Awhile back, I was asked to share with you all how I make my own laundry soap.
I know what you are thinking . . .
“Can this girl get any weirder?!”
Probably.
But, that’s not the point.
I suppose these are the sorts of things people do once they move out into the middle of nowhere and start homeschooling their children.
But, I digress.
Raising four kids on one income is tricky. Therefore and henceforth, I am trying to embrace frugality. It does not come easily to me.
I found this recipe for liquid laundry soap off of the Duggar Website.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
You will need:
1- 5 gallon bucket
1-Fels Naptha bar or bar of Ivory soap
1 cup of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax
Lots of hot water and some containers will help.
1. Grate the bar of soap and add it to a saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat, or until soap dissolves and is melted.
2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
3. Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
Tips:
1. Start saving old liquid laundry soap containers.
2. I had a hard time finding all the ingredients at first. But all three of the items needed were found in the laundry aisle at Fred Meyer.
3. I had already purchased a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot a few years ago. I think it was around $5?
So far, it is working great! I have had no problems and have used it since the beginning of November. My laundry does not have that clean scent to it, though. I have never added any scented oils.
Did that fascinate you, dear readers?
Well, good news! I have another tip!
Cheap Fabric Softener
Take another bucket or large-ish container.
(I used an old, large, plastic animal cracker tub from Costco)
Buy a container of name brand fabric softener and add it to your container. Fill the container twice with water and add it.
Take a cheap sponge and cut it in half. Add it to your container.
(I used a few sponges-mine get lost . . . )
When you put your clothes into the dryer, take out one sponge, squeeze out the excess liquid, and add it to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.
***
My husband is extremely thrilled that I have accomplished this. I fear he believes I am “joining his team.”
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: I will not reuse Ziplock bags.
In other news, I am also planning on making my own Easter egg dye.
Next year, to save on butchering costs, I plan to butcher all of my husband’s fresh game.
I kid! I jest!
If you ever, ever hear of me butchering any sort of animal, please send a rescue mission out here post haste.
(Not that there’s anything wrong with that)
Happy Wednesday!
PS-I would love to hear anyone else’s tips on saving money! Share your ideas if you can!
I also saw the laundry recipe on the Duggar website. (That woman scared me, honestly.)
I am glad to hear that there is no scent. We are a house of very sensitive skin people, I think I may have to give that a try.
Have you tried using vinegar instead of rinse agent in your dish washer? I think it works just as well and is so cheap. And my dishes don’t smell like vinegar. 🙂
I tend to embrace luxury so I’m afraid I have no tips : )
Vinegar is also a good fabric softener. I use it in one of the little blue balls. I use vinegar and baking soda for just about everything! It’s super cheap at Costco =)
wool dryer balls are awesome as well, and don’t have any chemicals! Fabric softener is yucky stuff!
You putting all the money you’re saving in a “trip to Tennessee” fund?!!
I make powder laundry detergent 🙂 pretty much same as your liquid detergent, except I just use the dry ingredients.. borax, washing soda and fels naptha… 1 TBSP of detergent per load… walla! super cheap!!
vinegar and amonnia are staples around here. wash windows with old newspaper and vinegar/ammonia mix 🙂 if you want it to look like windex put a couple drops of blue food coloring in the bottle…
Embrace your cheapness and weirdness. It’s working for ya! 🙂 My brain is currently in a “not working” type situation, so I can’t think of anything to contribute, but I’ll check back to see what others say! 🙂
Oh, so here’s a question: apparently I am really behind the times and/or a little slow, but where does one get “essential oils”? I know not of this.
Whole Foods has loads.
You are AMAZING! I do good to do the laundry never mind making the soap! 🙂 Good thing God only gave me one kid!
Good for you for learning how to be frugal! I am still struggling with it myself.
I second Shanan above; I do the powdered stuff.
You use the same ingredients; 1 bar Fels stuff, or other laundry bar, grated; 2 cups A & H super washing soda, 2 cups Borax.
Process in blender or food processer until Fels is powdered.
