As a momma of five incredibly nasty…I mean precious children, laundry is a big deal. It’s always there! Even when I have tackled it all and the basket is empty, it’s a guarantee there will be something else dirty and waiting to be washed in less than 5 minutes!
Laundry soap is a big expense for my family…or it used to be!
Now I make my own laundry soap. It’s stronger and more effective than standard detergent and it works well in my HE machines and it’s way cheaper!
I’m sure that sounds like a huge undertaking but seriously it’s not at all! It’s super easy, takes me about 10 minutes, and lasts us more than a year, even after washing for our large family, plus sharing jars of detergent with some of our family members.
I start with a box of Borax, a box of washing soda, a bar of fels naptha laundry soap, a bar of zote, a pound of oxy clean, a container of fabric scent booster of your choosing, and a box of baking soda.
I use a hand grater to grate my bars of soap into flakes, and this does save money with a small time investment and a little elbow grease, or you could forego the bars of soap and add soap flakes.
I pour all of the ingredients into a large plastic container with a lid and shake and stir until well incorporated.
(this fancy one used to hold those nasty little cheese balls my kids love!)
For a high efficiency washer with normal clothing, 1 tablespoon is enough for a load. If the clothes are heavily soiled, I will use 2 tablespoons and add some color safe bleach.
I also use vinegar as my fabric softener to cut costs and it disinfects the clothing and leaves them soft and smelling clean!
Ingredients:
- 1 Box Borax
- 1 Box Washing Soda (I buy THIS combo from Amazon when I’m pressed for time and don’t want another trip to the store!)
- 1 small box of baking soda
- 1 pound OxyClean
- 1 bottle scent booster crystals (I love how these smell!)
- 1 bar fels naptha soap
- 1 bar Zote soap
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Have you made laundry detergent before? Share your tips with me in the comments!