Cheaper and A LOT better DIY laundry detergent

I know a few women who swear by making their own laundry detergent but I could never bring myself to try it. I tend to be a little picky when it comes to my detergent. It has to smell yummy and the smell has to last, it cannot fade the colors of my clothes, it has to make my towels nice and fluffy and it HAS to be able to get the funk out of my family's gym clothes and sports uniforms. I am not asking too much am I? I had fallen in love with Tide with Febreze and the Febreze sport a long time ago and that is all I use.

But at between $12 and $20 a bottle, depending on what size I bought, even with coupons it seemed to cost me and arm and a leg. I usually do about 4 loads a week, sometimes 5. That adds up to be a lot of money. I know there are many other things I could spend that money on....Hobby Lobby and Traders Joe's come to mind!

So after looking around the internet for "recipes" for laundry detergent, I came across one that seemed to have some potential. After I made my first batch, ran my first laundry cycle, I pulled the clothes out, stuck my nose in them and OH MY WORD, they smelled amazing. After the dryer cycle was finished they still smelled good. And for about $28 a year...I am sold!

All you are going to need is 1-2 tablespoons of soap, depending on how dirty your load is, in each load of laundry! 

Here is what you will need:

2 bars of Fels-Naptha

1 container of Oxygen stain remover ( I feel that the Dirty Jobs stain remover is better than Oxi-clean)

1 bottle of Purex Crystals (this is optional but it gives your laundry an amazing smell)

1 box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 box of Borax

4lb box of baking soda

Grab your cheese grater and start grating the bars of Fels-Naptha. 

It should look like this when you are finished.

Grab a bucket with a lid, mine is a 5lb bucket from Lowes, to mix and keep your detergent in. 

Add all of your ingredients to the bucket. 

Now take those tools, hands, that you were given and mix it all up. It will look like this when you are finished. 

I like to save the scoop that comes with the Dirty Job remover because I use it to scoop the detergent into the Purex Crystal Bottle, so that I can keep a bottle of soap on top of the washer. Put the lid on the bucket and store it away.

Now this is why I save the Purex bottle. I filled this bottle about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I have done about 13 loads of laundry and this is all I have used! Yep, that is right. 13 loads of laundry and I am down about and inch from the top. This is going to last you a good while!