I'm trying to cut back and save money whenever possible and thought I'd share this recipe with you guys. I cut and pasted it from my local news website. 
The average American family does 392 loads of laundry a year, which is about eight loads a week. When you consider how much you spend on detergent, washing laundry gets expensive fast.
One way to cut that cost is to make it yourself. There are several recipes you can find on the internet. Here's what you'll need:
1 bar of soap, grated (the recipe recommends Fels Naptha soap, but you can also use Ivory as a replacement)
1 cup washing soda (hard to find, so some sites recommend replacing it with PH Plus, which can be found in the store's pool supply section)
4.5 gallons of water
5-gallon bucket
Grate the soap with a regular grater, and then place it in a saucepan. Put just enough water in to cover the soap and cook on low heat until dissolved. Next, fill the five-gallon bucket with about 4.5 gallons of hot water. Add the soap mixture to one cup of PH Plus and mix well. It will be watery, but that's okay. It'll thicken as it cools. Just let it sit for 24 hours.
Once the concoction is ready, you should go test it out. To save energy and money, experts suggest washing with cold water. They say you can save over $120 a year. The change also can save on wear and tear on your clothes. You'll put one to two cups of detergent per load.
To save even more on energy costs, it is suggested you line-dry your clothes, but not everyone has the time or the space to do that. If you use a dryer, remember to clean the lint trap. As lint fills up, it blocks air flow, making the dryer work harder.
The cost: a bar of ivory soap was about 60 cents, the PH Plus was $7.00, and a five-gallon bucket is about $2.78. That's a total of $10.38 and it will wash about 80 loads of laundry. For that amount in a brand-named detergent, you would have to pay more than double.
A less frugal and less time-consuming version of homemade laundry detergent is using 1/3 cup of the regular store bought laundry detergent and 1/2 cup of baking soda. It is an easy money saver.
Fabric softener:
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups baking soda
4 cups water
Mix together into container
The average American family does 392 loads of laundry a year, which is about eight loads a week. When you consider how much you spend on detergent, washing laundry gets expensive fast.
One way to cut that cost is to make it yourself. There are several recipes you can find on the internet. Here's what you'll need:
1 bar of soap, grated (the recipe recommends Fels Naptha soap, but you can also use Ivory as a replacement)
1 cup washing soda (hard to find, so some sites recommend replacing it with PH Plus, which can be found in the store's pool supply section)
4.5 gallons of water
5-gallon bucket
Grate the soap with a regular grater, and then place it in a saucepan. Put just enough water in to cover the soap and cook on low heat until dissolved. Next, fill the five-gallon bucket with about 4.5 gallons of hot water. Add the soap mixture to one cup of PH Plus and mix well. It will be watery, but that's okay. It'll thicken as it cools. Just let it sit for 24 hours.
Once the concoction is ready, you should go test it out. To save energy and money, experts suggest washing with cold water. They say you can save over $120 a year. The change also can save on wear and tear on your clothes. You'll put one to two cups of detergent per load.
To save even more on energy costs, it is suggested you line-dry your clothes, but not everyone has the time or the space to do that. If you use a dryer, remember to clean the lint trap. As lint fills up, it blocks air flow, making the dryer work harder.
The cost: a bar of ivory soap was about 60 cents, the PH Plus was $7.00, and a five-gallon bucket is about $2.78. That's a total of $10.38 and it will wash about 80 loads of laundry. For that amount in a brand-named detergent, you would have to pay more than double.
A less frugal and less time-consuming version of homemade laundry detergent is using 1/3 cup of the regular store bought laundry detergent and 1/2 cup of baking soda. It is an easy money saver.
Fabric softener:
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups baking soda
4 cups water
Mix together into container
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