Have you ever stood in the aisle at Target looking at the price of suds for your duds? After having kids, I found myself in that aisle a lot more. I had a serious Tide addiction. And at $10+ for a bottle, it had my pocketbook in a death grip. OK, maybe not a death grip per se, but it definitively cut into my shoe budget. I had heard of people making their own detergent, but always thought it HAD to be a long, hard process. This past spring I decided to give it a try. Making a batch only took me 15 minutes and the entire start up cost was less than what what one bottle of Tide cost. After using this formula for the past 6 months, I can attest that it works well. My clothes always come out clean.
Materials:
1. Soap (Fels Naptha ~ find it in the laundry aisle. Or you can use Ivory.)
2. Washing Soda (NOT baking soda! You can also find this in the laundary aisle)
3. Borax (Found in ~you guessed it!~ the laundry aisle)
4. Bucket or any sort of large plastic container.
5. Old liquid detergent containers. (Optional, but useful)
2. Washing Soda (NOT baking soda! You can also find this in the laundary aisle)
3. Borax (Found in ~you guessed it!~ the laundry aisle)
4. Bucket or any sort of large plastic container.
5. Old liquid detergent containers. (Optional, but useful)
Now on to the fun part!
Recipe:
~1/3 bar of Fels Naptha OR one whole bar of Dove. (One of the other NOT BOTH!)
~1/2 cup Washing Soda
~1/2 cup Borax
~1/2 cup Washing Soda
~1/2 cup Borax
1. Grate the soap and place it into a large sauce pan.
2. Add 6 cups of water and place the pan on the stove, medium heat, stirring occasionally until the soap shavings melt.
3. Add the Washing Soda and Borax, stir until they are dissolved. Remove from heat.
4. Pour 4 cups of hot water into your bucket or container.
5. Add the contents of your pan to the bucket. Stir.
6. Add a gallon of water plus an additional 6 cups of water to the bucket and stir.
2. Add 6 cups of water and place the pan on the stove, medium heat, stirring occasionally until the soap shavings melt.
3. Add the Washing Soda and Borax, stir until they are dissolved. Remove from heat.
4. Pour 4 cups of hot water into your bucket or container.
5. Add the contents of your pan to the bucket. Stir.
6. Add a gallon of water plus an additional 6 cups of water to the bucket and stir.
At this point your detergent is finished and can be placed into your old liquid soap containers or you can just leave it in the bucket. Either way, it needs to sit for 24 hours. The liquid starts to gel, and when you use it, it needs to be stirred or shaken to break up the globs. This is why I prefer to use old soap containers, it is easier to shake it up and pour it into the wash.
Use 1/2 cup of soap per load.
This soap does not make many suds, but suds do not clean your clothing, the ingredients do. And this soap leaves your clothing clean with very little scent. If you prefer some scent, you can add 1/2 to 1 ounce of your favorite essential oil. Lavender is nice.
Total cost for materials?
~Fels Naptha soap: $1.
~Washing Soda: $4.
~Borax: $3.
Keep in mind that after making this recipe you will still have plenty of washing soda, soap, and borax left over. even after making this 3 times, you will only have to buy another bar of soap, there will still be a ton of washing soda and borax left over!
~Fels Naptha soap: $1.
~Washing Soda: $4.
~Borax: $3.
Keep in mind that after making this recipe you will still have plenty of washing soda, soap, and borax left over. even after making this 3 times, you will only have to buy another bar of soap, there will still be a ton of washing soda and borax left over!
The cost per load of this soap is less than .03 per load!
Happy cleaning!
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