Useful Gifts {Homemade Laundry Detergent}

I have to give my sister-in-law, Lissa, all the credit for this one.

She finally converted me into making my own laundry detergent.

With  7 people to wash clothes for, 

our name brand laundry detergent bill was getting a little pricey.

I had gotten sick and tired of going through a container of detergent 

every 2 weeks with our 25+ loads of laundry a week.

Watching the price on detergent rise the last couple of years 

had left me pretty frustrated.

This is where Lissa comes in.

My Little Brother and His wife, Lissa

She's been making her own laundry detergent 

for the 6 months or so.

I thought she was certifiable.

Finally though, frugality won.

And after doing 3 loads of laundry with my homemade version, 

I have no idea what I was waiting for!

My clothes have never been so clean!

So I just had to share this idea with you!

With Christmas coming around, who needs another useless gift?

I think this year, I'm going to be all about giving gifts people can use!

And just in case you think this idea is a good one,

here's what you'll need...

1 Cup Borax

1 Cup Washing Soda 

(Not to be confused with baking soda.)

1 Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap 

(Finely Grated)

1 Cup of Oxi-Clean 

(Optional)

A Large Air-Tight Container

(To store it in.)

Just combine all of the ingredients above 
and then blend it by small amounts in a blender.

This will get it to the consistency of normal laundry detergent. 

Now, being me - and blond - I didn't bother to ask Lissa for the ratio, 

I just dumped it all in together and used 3 bars of Fels-Naptha.

And ended up making 11 lbs of washing detergent.

I just dumped it all into a clean plastic kitty litter container 
(one that has the snap-shut lid) and shook it to death.

Stirred it with a large spoon just to make sure it was well mixed and called it good.

You know I'm all about easy!

And I didn't "finely" grate the soap 

because I thought the bigger shavings were pretty.

(Okay, I'm lazy.  Same difference.)

Still worked...

Still dissolved fine...

So, if you're like me and you're pretty lazy about things, 
you can skip the finely grated soap and blender part.

Honestly, my clothes have never been cleaner.

And better yet?

It only takes 2 Tbsp for each load!

So, I have enough to last for about 6 months.

And it only cost around $17.05!

Iowa Prices @ Walmart

20 Mule Team Borax (4 lbs) -  $3.38
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (3 lbs) - $3.24
Oxy Clean (3 lbs) - $7.52
Fels-Naptha Soap - $0.97 each

And we were spending a minimum of $13.64 every two weeks 

on the name-brand powdered detergent!

And if you omit the Oxy-Clean, it's even cheaper.

My kids are just pretty dirty, so I sprang for it too.

And you know what?

After seeing how awesomely it worked,

I figured it would make great gifts for my husband's family members...

in pretty vintage Ball jars.

I wrapped the tops with scrap fabric and added a salt dough tag...

tied on with jute twine.

(I blurred out the names that I wrote with a Sharpie on the tags.)

I think they're just the cutest thing!

I plan on making some more homemade stuff to make gift baskets.

And hopefully, it convinces them 

to quit wasting money on

 expensive name-brand stuff and make their own!

;)

And I owe it all to Lissa!

2009 Marine Corps Ball

Thanks, sis!

Dream Big,

P.S.  A couple of points to make...

There will be less/no suds, so it's perfect for regular or HE washers.  Suds don't mean clean!  Actually, this stuff got our clothes so clean, I was a little freaked out at how dirty the water looked with the lack of suds.  Don't freak over the dirty water.  It means it's working!!  Stains that I've never been able to get out...  Gone!  Ian had blood all over one of the sleeves of his sweatshirts from hunting...  Not a trace of it left with NO PREP.  Seriously, this stuff is UNREAL.

Don't be tempted to use more than 2 Tbsp.  Really, it only takes that much for a full load - and I'm a notorious load stuffer.  The more I can fit in, the less loads I have to do.  Still worked.  :)

With grating the soap and skipping a couple of directions, I had this done in about 20 minutes.  Totally worth it!  So, it's not like you're going through a whole bunch of trouble to save a few bucks.  You save a lot of bucks in a short amount of time.  Seriously!

If you do try this, let me know how you like it.  I'll be surprised if you don't!  :)