Frugal Intuition

Have you ever stopped and really looked at how many choices you have on the laundry aisle these days?  There are a zillion brand name detergents–liquid and powder varieties.  Regular and ultra.  There are bottles of fabric softener and dryer sheets and wrinkle releaser and bleaches and bleach alternatives…  The list goes on.

At one time or another, I’ve tried all of them in an attempt to find one that didn’t irritate my husband’s skin.  See, he’s got an allergy to a lot of the perfumes in detergent (so does his mom), so most of what’s available commercially makes him itch.  I did have good luck with All’s perfume/dye free detergent, but it didn’t seem to last very long and the bottle took up a lot of valuable space (our tiny house was built in 1964, so the washer and dryer are out in the storage room).  I figured there had to be a better way.

Then I read about making your own laundry detergent.  There are oodles of recipes out there, most containing borax, washing soda, baking soda, and perfume free soap in various combinations.  There are liquid recipes, but I really wanted something in a powder form that would take up less space as it was stored.  So I found this recipe at Soaps Gone Buy:

• 1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap
• 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup 20 mule team borax
  

Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light or small loads, use 1 tablespoon. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons. Cost per load $0.15.  Note: a single bar of Fels Naptha Soap grated makes 2 cups, so just grate 1 bar and add a cup of washing soda and a cup of borax. Sadly, I’m not exactly sure how much I’m saving by making my own detergent, but a double batch lasts me about 6 to 8 weeks, which is longer than the commercial stuff ever lasted in our house.

It took a little doing to find all the ingredients as our Walmart only carries the borax and baking soda rather than washing soda (which IS something different).  All the ingredients are available at Soaps Gone Buy, but with shipping costs these days, that takes the savings out having to ship something that heavy.  But, hurray, Kroger does carry washing soda and Fels Naptha soap.   I made the switch well over a year ago and have never looked back.  No more itch or sneezing.  I no longer have to use fabric softener, and I rarely have a problem with a stain not coming out (for which I do resort to commercial products like Shout).  And hey, it’s environmentally friendly!

Soaps Gone Buy does warn that their “recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don’t be alarmed.  Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water.  This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as tradional washers.

For a list of other make your own detergent recipes, TipNut has gathered several here .

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