Homemade Laundry Detergent

You know that every now and then (certainly not often enough) I like to give a little tutorial on my blog. Well, today's how-to comes to you from my own adventure into homemade laundry detergent. Now, before you think I'm too awesome (I know, there's the danger of that, right?), just know that this recipe actually came to me from my friend Emily, who is undoubtedly the coolest person I know. Not only did she pass this on, but she also convinced me to try sushi, so I hold her personally responsible for making me a better person.

So, homemade laundry detergent. First of all, your ingredients, all of which can be found in the laundry aisle at your local grocery store/Super Target/etc. Unless you're shopping at the Lufkin Walmart, and then you will be missing one ingredient, and several Walmart employees will wander around aimlessly pretending to help you but really just staring off into space and thinking, "Why does this crazy woman need Borax anyway?" And then you'll just head to Target, find it right off the bat, and wonder why you ever shop anywhere else. But I digress... Here's what you need.

One box BORAX

One box Washing Soda

One tub Oxy Clean (per Emily's suggestion, I purchased Sun brand instead)

Two bars Fels-Naptha (say WHAT?)

 Two bottles Purex Crystals (whatever scent you choose)

Okay, so you've got all your ingredients. First things first, grate up those bars of Fels-Naptha (seriously, what kind of name is that?). I used our cheese grater, and then it ended up looking like I had a massive amount of grated cheese. Make sure you tell your husband not to get too excited, that it's actually laundry soap in the making... And then think twice about using your cheese grater to grate laundry soap...

 Then grab your husband's giant camo bucket (or really, any large bucket, container, etc. - this one is a 5-gallon bucket and it ended up about halfway full, but made for much easier mixing since there was extra room) and mix all your ingredients together. Then get your husband to mix it up as well. Then snap that lid on extra tightly and congratulate yourself on having enough detergent for probably a year for under $30.

 

Were you wondering what your detergent would look like? Here's a little peek. Add 1/4 cup to your washer while running the water, let it fill up, then add your laundry and high-five yourself for being so frugal and having such lovely-smelling laundry.

 



Happy Laundering!