DIY Laundry Detergent

...or show I say washing powders?  

Whatever you call 'em, I made some today, and I think it's gonna work out pretty well!

Since my dishwasher detergent failed, I have some of the basic ingredients for laundry detergent leftover, so I thought I'd try my hand at it and see how it goes.  I found a few recipes through Pinterest and decided that most of them have pretty simple ratios, so I just decided to wing it and combine my favorite recipes. 

Here's what I used:

(all of these items can be found on the laundry aisle)

Cost?

Washing Soda $3.24, Borax $3.38, Fels-Naptha bar &0.97, OxyClean $6.99 (I got mine for 2.99 with Register Rewards at Walgreens)

You are only supposed to only use 2 tablespoons of this stuff per load (!!!), so each batch can wash 40+ loads of laundry.

I spent a little over 10 bucks, and can probably make at least 5 batches from the powdered ingredients.

So with a few additional bars of Fels-Naptha, that's around $14 for 200 loads of laundry!

It will not suds up like "normal" detergent, and it doesn't have a strong scent.  If you want extra scent, you can add Purex Crystals (which will also be a bonus fabric softener) or Downy Unstopables. I probably will do this - just didn't have it on hand today.

First, I grated the bar of Fels-Naptha.

(Jesse paid me no attention while I was in the process of grating. He only saw the end result, and thought it was cheese. Good thing he didn't taste it!)

Then, I added a cup off all three other ingredients.

Stirred to combine.

I've used it twice so far today and it seems to work great. It even removed stains that I was a little skeptical of.

Today has been a cleaning day.

I love Saturday cleaning.

Clean sheets.

Clean comforter.

Clean kitchen.

Clean dog bed.

Clean floors.

Clean bathroom.

Soon to be clean clothes.

:)