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Saturday, June 21, 2014

Natural Homemade Laundry Soap: Is it Worth the Time and Cost?

It might seem like a lot of work to make homemade, natural laundry soap, but I am here to say that it couldn't be easier. It is one of my top priorities as a mom to make my family healthier and save money while doing it.  I love being a stay-at-home mom and coming up with ways to save money. This is a great way to save money and have long lasting, safe to use laundry soap. 


All of my children have suffered from eczema at one time or another in their life. I have found that using natural laundry detergent helps prevent their skin from rashes associated with eczema. You can make a separate batch without the Purex for sensitive skin.  




Conventional laundry detergents are loaded with chemicals like fragrances, phenols, sulfates and more.  They also cost more than making it yourself.  You are getting a better product when you make laundry soap yourself and you are saving money!!  With the cost of house supplies (and groceries) going up, it is important to find ways to save money.


What the ingredients are:

Borax 
is a naturally occurring mineral made up of boron, sodium,  oxygen and water.




Washing Soda 
is made from salt and limestone.

Fels-Naptha 
is a bar soap that contains sodium tallowate and sodium cocoate or sodium palmate kernelate and sodium palmate. 


Let's break down the price:
Depending where you live and where you shop, prices will vary. Using coupons will lower cost and depending where I shop (such as Lowes), I use my military discount (my husband is in the Air Force).  This is what it cost me.



1 Box of Borax 4 lbs 12 oz. size ($3.16)
1 container of Oxy-Clean 1.3 lb ($2.86)
1 Box of Super Washing Soda 3 lb. 7 oz. ($3.24)
2 Boxes of Pure Baking Soda 2 lb. ($1.12)
2 bars of Fels-Naptha 5.5 oz. ($1.94)
*optional: Purex Crystals 28 oz. ($3.97)

TOTAL- $16.29
This makes 215.5 oz which is a little more than 13 lbs.  
7.5 cents per oz

You need 2 tablespoons (1 oz) per (full) wash load which equals 215 loads of laundry!!!  

Remember this has no fillers.  It is very concentrated. 

















~This detergent (without Purex or Downy) is fragrance and dye free which is great if you have sensitive skin or allergies.

~Dove soap can be used in place of Fels-Naptha.

~This laundry soap is highly concentrated and a little goes a long way.

~Make sure to grate the bar soap in a food processor very fine.  I use the cheese grater attachment first, then the blade. 

~I use a 5 gallon bucket to mix and store in.  I transfer laundry soap into a smaller container and use that in my laundry room and refill as needed.

~The Oxy comes with a 1 oz scoop. It is the perfect size for measuring out your laundry soap.



Have you made your own laundry soap? How did you make it?






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6 comments:

  1. Dawn PJune 22, 2014 at 4:51 AM

    We use and love this recipe! I store it in a big bucket, but I put our every day supply in the empty Pured Crystals container and use the Pured lid (filled tongue first line) as my measuring cup for each load. This recipe lasts my family of five about a year!

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    Replies
    1. Letitia MauriceJuly 2, 2014 at 8:15 PM

      I also saved my Purex bottle for the same reason. Right now I am using a large bucket to store it and a small bucket for the laundry room (see pic) and the oxy scoop as my scooper. I love this "recipe"

      Delete
  2. Dawn PJune 22, 2014 at 4:52 AM

    Whoops...Pured should be Purex. Silly auto correct ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Letitia MauriceJune 22, 2014 at 5:16 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Lisa Lewis KosterJune 25, 2014 at 7:29 PM

    I always wondered if it was cost effective to make your own. Thanks for the info!

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    Replies
    1. Letitia MauriceJuly 2, 2014 at 8:14 PM

      You are welcome. I always wonder things like that, too. I wanted to take any of the doubt away.

      Delete

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