Make Your Own Laundry Detergent!

I have been trying to cut my expenses in half...but with kids Y'all know how hard that can be so I have been researching how to make my own cleaners, health & beauty items, as well as home remedies....Over the next few weeks I will share all the recipes and tips I have found that DO ACTUALLY WORK....and sometimes I have had to "TWEAK" or change a recipe to work for me and my family....I hope these help you as well as they have helped me.
It seemed every recipe I found was for 10 to 12 gallon batches. I don’t know about you but I don't have the space to store that much detergent... so I divided the recipe by 4....this is enough to fill 2 1.17 gallon jugs

Why should I bother making laundry detergent when I could just buy it??? Well I got out my calculator and this SHOCKED me... I usually pay, on average, $8.00 every 1 1/2 weeks for a 75-load bottle of my old detergent. I found that by making the recipe below, I saved about $7.80 for a 75-load bottle of Homemade detergent!!!  A little over a 97% savings!

Hmmmm....PROS:

 A). Less risk of damage to my Washing Machine:
 How?? Simple...The water pumps on High Efficiency,,,"HE" washing machines are damaged and wear out faster if you’re using soap that creates too many suds. So manufacturers “created” special “HE” laundry detergents. BUT...Did you know that regular laundry detergent actually has something added to it to make it suds up?  Soap isn’t able to do that on it’s own.  More suds = more clean, Right???....WRONG!! Which mean their marketing teams know they can sell more at a higher cost so in the end it boosts their bottom line to add that ingredient. Isn't it amazing how public perceptions or misconceptions actually drive the market and increase costs? BOTTOM LINE....they get richer and we get poorer!!

B). Less waste:
Instead of over 34 empty plastic jugs per year in the landfills from my family's detergent usage....I just recycled a couple of my old detergent bottles.They have built in measuring cups and they don’t cost me 0ne extra penny.Cool!  I just saved and rinsed out the last two bottles from my old store-bought laundry detergent when they were empty. 

C). You know what’s in it:
You can add essential oils to your batch to scent it or not, it's up to you..You aren’t adding any chemical sudsing agents, no emulsifiers, no gobbledy gook and no alphabet soup chemical-type names or dyes.

D). It’s easy:
  1) It takes about 20 minutes to prepare. 
  2)There are only 3 ingredients. You can buy them  at Wal~Mart, giant Eagle, or pretty much anywhere.(Stores tend to hide these items on the bottom shelves underneath the fabric softener section. 
 3) All you need is a bar of Fels-Naptha or bar of soap, a box of Borax and a box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda). which will cost you about $7.90

E). It works :
    I have been using this detergent on all our laundry for weeks, now. It works exactly the same as my old detergent.

F). By making my own Laundry detergent I only pay approximately $0.20 vs $8 for a 75 load bottle    of detergent.....Now let's break down the actual costs and savings over a 1 yr period......52 weeks divided by 1 1/2 weeks(how often I bought    LD)=34.5 weeks...
   to calculate the cost to buy laundry detergent for a year I  multiplied 34.5 weeks X $8.00   =$276.00....YIKES!!!
VS
   making my own at $0.20 X 34 weeks =  $6.90.....for a yearly savings of $269.10
  
HMMM....CONS????? ....there are none!!!

.
DIY Laundry Detergent

Makes(2) 1.17 gallon bottles of laundry detergent (75 loads each@1/4 cup per load)

Ingredients:
    1/4 bar of Fels Naptha or bar of soap
    2 Tablespoons Borax powder
    1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda)

Instructions:
1) Cut Fels Naptha or bar of soap into 4ths(store the extra 3 in a Zip~Loc bag for your next 3 batches).

2) Grate the 1/4 Fels Naptha Bar or bar of soap into medium shreds.

3) Put grated Fels Naptha or bar of soap and 1 cup of water into a pot and melt over medium-low heat, stirring   constantly. Continue cooking until all the soap has dissolved. It will be a little sudsy, but no chunks of  soap should remain.

4) Pour 2 1/2 quarts (10 cups) of water into a large container or bucket

5) Add the cooked soap mixture, Borax and washing soda.

6) stir it blending all the ingredients.

7) Add 2 1/2 quarts more (10 cups) water.

8) Stir again. You'll notice a few suds on the top of your stirred soap.

9) If you have a lid for the container you're mixing this in, just put the lid on it and let it set overnight.I mixed mine in a bucket and ended up transferring it to another container with a lid, before setting it aside for overnight.

10) The next morning, your soap will have thickened and gelled considerably. Stir it up and then you're ready to transfer it into two laundry bottles for    your use.

11) Divide the soap evenly between the two 1.17 gallon laundry bottles you've saved. They'll be about half full. (If you're using empty milk jugs or some other size container, the ratio is one part soap to one part water. Just fill the container you're using half full with your DIY soap and then finish filling with water.)

12) Finish filling each bottle with water.

13) Shake the bottles vigorously to mix and you're ready to wash laundry.

14) It takes 1/4 cup per load.

15) Give the bottle a shake before each load, to make sure nothing has separated and it's mixed well.