $15.00 jug of Tide that I used to use. On average, you will be saving $0.16 per load! That little bit adds up when you use it over time. Think about it! I average 2 loads a day, so that is about $0.32 a day. Over a year, you will save over $100.00 my choosing homemade! Plus, it cleans very well and I would choose it over store brand any day. I still use my stain remover for stains but I am looking into a homemade recipe for that too! I'm hooked. I don't think I'll ever go back. On another note...my children and husband have very sensitive skin and even eczema. This laundry soap doesn't bother anybody. It is extremely gentle that I even clean the babies clothes with it. Have I said I LOVE this stuff?

I hope you give it a shot. There are many other recipes, including liquid soap recipes as well that you can try. You can find more information about HE front load washers in the above DIY link. Please know that I use an older top load washer so I have no experience with the fancier models!

I'm off to go make a double batch now! Tune in next week for another Just My o"PIN"ion!

Frugal Friday Post- Saving Money In 2012-Homemade Fabric Softener

Photo Courtesy of: apartmenttherapy.com

As one of my New Year's Resolutions to be more frugal, I am looking for ways to cut costs on home cleaning products. I have shared recipes for Homemade Laundry Detergent and now it's time for DIY Fabric Softener! I just ran out of the store bought softener, so now I am extremely excited to try this out!

Aside from being a natural softener, vinegar also removes soap residue in the washing machine and reduces static in the dryer. You can add vinegar directly to laundry during the rinse cycle or pour vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser of your washing machine.

You can pre-mix your fabric-softening vinegar by using the following recipe:

Homemade Fabric Softener
*1 gallon white vinegar
*20-30 drops essential oil (Lavender, Orange, Lemon and Peppermint(15 drops as it's stronger) are good choices)

Sweet orange brightens and fights stains, lavender offers a calming effect, and peppermint can help fight tough odors on clothing.

Thanks diynatural.com for the recipe and helpful information!

Saving Money in 2012- Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipes And Tips

Photo Courtesy of Rodale.com


In a quest to cut my spending, I am going to be looking for creative/homemade/simple ways of saving money. I have been wanting to make my own cleaners for a long time now and I am finally ready to start! It seems like many of my readers are wanting to do the same thing, so I am going to start with Homemade Laundry Detergent.

There are many recipes you can find and after reading through comments, it looks like there are some tips to help you get the best experience. I am going to share a few recipes and tips to help you start. Please add your own recipes and comments to help us out!

Helpful Tips:

• Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found in the laundry and cleaning aisles.
• For the bar soaps required in the recipes, you could try Fels-Naptha, Ivory soap, and Zote. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps. Most say Fels-Naptha get clothes the cleanest!
  
• You can make large batches of this at once, or smaller quantities.Grab a few empty liquid laundry detergent bottles! They work great for storing the detergent. Just make a big batch and pour in bottles, cap then use as needed–shake before use.
• Use some Oxy-Clean powder with heavily soiled loads or pretreat stains if things are really dirty.
• Don’t be off-put by the consistency. It comes out pretty much like snot. Very goopy!
• Great for hunters as there is no scent!
• Make sure and check your lint trap in your dryer. If you use fabric softener sheets they can cause a buildup and basically clog your trap. To check, clean the trap and then put it under your sink faucet. If the water doesn't go through it's clogged. Just clean it with soap and water and check again! Voila!

*Click HERE for a Fels-Naptha store locator if you are having a hard time locating it!

The Duggar's Laundry Soap Recipe
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!

Comments:
-Whites don't seem like they get white. They seem dingy.
-I make the powdered version — adding a cup of color safe bleach (Purex or Clorox 2) made a huge difference. The whites are white now!

Simple Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

If you’re interested in making your own laundry detergent, my favorite (and the easiest) recipe is for powdered laundry detergent.

1. Grate 1/2 bar Fels Naptha soap (or you can try other soaps) in a food processor.
2. Add 1 cup Borax,
3. 1 cup Washing Soda, and,
4. 1 cup Baking soda.
5. Process until mixed.

That’s it. It takes 5 minutes. Use about 2 tablespoons per full load of laundry. You’ll be surprised at how little detergent it takes to get your clothes clean!

Homemade Laundry Soap Ingredients

• 1 whole bar soap
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup borax
• 3 gallons/4 cups warm water

1. Begin by pouring 4 cups of water into a medium sized pot to boil.
2. While waiting for your water to boil grate as much soap as you plan to use, this can be done by hand or in a food processor.
3. Add grated soap to pot and stir until dissolved fully.
4. Add 3 gallons of warm/hot water to a 5 gallon bucket.
5. Add your pot of soapy brew to the 5 gallon bucket.
6. Add 1 cup of washing soda and stir for 2 minutes with a large long handled strong spoon.
7. Once your washing soda is dissolved and well mixed in, add 1/2 cup of borax and stir for 2-3 minutes to dissolve and mix well.
8. At this point you can add your fragrance if you so desire. We love good smelling things at our house and so I like to add a little extra yummy smell – this time I chose a sandalwood amber fragrance oil.
9. Pop the lid on tight and let it sit overnight.

This is where the magic happens. In the morning you will open your bucket to 3 gallons of gelled glop – it will smell great, it will clean your clothes but the consistency will be a little watery and a gloppy – that is perfectly ok.

Use 1/2 cup per load.