Thrifty Thursdays: Laundry Series - Homemade Laundry Detergent

This is my laundry detergent. I love it. I made it at the end of last Summer and this is what I still have left.

It was super easy to make and super easy to use!

You can find the original "recipe" here.

You can find all of the ingredients at your local grocery store. I went to my Walmart this week and price checked all of the items used. I'm hoping not to have to make another batch until this Summer. 1 year's worth of laundry detergent for less than $20? Yes please!

Ingredients:
1 box of Borax - $3.38
1 box washing soda (Arm and Hammer) - $3.24
2 containers oxygen bleach or 1 large one (I used Oxiclean) - $7.52 (for the 3# tub)
3 bars Fels Naptha - $0.97/each
2 cups baking soda - I forgot to price this one but we'll just ball park $0.50
Optional- Purex Crystlas or Downy Unstoppables. I didn't use them this time but plan on doing so next time.

Total cost: $17.55 not including the optional ingredient.

You'll also need a large container to store it in. I bought a large glass jar for $10 at Walmart.

Grate the Fels Naptha. You can use a food processor or a cheese grater. I used a cheese grater. Then put a trash bag in a 10 gallon bucket or trash can. Basically you just pour all of your ingredients in the bag and mix thoroughly. I suggest layering and mixing as you go. It's hard to mix everything up all at once. Store in your designated container.

To Use:
Just add 1-2 Tbs to your laundry load. If you have an HE washer this works great because it doesn't make a lot of suds. If you have a front loader place the detergent directly into the drum.

I bought this scoop for cheap at Walmart also. I use the larger scoop to kind of break up the detergent and the smaller scoop to measure it out. It works perfect and fits nicely in the jar.