Yes, I am slightly addicted.
Today I decided to make homemade laundry detergent and dish washing detergent (which I did not get one thing…so that will be a later post).
WHY did I decide to do this (was the first thing Wade asked when he walked in the door)? No, it is not about saving the environment and being all granola. Although I would enjoy that, it would be impossible in my right-winged conservative house. It was about saving money.
I am not ashamed to admit Wade and I are Tide snobs. It makes our clothes smell SOOOOOO good. But after months of experimenting we found that the added Febreeze makes us both itchy, so we went on a laundry detergent hunt. We have been using Gain, and it is ok, but nothing like Tide. But whatever we choose, it is still pretty expensive. We pay around $17-20 a container that lasts about 40 loads. (Roughly 6-8 loads a week means we are buying it every 5 weeks.)
In comes Pinterest with all of its crafty goodness! Here is the original link:
Being Creative
Yes, I followed it exactly and am hoping I can go 9 months without buying laundry detergent!
Cost breakdown from Walmart (about $25…but that includes a $10 container):
Container- $9.97
1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz)- $3.38
1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg)- $2.08
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz)- $3.24
3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent isle- $2.91
2 small containers of store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg))- $3.92
Initial thoughts…so far I have done 4 loads of laundry with it (about 2 tablespoons per load). Our clothes come out smelling…clean not overly fragranced. I can’t tell about stains yet, I have 2 girls that don’t get too messy. I am not a fan of powders, I don’t think they work as well, but so far I am pleased. I tried first putting the powder in the water then adding the clothes, I also tried mixing a small cup with water and 2T of powder and then lastly I put the powder directly on the clothes. It all seemed to work the same. I will update in a few months and let you know how much I use before I have to get new detergent!
I’m a tide powder user. Many people I talked to complained about the itching problem. So, like the good consumer I am I called Tide. They told me the most common mistake consumers do is first, use too much detergent. By using too much Tide will not do anymore cleaning than the recommended amount. Second, start the water first and adding the Tide, then stir the soap with the water to dissolve and mix the soap. I now do that and it got rid of the itching and I used less soap.
I’m a tide powder user. Many people I talked to complained about the itching problem. So, like the good consumer I am I called Tide. They told me the most common mistake consumers do is first, use too much detergent. By using too much Tide will not do anymore cleaning than the recommended amount. Second, start the water first and adding the Tide, then stir the soap with the water to dissolve and mix the soap. I now do that and it got rid of the itching and I used less soap.
[…] is FILLED with cleaning “miracles” most of which I am skeptical about. I made the laundry detergent which I have been really happy with. The few other things I have tried…not so happy with. […]
[…] is FILLED with cleaning “miracles” most of which I am skeptical about. I made the laundry detergent which I have been really happy with. The few other things I have tried…not so happy with. […]