Homemade Laundry Detergent

[Wantmypeace]

Here's a breakdown from another site where the gal did a LOT more math than I did. She doesn't use the DAWN that I add into mine, so that may add a few pennies.
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Here is the breakdown of my costs and how I came up with those numbers (I am using the prices I paid for these items and you may find your price varies some based on what you pay):

Fels Naptha: $1.12 for a 5.5 oz bar. The recipes says use a 1/3 of a bar. I calculated 2 oz. just to make the math a little easier. The cost of the Fels Naptha per batch is: .40 cents


Washing Soda: $2.23 for a 55 oz. box. This came to .17 cents per batch. I calculated how much per oz (2.23 divided by 55) and then weighed a half cup of washing soda (4.2oz.) and multiplied my per oz. price by 4.2

Borax: $3.27 for a 76 oz. box. This came to .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations as above, however a 1/2 cup of borax weighs 3.5 oz.

For the final numbers I have .40 + .17 + .14 = .71 for 2 gallons of laundry detergent.
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How many loads can you do with 2 gallons? 2 X 64 oz=128 oz/ 4 oz per load = 32 loads. So, .71/32= JUST OVER 2 cents/load. I'm not doing more math than that! LOL!

[Wantmypeace]

Want -

Yeah, tried the vinegar trick too - still didnt like it.

I do know that Fels Naptha is GREAT at getting poison ivy / poison oak to go away and dry out faster than anything else on the market. Just rub it on and leave it there.

ooooo....good to know! Well, at least you tried it! I tried the homemade dishwasher detergent, and I HATED IT. I haven't found anything that I like better than Cascade Complete (the old one with the enzymes in it) or the new Turboballs. I'd love to find a recipe that I like, but they all leave a film on my dishes. Saving money is good, but only if it WORKS.

[tobee43]

tobee--FelsNaptha is an old-fashion soap brand. It is usually with the laundry detergents, not the body soaps. It is definitely not the kind of soap you want to use for your shower! LOL! Anyway, I see it at Walmart sometimes, but I can ALWAYS find it at Winco. Here's a link to what it looks like: http://tiny.cc/071bf

wow...we have no winco here...but at the site it's only 1.29 but i need to check the shipping...although i'm going to check walmart first because i do really want to try it....and if it doesn't work for laundry i think it could and would be excellent for using as a cleaning agent for other jobs...other than laundry...so it wouldn't be a waste.

thanks again for the site!

[tobee43]

ooooo....good to know! Well, at least you tried it! I tried the homemade dishwasher detergent, and I HATED IT. I haven't found anything that I like better than Cascade Complete (the old one with the enzymes in it) or the new Turboballs. I'd love to find a recipe that I like, but they all leave a film on my dishes. Saving money is good, but only if it WORKS.

yes, i like that cascade complete but it's really expensive....but you're right..if it doesn't work it ends up being more expensive!

[momofthree]

Alternatively, you can combine coupons with sales to get free laundry detergent (only pay tax). That's the way I do it. ;) For example, last week CVS had Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheet on BOGO sale. I had $3 off coupons AND a $4 off $20 purchase. Soooo...I bought 6 boxes of the detergent (3 of them were free with the BOGO sale) and used $18 worth of manufacturer coupons from the Sunday paper AND the $4/20 CVS coupon and only had to pay the tax. That bought me 120 loads for right around $2. This was a nationwide deal and the coupon was also nationwide, so if you had a CVS, you could have gotten the free detergent too. That is how I do all of my household shopping. In fact, I won't even bring toothpaste home anymore unless they pay me to take it!

Anyone who's interested in learning how to coupon shop (and I mean HARD-CORE coupon shop) can visit http://hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php. I don't get anything for referring you to the site. It's just a message board (like this one) to help people save money at the store.

Edited to add: I have never been able to get Gain or Tide for free. So those die-hard Apple Mango Tango girls will have to keep dishin' out the dough for that scent. And, yes, it IS the best laundry scent EVAH! I have a cabinet full of free Gain Apple Mango Tango dish soap though. Got paid 12c for each one that I bought. (just counted, I have 18 of 'em!)

[Wantmypeace]

++++ to what momofthree says! I have not done this myself in years, but I used to. If you have the time and are willing to learn how, you can get a LOT of stuff free. You have to have the discipline to ONLY get the stuff that you would actually use and is free/very cheap. A lot of people get sucked in and buy stuff that negates their savings. When/if I start to feel better, I will consider doing some of this again. I just don't have the energy yet...YET!!!