Store in empty 3 lb peanut butter tub (or whatever you might have on hand), along with old measuring Tablespoon.
Voila. You save lots of time on the melting of soap, and lots of space on storing of liquid soap. No overnight waiting. Took me about an hour or so to do two batches.
I also just add a glug of vinegar to the wash, as a softener and to counteract our hard water problem.
how much of this recipe do you use for a load of laundry?
If I make it until Sunday, it will have been 5 weeks since I put gas in my van.
My secret?
Have no life.
Done.
Don’t eat out.
However, as you live in Ruralville you already know that tip!
Look at you and your bad self posting a tutorial! I still haven’t ventured into homemade detergent, though I grew up with my mom swearing by the wonder that is Fels-Naptha.
I buy the big bag of baking soda from Costco and use it for scrubbing (in addition to baking, of course). Very cheap and effective and non-toxic.
And I use recycled newspaper for cleaning mirrors & windows like Shanan does. Although I have to say I use them with my favorite Mrs. Meyers Basil Window Cleaner. 🙂
You have trained me well, dear Taylor. I started using the homemade laundry detergent and the fabric softner in March and I love love love it! Thanks for the tip. My tip for saving money??? Watch for coupons. Or as I do, watch blogs that watch for coupons. I found Fabolessleyfrugal.com is awesome. If you go to their site and click on “Stores” then Click on say “Albertsons” another little menu pops up and you can click on “Grocery Smarts List”. It is awesome, they do all the work for you. You just need to clip and print your coupons.
I hang my clothes on lines that I’ve hung in my garage. After my first two months of doing this, I had cut over $100 from my electric bill. Now, I only use my dryer in extremely frigid weather.
I make my laundry soap and it is easier…10 bars of Fels Naptha grated in the food processor, 1 whole box washing powder, 1 whole box Borax and that is it.Put it in an air tight container…Ta Da. Makes tons You need a 1/8 cup per load… in a HE washer, prob more ina regular washer.
It is great and I don’t really do anything from scratch!
My daughters started making this homemade laundry detergent for me and we love it. It saves a LOT of money.
Re-using ziplocs can be frustrating, but I used to wash them in the washing machine. Turn inside out, run through the wash and hang to drip dry. I don’t wash bags that had meat in them, nor do I re-use the washed ones for food, just for all those crazy things kids want to use a ziploc for and I’d be too stingy to share.
I used to make my own baby wipes, always used half a dryer sheet, and used just an old toothbrush and a bar of soap for my laundry pre-treatment.
I am amazed. And lazy! I need to do some changin’! Is it possible?! I don’t know. You are the coolest.
Combine any trip to town with doing something else there. Make a list.
Eat out only with coupons.
Hang clothes on line to dry.
Hand wash car at home and vacuum .
Try home remedies before going to doctor.
Don’t have kids.
Heat with wood.
Wear clothesshoes until worn out. Yard sales.
Make all family birthday cakes .
Only buy groceries on sale and stock up then.
Eat leftovers. Don’t throw good food away.
Cook from scratch/ not heat and eat meals.
Cook on woodstove in winter.
Grow garden.
No credit cards except emergencies.
Dollar Tree has almost everything for 1 dollar.
Dollar menus at restarants.
Y’all have a Dollar Store in your neck of the woods or the big city? I can’t believe the stuff that place has. At first I just used to humor my granddaughters when they were itching to spend their change or my dollars. Then I started asking “Do you have light bulbs? Batteries? Razars?” Yes, yes they do. And wrapping paper and cards for all occasions. I do organic because I have kids/grandkids with allergies, but if you don’t they have name brand foods now and then. Right now the Easter candy is fabulous. You could fill up a bunch of baskets for five bucks.
My daughter and I discovered this by accident. Kiss My face had something or other in it with a pump type top. I poured expensive face soap in it from a large bottle and lo and behold, the pump made it foam. That really stretches out the face soap big time.
