Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Recently I've really enjoyed finding ways to save money. My biggest excitement so far (besides starting to coupon) has been finding ways to save money on the expensive household items we regularly buy....like laundry soap!

Here's a little math for you:

Buying a container of Gain liquid detergent at Target costs $14.99 and yields 64 loads. This means for each load of laundry costs about $0.23.

With my homemade recipe, you need the following items:

•Borax: $2.50 for 70 oz. Cost per batch: .28 (8 oz needed for recipe)
•Washing Soda: $2.50 for 55 oz. Cost per batch .18.(4 oz needed for recipe)
•Fels Naptha Soap: $.99 Cost per batch: .33 (1 bar of soap needed for recipe)


Cost to make: .79

Yield: 442 oz.

Cost per oz. = .00178

Cost per ½ cup = .007 or rounded to .01 cent per load


YES! That's 1 PENNY per load! That's over a 99% savings for this laundry detergent. And it works and smells amazing! Read reviews online if you're unsure :)

So I'm ready to share the wealth. Here is how to make homemade laundry detergent!

You'll need:

1 - 5 gallon paint bucket with a lid ($2.99 in the paint section at WalMart)
1 box of borax (laundry aisle, about $2)
1 box of washing soda (not to be confused with baking soda...also in the laundry aisle, about $2)
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap (laundry aisle, $1 per bar)

Put a large pot on the stove with about 6 cups of water in it and turn on low. Then grate your Fels Naptha bar of soap with a cheese grater. (It will actually look like cheese cause the soap is yellow!)
Once grated, pour the soap into the pot. On medium heat, heat soap (stirring constantly) until the soap is fully melted in the pot with the water.

In the meantime, fill your paint bucket with about 4.5 gallons of HOT water. Once the soap is melted, pour it into the bucket with the water and stir well. Then add 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Stir again!

You've just made 5 gallons of detergent! Lucky you! It only cost less than $10 and less than 15 minutes :)

The liquid will firm up slightly over the next day or two but it can be used immediately. Soon it will be a nice gel. If it's too thick you can add some hot water and if it's too thin, that's ok...next time you make a batch just add some more of the Fels Naptha.

Let me know how this works for you!

You'll need about 1/2 cup for a regular load and up to 1 cup for heavily soiled loads.