With a family of 5 and self-employment, lay-offs, and rising costs hitting us from all angles, this Summer was when the Blake Family Cheapos came out in full force!  We’re cutting costs whenever we can:  fitting the yard for preparation for the Fall/Spring garden, buying our meat in bulk straight from the farm, staying home more often to save on gas, hanging clothes on the line {less dryer time = lower electric bill}, canceling magazine subscriptions and other unnecessary luxuries, plus this mommy has engulfed herself in Make Your Own EVERYTHING!  If you can buy it in retail, you can make it yourself cheaper and healthier!  This is my favorite MYO find yet!  I’ve wanted to make my own laundry detergent for years and earlier this year I started saving Purex containers so I would have something to store my own soap in and I searched the internet for months to find the best, cheapest “recipe”.  Found it and am on my second batch!  My sis and I are splitting our batches, sharing the wealth; my mother even did her own batch with my Aunt this week!  Trust me, it’s super easy, will save you a TON of money, and you’ll feel good about never buying plastic bottled expensive detergent again!

Thanks to Trent at The Simple Dollar, that’s where I got this recipe from!

• 1 cup washing soda {Arm & Hammer}…I had a hard time finding this, Ace Hardware was where we finally tracked it down but it’s sold online at plenty of places if you want to go that route.  $4.19 for 55oz box
• 1/2 cup Borex – Target $2.99 12 oz box
• 1 bar of soap {we had a case of Irish Spring laying around from a Sams trip last year, we only use bar soap for hand washing so we don’t go through it too quickly}.  I’ll use up this bar soap but switch to cheaper, all natural types later.  Use what you have or buy the cheapest!
• 4 cups of boiling water
• approx. 3 gallons of warm water
• 5 gallon bucket with lid

Boil 4 cups of water.  While water is boiling, shred {I used a cheese grater} or break into tiny bits {this is easy to do with soap actually} the bar of soap.  Bring the boiled water to a simmer and slowly add in the pieces of bar soap, continuously stirring until all the pieces are melted.

Add about 3 gallons of warm water to the 5 gallon bucket.  Add the washing soda, Borex, and melted bar soap mixture to the bucket and stir well.  Cover and set aside for 24 hours before using.  My bucket stays right in my laundry room out of the way.  The next day, your detergent will look either slimy or watery or chunky, or just like detergent, all textures are fine!  Mine has always come out chunky but it breaks up in the washing cycle and works perfectly!

Our clothes are clean and fresh!  I’m 100% loving MYO Laundry Soap!  I must confess, I do still buy cheapo fabric softener {I’m not a fan of using vinegar for this option} since we hang our clothes so often outside on the line.  And needless to say, your boxes of Borex and Washing Soda will last you plenty of batches {I calculate what I have on hand right now will last me well over a year and that’s with about 1-2 loads a day in this house}, this is 10 times + cheaper than buying $10 + laundry soap every month!

My two tips:  1)  save some old laundry detergent bottles in preparation for making gallons of your own, it’s easier to store than scooping out of your 5 gallon bucket each time.  2)  BE CAREFUL with the grater…I got a booboo!