I also make my own laundry soap, but I make a powder. (Because I am too lazy to do something that actually requires heating and stirring and such.) I use the same three ingredients you do, though. I put the bar of fels-naptha in my food processor and grind it as close to powder as possible. Then I mix in a 1/2 cup of the washing soda and a 1/2 cup of borax for every bar. I store the whole thing in a big jug that used to hold pretzel rods from Sam’s Club. Two tablespoons per washload makes this a cheap alternative, and I’ve never needed fabric softener since I started using this recipe.
I didn’t tell many people I made my own soap because I didn’t want them to think I’m weird. I do wear cute earrings while making it though, just to maintain some normalcy. : )
It does no good to save money by consuming more and ever more cheap plastic when we are polluting the oceans and killing animals.
I buy sturdy eyeglasses and keep them safe.
I hang clothes on the line.
read my Tightwad Gazette.
There are many websites. I get all my mailing boxes free by looking around. Compare rates for shipping. I can do this easily at Office Depot because they do mail and UPS and compare on the spot!
Vinegar is a wonderful and versatile product. Very healthy for hair rinse.
Clean with ammonia. Hang clothes on the line. I always have a savings for rainy day no matter how broke I am. I don’t buy much gas. Forget body products and use natural. Crisco works. Learn how to make bread. Don’t pay full-price for anything. Build a clothesline. I hand wash nice blouses and pants, they don’t fade much and stay newer looking longer. It’s nice to have a little extra money so if high quality chicken breasts, roasts, etc go on sale I can stock up. I use pyrex or other glass containers to store food and leftovers. They go in dishwasher easier and don’t get contamination petrochemicals in the food.
There was a study done between cloth diapers and disposables – which is cheaper? The soap and water and energy expenses used to launder cloth washes out any savings.
Cloth napkins could be cheaper and saves trees. Most of us are washing clothes anyway so they can be tossed in. Learn how to knit or crochet for gifts.
Use the thrift store. Use the library for entertainment, outings, and movies. Make stilts for the kids. Grow vegetables and fruits.
Consumer reports has tested window cleaning products and has their own recipe I’ve used for years.
An all-purpose cleaner very concentrated can be bought at any janitorial supply and diluted can clean most anything. I’ve had mine for years and still haven’t used up the first spray bottle I made up.
Keep your cars clean and maintained. Helps the paint and gas mileage. Learn how to do basic maintenance.
Learning a new skill enriches your life, your brain, entertains you and will come in handy.
I always make copies at a office store instead of using ridiculously priced printer ink.
Government has surplus food they give away monthly at selected sites in each city. Check it out if you need it. Believe me, you’ve already paid for it. Most museums have free days. Take snacks with you to ward off hunger on outings and to the Fair to cut down on meals there. Keep your fridge full, uses less energy. Insulate all hot water heater and pipes. Use lined drapes on all windows. You will be amazed how it keeps heat in or out depending on the season.
Make your frostings and hot cocoa from Hershey’s powder cocoa and dry milk. Use dry milk in all recipes. Learn to make your own mixes like cornbread,biscuits, cakes, etc. Then you don’t have to start from scratch everytime. Anything you particularly want or need to buy contact the company online and praise their product and ask polite questions. Thank them for their time and they will almost always send you coupons. If not, just ask them. For one person I have compared two weeks of buying, storing, cooking, and cleaning of meal preparation to just eating out. For one person it was cheaper to eat out. Cheap desperation meal, fry tortillas fairly crisp, top with heated refried beans, cheese if you have it, and anything else you may have on hand, some type of salsa or fast food taco sauce packets, sour cream, chopped onion, tomato. Leftover meats. Add cooked rice to on sale tomato soup, very filling and cheap once in awhile. I use dried powdered egg substitue because I’m allergic to eggs, but it may save gas and a trip to market if you use internet for things like making your own condensed milk, evaporated milk. Just brainstorming here. Margarine can be frozen. Learn how to can for some things. Learn how to use beans more. Have biscuits and jam or breakfast for dinner sometimes. Once in awhile as long as your full it doesn’t have to be a complete square meal with all the sides every day.
