Frugal Living Series! Part 1: Laundry Detergent

Right now I'm really learning what it is like to live on less! With Ben going back to school and cutting his hours at work drastically I've experimented with a new (to me) idea: Making my own laundry detergent!

There are a few other ways I'm going to cut costs, so I've started my own "Frugal Living Series!" Enjoy!!

UPDATE on January 14, 2010:
A year supply of this
laundry detergent
for our family costs under $10!!!!

Here is the recipe:

Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:
1 bar- Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup- Washing Soda (different from BAKING soda)
1/2 cup- Borax
1- 5 gallon bucket with lid

Directions:
Grate Fels Naptha Soap bar into a pot or bowl using the large holes on grater.
Pour 4 cups VERY hot (boiling) water over soap.
Whisk until all of the soap has dissolved. (5 minutes)
Put in bucket and fill bucket half way with hot tap water.
Add 1/2 cup borax and whisk to blend well.
Add 1 cup of washing soda and whisk to blend well (this will be very foamy).
Fill bucket to top with tap water and whisk again to blend well.

Let sit overnight. By morning it will be like jello.
Blend it with your hands or whisk it back into liquid form.

This is a concentrate so use 1/8 cup detergent and 1/8 cup water per load.
You may want to fill a gallon container 1/2 water, 1/2 concentrate and use a 1/4 cup of that per load. If you do this, just be sure to shake the gallon container well before each use.

Makes enough for 320 loads and costs about $5.00 (not including the bucket). If you have a high efficiency washer, use 1/8 cup per load- that's 640 loads!

*Tips from me!

- All the ingredients you need will be in the laundry aisle. I bought everything at Winco (including the bucket). To make the start up even cheaper you can use a bucket you already have or can snag one from the bakery at the grocery store (I've heard they do this) or ask around to see if anyone has one they are wanting to get rid of.

- Once you've bought the Washing Soda and Borax you'll have enough for multiple batches of detergent! So, when you go to make it again you'll only need to buy the Fels Naptha Soap (which is only about $2.00!!!)

- I've been using this detergent for about a month. I can't tell a difference in quality compared to the Kirkland powder detergent I was using previously. If anything, the homemade seems better cause it was made with LOVE ...and cost soooo little!!

- My mom wants me to start making this for her and she said it was okay with her if I up the price to make a few bucks. Sweet! Thanks mom! Win-Win-Win.

- If you don't want to go through the hassle of making the first batch but want to try it out- let me know and I'll give you a sample.

I hope this helps someone else out there!!

This gives me encouragement:

"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power."

From Sister Julie Beck's talk, "Mother's Who Know" from the November 2007 Ensign.




Next experiment in Frugal Living...




...Homemade Dishwashing Detergent!!!! stay tuned. . .