DIY Laundry Detergent!

Every time I need to buy laundry detergent, I get the same thought in my head as I do when I look at contemporary art: "I could do that for about half the cost." (Sorry to my friends majoring in art history!!) I've never understood why laundry detergent could be so expensive-- it's just liquid soap and perfume right? Luckily for me, I found a recipe for make-your-own laundry detergent, and now I'll never need to buy overpriced detergent again! Plus it's so simple to make, it's worth the money you'll be saving.

You'll need:

Two gallons of water

One bar of soap 

Cheese Grater 

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

Borax

Funnel

Large Soup Pot (make sure it can hold 2 gallons of water)

Directions:

1. Start by grating your soap into your pot
2. Once all of the soap is grated, add one gallon of water into the pot. 
3. Turn the stove to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until shreds of soap are dissolved.
4. Stir in 1 cup Washing soda and 1 cup Borax
5. Bring mixture to a boil, it will start thickening
6. Once mixture has boiled, take the pot off of the heat, and add in one gallon of cold/room temperature water. 
7. Funnel the detergent mixture into the two gallon jugs.

You will only need 1/2 cup of detergent per load, so I just attached an old measuring cup along with the detergent!

All together, this project cost me around $9, and these two gallons will clean about 64 loads of laundry. Next time I need more detergent, all I have to do is fill up these two gallon jugs with water, and buy a bar of soap. I have about two pounds of the borax and washing suds left, so I've saved so much money! Take that Tide!

On another note, if you have sensitive skin and you're allergic to fragrances, you could use this recipe and make your own gentle detergent if you just use un-scented soap! I don't know the going rate for fragrance-free/gentle laundry detergents, but I bet that's great savings.