Homemade Laundry Products

I am always looking for ways to save money and use more "natural" products around the house. So I had to try making my own laundry detergent and fabric softener. It was SO easy, cheap, and fast to make. I am very happy with the outcome too. Clothes are clean and smell fresh! I was able to find all the necessary ingredients at Central Market.

First I made a granular detergent (which is the fastest to make but works better with top loaders rather than front loaders) and you need to use warm or hot water to make sure it all dissolves properly. It only takes 2 Tablespoons for one large load!

Mix:

1 Cup Borax

1Cup Washing Soda (not baking soda)

1/4 Cup OxiClean

Grate (with a cheese grater)1 bar Fels Naptha laundry detergent bar.

*Will be lumpy/granular

Kitchen Aid cheese grater works great for soap too! The soap looks like cheese :)

Liquid Laundry Detergent (which I am very happy with!)

1/2 Bar grated Fels Naptha soap

1 Cup Washing Soda (not baking soda)

1 Cup Borax

2 gallon Bucket (I cleaned out a cat litter bucket as it needs a lid)

*Grate soap and put in sauce pan. Add 6 C water and heat until soap melts. Add the washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 C hot water into bucket. Now add soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 C hot water and stir. Cover and let soap sit for 24 hours. It will become a thick gel. After it sets up use a whisk to stir it up to a pourable form. Use 1/2 Cup per load. It is a low sudsing soap so it is great for HE washers.

This is the cooked ingredients

I put the finished product in these pitchers. You need a wide-mouth container as the gel is very thick. Then you can just pour it out.

**The cost is about .2 cents per load and makes about 2 gallons which is about 65-70 loads. Compare to "Tide" which is about .70 cents per load!

Laundry Rinse (instead of fabric softener)

8 Cups White Vinegar (use only white and a cider!)

25-30 drops Lavender/Gardenia or anything smelling good Essential Oil drops

*Use 1/4 Cup in the rinse cycle. I promise your clothes will not smell like vinegar. Vinegar reduces static and leftover detergent in your clothes. Or put in Downy Ball if you have a top loader.

I put it in the Scope bottle. Fit perfectly and the cap holds 1/4 cup.

And when you need Dryer sheets or fresh scents try this... Huge money saver!

Mix 1/2 water and 1/2 fabric softener in bottle or sprayer and just lightly mist a washcloth and toss it in the dryer.

OR

Soak a couple washcloths if full strength fabric softener. Hang to dry. Store in in a large ziploc (as the smell is SO strong) and you can use the cloth 20-30 times until it softener is used out of it.

I made washcloths out of double-side flannel and just serged the edges.

You will save huge $ not buying dryer sheets and a bottle of fabric softener will last years!