Easy Money-Saving DIY Laundry Detergent

 

This is the detergent that will stop you from buying store bought detergents ever again!  It isn't like the "other" homemade detergents that smell like they are homemade, which was my biggest turn off. This has a light fresh scent.  And depending on your sniffer, you can always choose to add a different in-wash fragrance boosters {i.e. Downy, Gain, etc.} which sometimes pack more of a fragrance punch.

And as for effectiveness in washing, which is the whole purpose for the mixture...it does a great job at that as well. I have a high efficiency washer and it worked just as well as the store bought ones. This particular detergent will not produce suds, so don't be alarmed.

What you need: 

• 1 (4 lb 12 oz)Box of Borax 
• 1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean {this link is for a 5 lb container with a clip & save coupon}
• 2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap  {You can also use Fels Naptha}
• 1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda {I found this in the detergent isle otherwise it can be found in the cooking aisle, which has 2 lb boxes}
• 1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals In-Wash Fragrance Booster

Directions:

1. Grate zote soap with cheese grater or food processor. This is probably the most labor intensive part of the whole process.

Or you can cut the bar into several pieces and microwave for 1 minute. Let cool and then crumble.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket.{12 Quart + bucket}.  I would layer the ingredients and then stirred them with a large spoon and then layer & stir again until all of the ingredients were mixed in the bucket. {I think I did that 5 or 6 times}

3. This batch makes A TON {Approx. 15 lbs of detergent}! Now my favorite part…you only need 2-4 Tablespoons per load depending on the size...Yes, that's right...2-4 Tablespoons per laundry load! So, your 15 lbs of detergent will go a long way!

I used my empty Purex bottle {a few purex bottles I have saved prior in preparation for this} and the Oxy Clean container to store the detergent.

Please comment and let me know what you think!