DIY Laundry Detergent. {revisited}

In February of 2012, I made my own laundry detergent after seeing various ones on Pinterest.

Here is my take on Homemade Laundry Detergent. Sorry there are no photos. I assume with the blog move that they were lost in cyberspace. I will be making more here soon and will update you with some. Thanks for being cool about my lack of photos!!! 

I love my homemade laundry detergent! It is awesome. I mean AWESOME! It took Marty and I about 30 minutes to make and it was fun as a couple to do. I have used the detergent on 5 loads of laundry so far and the results were great, if not better than the high end detergent I was using before. All of the supplies came from Wal-Mart and we picked up a new 5-gallon bucket from Lowe’s.

Want to know how to make your own homemade laundry detergent for under $16 that should last 6-12 months (depending on frequency)?

Ok, here goes!

• 1 Box {4 lb 12 oz (2.15 kg or 76 oz)} of Borax
• 1 Box {55 oz (3 lb 7 oz)} of Arm & Hammer Washing Soap
• 1 Box {4 lb (1.81 kg)} of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
• 2 Small Containers {3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)} of Sun Oxygen Cleaner. This is optional but great for messy kids.
• 3 Bars of Fels-Naptha

You can substitute the Fels-Naptha for Ivory soap if you want a different scent or you can add essential oils to it.

Everything will be mixed in your bucket.

• Use a cheese grater to grate all the Fels-Naptha
• Add in the Borax
• Add in the Washing Soap
• Add in the Baking Soda
• Add in the Oxygen Cleaner (optional, but I use it for my messy kids)
• Mix with your hands until it is mixed thoroughly
• Scoop into your container

For the containers, we used two Mainstays 1 gallon plastic jars for the detergent. They work great and the lid seals.

Price Breakdown:

Lowe’s 5 Gallon Bucket $2.98
Mainstays 1 gallon containers $5.94 ($2.97 x 2)
1 Box of Borax $3.38
1 Box of A&H Washing Soda $3.24
1 Box of A&H Baking Soda $2.12
2 Small Containers of Oxygen Cleaner $3.92 ($1.97 x 2)
3 Bars of Fels-Naptha $2.91 ($.97 x 3)

Complete Total $24.49 (plus applicable tax)

Total for Detergent Ingredients ONLY $15.57 (plus applicable tax)

Not too shabby for your own detergent eh? I use the scoops that come in the Oxygen Cleaners for my laundry scoop. For my loads, I use 1 scoop per load. I also bought all HE safe products (it is stated on the label). If you have an HE washer, put your scoop of detergent in the barrel, then add clothes (I usually wash large loads). You will not see any suds when it washes, but trust me, it cleans your clothes. I was paranoid at first (and I tested the detergent first on towels). It all worked out and my clothes are clean. This homemade laundry detergent should last you between 6-12 months, depending on how often you wash clothes.