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Did you ever watch, “Semi-Homemade Cooking” with Sandra Lee? It used to be on the Food network. She would make recipes which included one or more convenience foods, but were mostly all homemade. Maybe she would use a seasoning packet instead of just herbs and spices, or a cake mix would be doctored to ‘taste homemade’.
I made my own laundry detergent for a while using various recipes I found online. There are a lot out there, but I determined that I was not interested in moving this show to my kitchen, so recipes that required the use of my food processor or large pots on the stove were out.
I landed on one that called for me to grate bars of soap, mixing the resulting shreds with Borax, Washing Soda, and Oxy Clean. Heck, I even made my own soap to use for a while (it’s not as difficult as you’d think!)
So I am not dissing DIY detergent, but I have moved on to my “Semi-Homemade” version and don’t see myself going back.
The main reason I went DIY in the first place was to save money. It’s amazing how far homemade detergent stretches! And my semi-homemade version is no different.
But I made the switch to this version because of our noses.
I know our laundry was clean, but we missed the “clean laundry” smell. Gain. We missed the smell of Gain.
So I replaced the grated soap for powdered Gain detergent.
And I took out the washing soda (mainly because I didn’t have it once and didn’t miss it). I read later that its main purpose is to soften hard water to make stains come out more easily, and we have soft water. So it never got added back in the mix.
If you’re wondering what Borax is, check out this link. Also, if you are concerned about the safety of using Borax, here is an article that set my mind at ease.
All I do is mix equal parts of:
Powdered Laundry Detergent (or grated soap – if you opt for this, I’ve heard Fels-Naptha is a good choice)
Borax
Oxy Clean
Easy Peasy!
I keep ours in an ice cream bucket with a scoop. We get the Gain scent we love, but not overpowering, and it stretches a box of detergent for a really, really long time.
You know, Sandra Lee went on to make a show called “Money Saving Meals”. And for me, saving money was the reason I started making my own laundry detergent in the first place. Saving money AND the fresh scent we know and love —
Score!
Have you ever tried making your own laundry detergent? What were your results?
I am so happy to find this post! My family is missing that great laundry smell, too!!! I can’t wait to make my own. Thank you!!! ❤
Yay!! I’m so glad, too! You are very welcome.
My mom went through a real DIY detergent kick. She probably still does it, she loves using her own natural additives! When my brother had a band trip that he had raise something like 400 dollars to attend, he and his gf made a huge amount of this detergent and sold it door to door to earn their keep. 🙂
What a great idea to earn money! Love it!
Borax powder is very helpful to clean any types of cloth. I always use this ingredient before wash clothes.
I want to try this. I spend so much on laundry detergent. Great post.
I use Gain laundry detergent. Just love the smell of it!
It’s the best!
I remember her show and loved it. I get purex powder detergent using coupons, then I add grated zote and grated fels naptha soap. I also use the 32 oz. Laundry booster and scent boosters(from dollar tree), and a box of biz. When I mix everything I end up with a year’s worth of laundry detergent that’s about $2.00 a month.
Granted its not as cheap as some laundry detergent “recipes” but it’s still cheaper than only using “name brand” detergent.
I have a 2 tbsp. Measuring cup and use 2 of those in my top loader he washing machine. I use a 50/50 mix of white distilled vinegar and fabric softener (again bought with coupons) in a downy ball for the rinse.
I bought a pack of handi-wipes ( from dollar tree) , cut up half into rectangules then put into a plastic container, poured some of my Fab softener over them and use one per load in my dryer in place of dryer sheets. When the load is dry I just pop my “dryer sheet” back in the container to re-use. They’ve lasted just about a year too. And I have the rest of the package in reserve.
What great money-saving ideas! That’s what I love about the semi-homemade thing. We don’t have to do everything from complete scratch to save and stretch a buck. Well done and thanks for sharing!!