In a family of five, you wash a LOT of clothes and laundry supplies can get pricey. I haven't kept good enough records to truly say whether this was a money saving venture but I liked it enough that I am going to make more today! I can tell you what I spent initially, but I added fragrance crystals and I really can't remember how many I added (maybe three bottles total?)
My original detergent consisted of the following ingredients:
4 lb, 12 oz box of Borax
4 lb box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
OxyClean 3.5 lbs
3 lb., 7 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
3 bars Fels-Naptha Soap or 2 bars Zote Soap
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| Cast of Characters |
Divide that by 4 months and it's $5.25/month for detergent.
All of these items I found in the laundry aisle at Walmart.
I have been thinking about switching from Fels-Naptha soap to Zote, simply because I have read that the smell was better (there is essentially NO smell to laundered clothes with this recipe) but I haven't decided yet.
UPDATE: Switched to Zote Pink and LOVE it!
When I made this in September, I didn't have a food processer, so I had to hand grate 3 bars of Fels-Naptha with this.
Nothing particularly fun about that part.
Luckily, I received a Ninja for Christmas, so I will chop the soap in that today!
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| Zap, Zap, Zap, much easier! |
After you do that part, line a bucket with a trashbag or get a container about this size. Layer all the ingredients and stir, stir, stir with a big heavy wooden spoon! This is a great job for kids!
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| Layering |
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| This is how much detergent this recipe yields! |
Fragrance.
Well, if you don't like any fragrance, this recipe is perfect. I like my clothes to smell good though! I added Purex Fragrance Crystals to this recipe when I made it and then about two months in, I added two more bottles and I still didn't notice my clothes smelling fresh. The didn't smell bad, just...well neutral. I read that Scentsy made something called Washer Whiffs and had rave reviews and I was so excited and then I looked and they were $12/bottle and it called for four bottles. What? Umm, no. I could hire somebody to do the wash for me with that kind of cabbage!
Downey makes fragrance crystals (Downey Unstoppables) so I think I will give that a shot. I'm not going to add them to the mix in case I hate them, but will just add to each load and make my decision from there! Be sure to add the Downey beads/Purex crystals/Scentsy Washer Whiffs BEFORE you put the clothes in! If you want to add your fragrance crystals to the detergent, I would start with 3 bottles of fragrance crystals/beads. The Purex crystals smelled FANTASTIC! They made my basement smell wonderful. They just didn't transfer that fantasic smell to my washed and dried clothes.
UPDATE: I have been using the Downey Unstoppables, fragrance "Fresh" and I am in LOVE! I just sprinkle a few beads when I start the load and my clothes are smelling wonderful!
Get rid of your liquid fabric softener and use plain white vinegar instead.
You can put it in your fabric softener dispenser or in a Downey ball. I put it in my fabric softener dispenser. It softens clothes and I can leave a load of clothes in my washer for two days and pull them straight out and toss in the dryer and no sour smell. Sometimes I get busy and this happens and I have spent enough of my life rewashing or rerinsing and I don't have to do that anymore.
I tried a recipe a month ago for homemade dryer sheets using liquid fabric softener and sponges.
It seemed really cool and it DID make the clothes smell good but I found it was more expensive and more of a hassle than just using a regular dryer sheet.
I found this jar at Walmart and found some letters at Michael's.
Black letters would've stood out better, but it is what it is.
Most of the reviews I have read on how long the detergent will last
claim that this recipe will last 8, 9+ months.
This recipe lasted only 4 months in my house.
Perhaps I am using too much (I use the OxyClean scoop for each load.)
The recommended amount is 1-2 Tbsp. per load.
I never actually measured it with a measuring spoon, but just eyeballed and thought the Oxyclean scoop looked like 2 Tbsp.
I'll try to be more scientific this time :)
Happy Laundering!
