When I first made my own laundry detergent and posted it on Facebook, telling all my friends how much money I saved, my husband said, “We have enough money to buy laundry detergent!” And he’s right. We do. So, why in the world would I make my own?
1. I like knowing exactly what’s in the things I use.
2. I have a son with allergies who needs a fragrance free detergent.
3. Every penny I save I can put toward building my food storage.
So, does it really save money to make my own detergent? Let’s see. We’ll start with the “recipe.” I came up with this after reading several recipes online and took what I liked from a few of them…
I recently made these wipes with my mom and really like them! My mom sells essential oils so she likes to experiment with different ways to use them. We made a bunch to keep in the kitchen and each of our bathrooms for different cleaning purposes. P.S. they are safe to use on glass, just use a dry rag to dry the surface off after cleaning them with the wipes.
Anyways, on to the recipe…
You will need:
1 quart mason jars
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
15 drops grapefruit seed extract
15 drops Bergamot essential oil
You can also use lemon essential oil but we were out that day, so couldn’t use any.
Like I mentioned earlier, my mom sells Young Living Essential Oils. You can visit her website to order some! I absolutely LOVE them and recommend them to everyone!
When I first made my own laundry detergent and posted it on Facebook, telling all my friends how much money I saved, my husband said, “We have enough money to buy laundry detergent!” And he’s right. We do. So, why in the world would I make my own?
1. I like knowing exactly what’s in the things I use.
2. I have a son with allergies who needs a fragrance free detergent.
3. Every penny I save I can put toward building my food storage.
So, does it really save money to make my own detergent? Let’s see. We’ll start with the “recipe.” I came up with this after reading several recipes online and took what I liked from a few of them, and I came up with this recipe.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
1 box Borax
1 box Super Washing Soda (you can make your own from baking soda)
1 3-lb box Baking Soda
1 bar Fels Naptha
2 bars Ivory soap (or castille soap)
Finely grate the soap using a box grater or a food processor. Mix grated soap together with Borax, Washing Soda, and Baking Soda. Store in a sealed container. Use 1/8 cup per full-size load of laundry. Makes 20 cups (160 loads).
Here’s my photo step-by-step.
Here are my ingredients.
I used a box grater and grated my soap.
It looks a bit like Colby Jack cheese, doesn’t it?
I got a bit lazy at the end and switched to the largest size on the box grater. Again, it looks like cheese.
I added my Borax, Washing Soda, and Baking Soda and stirred everything to combine.
Then I poured it into the bucket I use for my laundry detergent.
See? I got this (for free) from the bakery at a local grocery store. Many bakeries receive their icing in buckets which are single-use buckets. Many stores are willing to give their customers these buckets if they ask. I did, and they did. I had to wash it well before I used it, but it is the perfect container with a lid and everything!
Pretty easy, huh? It takes about 15 minutes total. Grating the soap makes up most of that time. The question remains: Is it worth it? Does it save money? Let’s see…
Cost of Ingredients
Borax – $3.97
Super Washing Soda – $3.24
Baking Soda – $1.53 (I buy mine in bulk at Costco. If you buy it at Wal-mart, it’s $2.24)
Fels Naptha – $0.97
Ivory Soap – $0.80 (I bought mine in a 10 pack. This is the cost of 2 bars.)
Total Cost – $10.51/160 loads = 6.5 cents per load
Grocery Store Prices (Powdered laundry detergents)
Tide – $18.99/102 loads = 18.6 cents per load
Store brand (fragrance/color free) – $6.99/40 loads = 17.4 cents per load
Surf – $10.99/120 loads = 9.1 cents per load
Store brand (regular) – $9.99/120 loads = 8.3 cents per load
Warehouse Club Prices (Powdered laundry detergents)
Tide – $26.37/160 loads = 16.5 cents per load
Surf – $13.57/180 loads = 7.5 cents per load
Conclusion – I am saving between 1 cent and 12.1 cents per load, depending on where I buy my powdered laundry detergent and what brand I buy. As Tide is one of my favorite brands, and I like this as much as Tide, I am saving a ton of money. If I compare it to a less expensive brand, such as Surf, I am not saving quite as much.
Is it worth it to me? You bet! I know exactly what’s in my detergent and my allergy prone son has no problems with this. I liked the detergent enough that I made it a second time. Next time, I think I’ll try making liquid laundry detergent.
What about you?
Do you think it is worth making your own laundry detergent?
My Foray Into Food Storage 