Go online for any motel/hotel you want or need to visit. Try to book online reservation but don’t finalize and confirm it. It drives them nuts to get your potential business and will send you email offers that get cheaper the more you don’t make a reservation. I have also found that if the price still doesn’t suit you call, be very polite, explain you simply can’t afford the going rate and ask for the “Manager’s Special.” If they are not full these are the cheaper than any published rate I have ever found everytime. Do your own taxes. Use YMCA for exercises and events. Ask your city for free recreation classes and helps. Adult education, colleges etc can be useful resources also United Way. Hope this gets your readers thinking. Just know that there may always be a better way. I don’t know about priceline etc but I know people who bid for 300 gallons of gasoline for $40 if they win. I know a guy who gets the cheapest ever airfare rates this way. Drive safely and stay with same insurance company. They award loyalty and if you’ve paid their premiums for years they will be even more helpful when you ever get in a wreck, need repair or replacement of a vehicle. Don’t buy greeting cards if you can help it. Way too expensive nowadays. Learn to pick parts of plants you like and propagate them. There are books, and online resources to help, but all old ladies you meet will just pick a piece of any plant they want and stick it right in the soil or in some water. Trees, shrubs, can get expensive. I turn all manila mailing envelopes and even mailing boxes inside out and reuse regluing with a glue stick and tape. Post office does not want any printing on mailing boxes so I just separate at the seam and glue with hot glue gun or wood glue and reuse them. I use Christmas cards to make tags for gifts, if I cut out in a shape, and punch a hole they make adorable gift tags. I love them. Save all adhesive stickers of any type to keep kids busy for quite a long time. If their young, they don’t care what they look like, they just want to peel and stick. Use bags chips and snacks come in, wash and use the inside shiny mylar to make ribbons for presents. You can curl any paper also. Learn to make scrunchies headbands for girls. Fake play dough recipes are easy to find. I save all old useless pieces of packaging, jar lids, foam, string, milk jug rings, foil, buttons, jewelry etc. Have a craft day and kids just have a ball simply stacking all objects together then painting any old junk. I learned this at a Thanksgiving festival. Very ingenious.
I apologize. Frugal living is my passion. That way when I do spend money I don’t feel guilty because I have saved in so many ways if I want those nice shoes or a trip to my favorite hotel or a new (used) CD – I don’t regret it.
In my county, the Fair has a website and look at the promotions page. Last year I could get into Fair without buying admission for 5 cans of any food. One day was school supply day. Any school supply equalling six dollars was admission. Here we can take the Metrolink to the Fair saving on the way expensive parking. Saves gas and the environment too. If you enter something in the Fair you may win a cash prize. Enter a category not many people enter like table settings or string art or whittling. 🙂
I’m just finishing up my first batch of homemade laundry detergent, I had made a double. I love it. It started out as a money saver, now I also feel a little like an earth saver. I think of all the plastic containers I am not buying & throwing away, even though we do recycle. I like the “no scent” factor, but my son misses the “fresh” smell so I use a few drops of oil in a quarter cup of vinegar in my rinse 🙂
And it was easy to make, I’m not a baker so I don’t spend a lot of extra time in my kitchen, I just set this on the stove to melt & checked it in between tv episodes 😉
I am not frugal. I wish I was though. Maybe when we have kids?
“Use it up.
Wear it out.
Make it do, or
Do without.”
Who knew the way we grew up was so tre chic frugal?
Thanks, Datenutloaf for your great ideas!
I like zip lock bags. I love music. I love perfume. I love nail polishing stuff. I will not pay for it. Things I don’t want to spend my money on I ask for on my birthday and Christmas. Once my boyfriend got me every size Ziplock, several bags of gourmet coffee beans, an Estee Lauder complete makeup gift set and a glue gun, plus my fave CDs. My family gets me music too! Score!!
PS Borax rocks and company has a fascinating history. They will send you four vouchers for FREE boxes – not just cents off coupons.
I mark days on my calendar when I have not spent one red cent.
Love it!!! Vinegar works great in the dishwasher instead of the expensive jet dry stuff.
Made the powder version of this stuff. It’s great!