Laundry Detergent DIY style

I recently taught a mini class on Preparedness for the Stake.

 Preparedness in my mind also means, Living Providently. Any time I can save some money I am more then willing to give it a try.

So along with teaching the very basics about preparedness in regards to food. I also gave them a handout with this laundry detergent recipe and a small bottle of the detergent to try.

When I made the recipe it made two 5 gallon buckets worth!

Here it is.

I gladly give credit where credit is due, and my Thanks! http://www.thyhandhathprovided.com/2011/10/homemade-laundry-soap-its-about-time.html
thyhandhathprovided.com



Homemade Laundry Soap
This recipe makes 5 gallons of concentrate which equals 10 gallons of ready-to-use laundry detergent.

1 five gallon bucket
a long handled spoon
an empty (used) laundry detergent container (or juice or vinegar container, clean)
hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha Laundry Soap Bar
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax

Grate the laundry soap bar (I used my cheese grater) and add it to a medium sauce pot along with 4 cups of water. Heat over medium high heat while stirring occasionally until the soap has melted completely. While it's melting, fill your five gallon bucket half full with hot tap water. Once the bar soap has melted, add it to the bucket along with the baking soda and borax. Stir it well until everything has dissolved. Add hot tap water to fill the bucket and stir again. Cover tightly with the lid and let sit overnight to thicken. Stir well (it will gel and separate a bit). You just made concentrate.

When you're ready to use it, stir the detergent well, then fill your empty detergent container half full with the concentrate. Fill the rest of the container with water. Shake before each use. Use 1/4 cup per load for a front loading machine and 5/8 cup per load for a top loading machine.

If you have a top loading machine, you will use 5/8 of a cup per load. If this is you, this 10 gallons of detergent will give you 256 loads of clean laundry at a cost of $4.91 which comes out to less than $0.02 per load.

If you have a front loading machine, you will use 1/4 cup per load. If this is you, this 10 gallons of detergent will give you 640 loads of clean laundry at a cost of $4.91 which comes out to less than $0.008 (yes, less than a cent) per load.

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Here is another easy, DIY Laundry Detergent recipe for you to try.

 

 This wonderful person at (howdoesshe.com) did all of the work and I thank her!! The link below can direct you right to her blog, if you want to read more about it....
http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent/

This powder form looks like it would not only be inexpensive, but smell good too. I plan to try this recipe soon. She did all of the calculations and said that it would cost approximately $28…A YEAR! That’s based on 6 loads of laundry a week

You will need…

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (This is optional but I highly recommend adding it)

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (we chose to do pink for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels Naptha)

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle (You could also get two 2 lb box, we couldn’t find the larger 4lb box when we went)

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- Found in the detergent aisle (This is 100% optional. Makes laundry smell good and I really soft towels)

 

Simply mix all of the ingredients up Really good. A large bucket would work best.

 

This batch makes A TON! Now for probably the best part…you only need 1-2 Tablespoons per load depending on the size…

 

Now that my friends, is Living Providently!