Homemade Laundry Detergent

My Homemade Laundry Detergent Project

Let me start out by saying a HUGE thank you to Jamie at Being Creative.  Within hours of being introduced to http://www.pinterest.com/ I stumbled upon this recipe and felt a HUGE need to give it a try.  I am very OCD with washing clothes.  My boys and I both have dry skin and skin allergies so before I can even remember I have had an OCD with not wearing clothes more than 1 time.  That includes pjs, jeans, etc!!  So if I can find a way to save money in this area I'm all about it.

This recipe is CHEAP and very effective.  I'll include the recipe I used but you can also reference Jamie's blog for her recipe.  I only made two slight adjustments and I'll note them below.  I am including a few more pictures for you.  This project took me a total of 20 minutes to make. 

All of my ingredients cost me $17.88.  If this last as long as Jamie says this is a HUGE savings for me.  I spend about $10 per month on detergent.  Jamie says this will last 6-9 months with doing 5-6 loads of laundry a week.  She states you only need 1 tablespoon, but I used 2.  I have a front loading machine and I tend to jam pack it full.  So it might last me only half the time but even if so its still a savings for me. 

So lets get started!!!!!!!

First, the recipe:
1 4lb 12oz box of Borax
1 4lb box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Washing Soda
3 bars of Fels-Naptha Soap (I also used a bar of the lavendar bar soap)
1 container of 3 lb Oxi Clean, I purchased the stain fighting kind
Jamie's receipe suggest 3.5lb oxi clean and she also said it was optional.  I felt this was a must for me due to having two boys and I'm a huge oxi clean fan. 

Mixing it is easy, I would suggest having a very large bucket to mix it in.  The powder does "kick up" so pour it slow and close to the bottom.  I would also suggest doing it outside if possible. 

These are some of my ingredients.  I forgot to take a picture before I got started of all of them. The soap comes in a bar I just cut it for easy shredding.

As you can see I started to shred the soap with a hand pealer but thought that would take me forever  So I pulled out my Ninja food processor.  It grated it down really fine which I prefer.  The Fels-Naptha actually has a very nice smell. 

I wanted a little bit of a lavender scent in my mixture so I added this small bar from a local soap shop. 

Bar soap all grated!

I realized real quick that I was going to need a large bucket to mix everything in.

My little helper, he liked using the Ninja to shred the soap.

Here is my finished project.  A nice little scoop came in my container of oxiclean, bonus!!

My next project is going to be to cut vinyl letters with my Cricut to label my container.  ;-)  I will also be trying the dish washer soap she has on her blog.  I already did 3 loads of laundry and am VERY happy with it.  I do still use fabric softener which I would encourage if you like a little more softness to your clothes.  I use Downy which is only $3.99 for the original at most stores and last 1-2 months. 

NOTE:  For front loading machines its suggested to put the detergent in the barrel however I used it both ways and it seems to be fine.