My friend at work sent me this from one of her friends blogs. I thought I would post it in case anyone is interested in trying it out!
Makin' my own laundry detergent!
I'm not sure why it took me so long to jump on this bandwagon, but I'm excited that I finally have! First, my friend Helen got me into using liquid fabric softener in my dryer. I know, sounds loco, but I love it! I buy whatever I want at the store, then water it down (depending on the brand, equal parts water to softener or more) and soak sponges in the watered-down softener that I've put in a bucket. For instance, I bought a cheap liquid softener back in April, and watered it down once in a small bucket. I wring a couple sponges out and throw them in the dryer like dryer sheets and it's WAY cheaper than using the liquid in the wash, or actual dryer sheets! I bought Downy the second time, but apparently it's more concentrated than the cheap stuff, so I had to water it down 4 times so it didn't leave spots on the clothes... I guess the more expensive brands really are better, and it's lasted much longer, so no complaints here!
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ANYWAY!
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With this front loader I've recently acquired, I didn't want to have to buy the expensive front loader detergent that it "requires". But I wasn't sure how much I could use of the regular detergent and have it NOT suds up too much. This recipe is the one that the Duggar's use... you know, the "18 kids and counting" family on TV? They've got more front loaders than I have kids, so I figure if they trust this recipe then I sure can!
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I bought: new 5 gallon bucket $4.64
lid: $1.27
Borax: $2.98
Baking Soda: $1.00
3 bars of Ivory soap (any non/low-sudsing soap will do): $1.07
I'm not sure why it took me so long to jump on this bandwagon, but I'm excited that I finally have! First, my friend Helen got me into using liquid fabric softener in my dryer. I know, sounds loco, but I love it! I buy whatever I want at the store, then water it down (depending on the brand, equal parts water to softener or more) and soak sponges in the watered-down softener that I've put in a bucket. For instance, I bought a cheap liquid softener back in April, and watered it down once in a small bucket. I wring a couple sponges out and throw them in the dryer like dryer sheets and it's WAY cheaper than using the liquid in the wash, or actual dryer sheets! I bought Downy the second time, but apparently it's more concentrated than the cheap stuff, so I had to water it down 4 times so it didn't leave spots on the clothes... I guess the more expensive brands really are better, and it's lasted much longer, so no complaints here!
.
ANYWAY!
.
With this front loader I've recently acquired, I didn't want to have to buy the expensive front loader detergent that it "requires". But I wasn't sure how much I could use of the regular detergent and have it NOT suds up too much. This recipe is the one that the Duggar's use... you know, the "18 kids and counting" family on TV? They've got more front loaders than I have kids, so I figure if they trust this recipe then I sure can!
.
I bought: new 5 gallon bucket $4.64
lid: $1.27
Borax: $2.98
Baking Soda: $1.00
3 bars of Ivory soap (any non/low-sudsing soap will do): $1.07
I grated one bar of soap into an old pot, added 4 cups of hot tap water, and melted it on the stove. Then I poured that into my bucket, and added 1 cup of baking soda, and 1/2 cup of Borax.
When it looked like that was all stirred up and dissolved, I added more hot tap water to fill my bucket and put the lid on. I'll let that sit overnight, and when I run out of my super-expensive Tide detergent made especially for front loaders, I'll use that empty container and funnel this in!
When it looked like that was all stirred up and dissolved, I added more hot tap water to fill my bucket and put the lid on. I'll let that sit overnight, and when I run out of my super-expensive Tide detergent made especially for front loaders, I'll use that empty container and funnel this in!
Update: I bought an oil essence at my favorite bead store for $3.50 and added HALF of it to the bucket. LOVE the smell, and can't wait to see how well it cleans!
I wanted to see how much this costs per bucket, so I measured out the Borax and baking soda I bought. You get 12 cups of Borax = 24 buckets, and 4 cups of baking soda = 4 buckets. So I'm spending 74 CENTS per 5 gallon bucket, and thinking this will last me more than a month with a family of 6. I usually buy Surf powder detergent for about $12, and it's gone within the month.
1 comments:
wow. what a great idea. who told you about this? i want to send her a thank you card. ; )
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