Make Your Own Laundry Soap...and Love It!

I figured since I use this every single day, I'd share it with you. I was never a fan of powdered laundry soap, until I began making my own. What can I say? It's cheaper, has less chemicals, and there aren't any strong perfumes or dyes. Not to mention it does a great job cleaning our clothes. So, it's a win in my book.

COST:
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap - $1
1 box Borax   - $3.50
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda - $3

Total: $7.50




HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP

1 bar Fels-Naptha Soap
2 cups borax
2 cups super washing soda
Cheese grater
Blender
2 containers




You're going to want to start off by grating the bar of Fels-Naptha. I purchased a cheese grater at a tag sale for twenty-five cents. I use it only for my laundry soap. After the bar is grated, mix it with the borax and washing soda. After it's all mixed I like to run it through my blender to get a fine powder and a good mixture. I purchased a blender at the Salvation Army for $1 and it's sole purpose is laundry soap pulverization. Works out great! I didn't want to use my Ninja blender, because...well, it's my Ninja, that's just dumb to put laundry soap in it.

When I do the blender step I usually have the pre-blender mix in one container (the Fels-Naptha is a little chunky and blending it with the powders makes it pulverize really well) and once it's put through the blender I dump it in a seperate bucket. I usually put a few cups of the mix in my blender at a time. My poor little blender can only handle so much abuse!

As you can tell from the picture, I have the orange container (another tag sale find) for the pre-blender step and the white bucket for the final product. I got the white bucket at Kroger in their bakery department. Once they are done with their icing containers they just give these things away. If you call ahead and see if they have any ready they'll hold them for you. If they don't have any, you can ask to be put on their list. They are food grade containers, so there isn't an issue with mixing products or any unhealthy residue. I kind of like the cake icing scent that lingers in the bucket. Plus, they come with lids. I have used them for all sorts of things (rice, potato chips, gardening, LEGO's, and so on). Call your local grocer and see if they have these little gems available. Some may charge, some don't. They're cheaper than heading to your local big box store and spending $5-$10 on something.

Anyways, I got off topic. I do that sometimes. Sorry. Once you get the soap nice and powdery, you're ready to do a load. I usually keep an old 1/4 cup measuring cup in the container (check the tag sales and thrift shops). I usually only have to use an 1/8th cup for a normal load (for you, not-so-mathematical peeps that's half of a 1/4 cup). If the load smells like stinky little pre-teen boys, then I use the full 1/4 cup. This batch will last around a month in my home, sometimes longer. I usually grate two bars of Fels Naptha and double the borax and super washing soda, and make a double batch so it lasts longer. Overall, you're getting around forty loads for a little over $2.50.

Yes, it takes a little work. Oh freakin' well, it's worth it. If you want to add a little scent, I've heard you can add essential oils to the final rinse. Or, you can even add those Purex Crystals Laundry Enhancer thingys. I don't. I use the Woolzies Dryer Balls in place of dryer sheets and I add a few drops of essential oil to the Woolzies. It works and it's frugal! Bazinga!

I hope you give this a try, because it's really worth it. It's a small way to save money and a good way to begin eliminating some of those crazy chemicals that are in everything we use nowadays. If you have any other laundry ideas that save money and are healthy, I'd love to hear what you have. Send me an email or leave a comment.

As always, thanks for reading.

Take care,
NB