DIY Laundry Detergent

I was seriously so sick of spending so much every month on my “extras” shopping trip. This is the trip I took to get my paper towels, laundry detergent, dish washing soap, trash bags.. yadda yadda yadda.  After searching my favorite site Pinterest, I came across this little amazing recipe . The only problem was that it made WAY too much detergent for me store easily. 

This recipe is not for the HUGE batch of detergent that you may find , I halved that one and this is the measurements I used for mine.

                4 cups of Borax

                4 cups of Baking Soda

                3 ½ cups Super Washing Soda

                1 ½  bar of Fels-Naptha grated with a cheese grater.

                2 ¼ cups SunOxygen

Mix all items together really well, I suggest dancing around your kitchen shaking the container. (Yes, my neighbors probably think I am crazy, I am okay with this!)

Funny thing, this was the first time I have used the cheese grater we got for our wedding... in 2007! I don't think our kids even know what one is!

Anywho.....

This is the cost breakdown of the items I used for this DIY laundry detergent.

*All items I bought from Walmart, and can be found in the laundry isle pretty close to each other.

                Arm and Hammer Baking Soda $2.16

                Fels-Naptha bar soap $.97 each, I bought two of them.

                Sun Oxygen $1.96 

                        **(off brand of oxy clean, it was about $2.00 cheaper!)

                Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda $3.24

                Borax $3.37

The total for my hopefully 6 month supply of Laundry detergent…. $12.67

I also bought the pitcher that you see to put the DIY laundry detergent in, it cost be $2.96, so let’s add that in too!

I started using my DIY Laundry detergent on January 6, 2012. I will keep you updated on how long it really lasts me!  All I use is 1 Tablespoon and add white vinegar to my Downy ball to act as fabric softener. If you don't like the smell of vinegar, don't worry, your clothes will not smell like it!

I will also let you know if I run into any problems with the detergent. So far I love it though. The Fels-Naptha smells great. Our “laundry room” is really a closet in our bathroom and the detergent keeps the bathroom smelling faintly fresh!

 *If you cannot find Fels-Naptha, or you don’t like the smell of it, then I have been told you can use DOVE bar soap and it works just as well but with no smell. I do want to add that even though Fels-Naptha has a strong scent when you are grating it, your clothes come out of the wash scent free!