[tobee43]

++++ to what momofthree says! I have not done this myself in years, but I used to. If you have the time and are willing to learn how, you can get a LOT of stuff free. You have to have the discipline to ONLY get the stuff that you would actually use and is free/very cheap. A lot of people get sucked in and buy stuff that negates their savings. When/if I start to feel better, I will consider doing some of this again. I just don't have the energy yet...YET!!!

wantmypeace.....first LOVE the addy!!!! you look so nice dressed...and i'm certain you picked it off the sale rack...LOL!!!

yes....in the house we have the coupon king....he's gotten us everything from FREE dinners to FREE gas....he's in charge of that since i'm the CFO...he's the CEO...

[Wantmypeace]

tobee--"addy"?? what's that?

[Pandora]

Alternatively, you can combine coupons with sales to get free laundry detergent (only pay tax). That's the way I do it. ;) For example, last week CVS had Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheet on BOGO sale. I had $3 off coupons AND a $4 off $20 purchase. Soooo...I bought 6 boxes of the detergent (3 of them were free with the BOGO sale) and used $18 worth of manufacturer coupons from the Sunday paper AND the $4/20 CVS coupon and only had to pay the tax. That bought me 120 loads for right around $2. This was a nationwide deal and the coupon was also nationwide, so if you had a CVS, you could have gotten the free detergent too. That is how I do all of my household shopping. In fact, I won't even bring toothpaste home anymore unless they pay me to take it!

Anyone who's interested in learning how to coupon shop (and I mean HARD-CORE coupon shop) can visit http://hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php. I don't get anything for referring you to the site. It's just a message board (like this one) to help people save money at the store.

Edited to add: I have never been able to get Gain or Tide for free. So those die-hard Apple Mango Tango girls will have to keep dishin' out the dough for that scent. And, yes, it IS the best laundry scent EVAH! I have a cabinet full of free Gain Apple Mango Tango dish soap though. Got paid 12c for each one that I bought. (just counted, I have 18 of 'em!)

That is a great site - use it all the time. Hey mom - how do you like the Gain dish soap? I saw it the other day and was tempted to get it..but then thought I didnt know if I wanted my dishes to smell/taste like Apple Mango Tango

You're right... you can never find a coupon for it, the stuff hardly ever goes on sale either. Always regular Gain... must be a conspiracy afoot *shifty eyes*

[Freddy03]

I save on air drying most of our clothes. I don't air dry them outside b/c I hate the stiff feeling and one time the clothes were pooped on by a flock of birds....lol I had my husband build me a clothes rack in the garage. He made it out of pvc pipes. I dry almost all our clothes (not towels) there. It works great. Especially living in FL our garage is like a suna.

[Freddy03]

That is a great site - use it all the time. Hey mom - how do you like the Gain dish soap? I saw it the other day and was tempted to get it..but then thought I didnt know if I wanted my dishes to smell/taste like Apple Mango Tango

You're right... you can never find a coupon for it, the stuff hardly ever goes on sale either. Always regular Gain... must be a conspiracy afoot *shifty eyes*

I bought the gain dish soap and hate it! It takes a long time to get off the dishes.

[tobee43]

tobee--"addy"?? what's that?

LOl!! you cute little butterflies..

[tobee43]

I bought the gain dish soap and hate it! It takes a long time to get off the dishes.

i saw it and was so tempted...LOL!! glad you tried it first...just use it to wash the dog???

[Freddy03]

i saw it and was so tempted...LOL!! glad you tried it first...just use it to wash the dog???

lol I thought about that but my darn dogs have sensitive skin....lol

[tobee43]

I save on air drying most of our clothes. I don't air dry them outside b/c I hate the stiff feeling and one time the clothes were pooped on by a flock of birds....lol I had my husband build me a clothes rack in the garage. He made it out of pvc pipes. I dry almost all our clothes (not towels) there. It works great. Especially living in FL our garage is like a suna.

yes, since moving here i miss my clothes line, however, i hang everything on my FENCE...it's enclosed and no one can see my sheets and stuff...we can't use our garage since it's still full of unpacked boxes!! and also it's soooooo hot in there..ours gets full sun all day although we keep the door shut of course.

i like the way things smell after being line dried..better and saves the money too.