Frugal Friday Homemade Laundry Detergent/Fabric softner

Its Frugal Friday. I know all of us homemakers can use tips on saving and being frugal with our time, money and efforts. Today I am going to write about Laundry Detergent.

The average household spends:

The average family of 4 does 8 loads of laundry per week.	8 loads per week x 52 weeks = 416 loads per year.
You can do 32 loads of laundry per container of the leading brand of laundry detergent (50 ounce size).	416 loads / 32 loads per container = 13 containers per year.
The leading brand of laundry detergent costs $14.24 per 50 ounce container.	13 containers x $14.24 = $185.12
Bottom line: An average family of four will spend $185.12 per year on laundry detergent.

The average family spends on Bleach:

3 of the 8 loads of laundry that a family of four does per week will use bleach.	8 loads per week x 52 weeks = 156 loads per year.
8 ounces of bleach is recommended per load.	156 loads x 8 ounces = 1248 ounces.
There are 96 ounces of bleach per container of the leading brand.	1248 ounces / 96 ounces per container = 13 containers per year.
The leading brand of bleach costs $2.99 per container.	13 containers x $2.99 per container = $38.87.
Bottom line: An average family of four will spend $38.87 per year on bleach.

The average family spends on fabric softener:

Dollars Spent On Fabric Softener
8 loads of laundry will be done by a family of four each week.	8 loads x 52 weeks per year = 416 loads per year.
A 32 ounce container of the leading brand of fabric softener does 40 loads.	416 loads / 40 = 11 containers per year.
The leading brand of fabric softener costs $5.99 per 34 ounce container.	11 containers x $5.99 = $65.89.
Bottom line: An average family of four will spend $65.89 per year on fabric softener.

WOW! That is a whole lot of $ in a years time. Now if you have a larger family and use the free and clear Natural brands you can expect to pay a whole lot more than the listed prices above.

Luckily, making your own laundry soap is an easy and fast process! You only need three basic ingredients to make either a powdered or liquid laundry soap:

• Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer Brand available at most stores)
• Borax (20 Mule Team Borax available at most grocery stores)
• Bar Soap (Dr. Bronner’s,  Ivory, or other natural, unscented bar soap)

Washing Soda and Borax should be available at your local grocery store on the laundry aisle. Natural bar soaps are in the health, beauty, or organic sections of the store, or online. You can also add a couple tablespoons of baking soda to help freshen clothes.
Wonder what’s in these ingredients? Borax is a naturally occurring mineral made up of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water. It is an ingredient in most of the natural soaps available now (Seventh Generation, etc.) but it is much more inexpensive to make yourself.
Washing Soda, sometimes called sodium carbonate or soda ash, is made from common salt and limestone or found as natural deposits.
Dr. Bronner’s soaps are fair trade and made with vegetable castille soap and pure organic oils.

To Make powdered laundry soap:

1. Grate the bar soap or mix in food processor until finely ground. Use the soap of your choice. I personally use Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap because of its exceptional quality, and because it is available in several different natural scents like lavender, tea tree, peppermint, almond and others.
2. In a large bowl, mix 2 parts washing soda, 2 parts Borax and 1 part grated soap. (Add a few teaspoons of baking soda if desired).
3. Store in closed container. I keep mine in quart or half gallon mason jars. If you are using a big enough container, you can skip step 2 and just put all ingredients in storage container or jar and shake.
4. Use 1/8 to 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

To make liquid Laundry Soap:

1. Grate one bar of soap with cheese grater or food processor.
2. Put grated soap in pan with 2 quarts water and gradually heat, stirring constantly until soap is completely dissolved.
3. Put 4.5 gallons of really hot tap water in a 5-gallon bucket (available for free in bakeries at grocery stores, just ask them) and stir in 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda until completely dissolved.
4. Pour soap mixture from pan into 5-gallon bucket. Stir well.
5. Cover and leave overnight.
6. Shake or stir until smooth and pour into gallon jugs or other containers.
7. Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load.

Now instead of Bleach which only tears your clothes apart you could use vinegar and or peroxide, and for fabric softener here is a fast recipe I use;
 
{Homemade Fabric Softener}
6 Cups Water
2 Cups Hair Conditioner (You can use any kind, I did have the Suave Rosemary Mint on hand so I used that.)
3 Cups White Vinegar
Essential Oils (optional)

Mix all ingredients in mason jar will last for months stored in cabinet be sure to label it

Please leave your comments on how it works out for you if you try it, Id love to hear from you