* Disclaimer. I suck at math. Like I’m horrible! If you see a math mistake please comment and correct me.
Ya’ll if I love anything it is saving money. There is just something so satisfying about being able to walk past all those aisles in the grocery store and think “I don’t need you, I can make it myself!” To be able to pass up the soups loaded with fake flavors and MSG, or the prefab frozen dinners, or the laundry soap.
…
Yup the laundry soap.
Once upon a time when I first embarked on the make my own stuff journey I came across this laundry soap recipe and it has been my absolute go to recipe ever since. I love it, it’s cheap, smells grate (ha! see what I did there….), and saves me money.
Also it takes me all of 2 minutes to throw it together. I’m all about fast and easy, man.
Since I’ve been making it for years I’ve had time to make a few tweeks to it here and there and thus have come to the ultimate concoction. This is a pretty dang good way to wash your clothes.
The Grate Recipe:
6 bars of Ivory Soap – grated
1 box Borax
1/2 box Washing Soda (which works out to about 6 3/4 cups)
2 containers of Resolve
1 Container Purex Crystals
Throw all together and mix well. (I put it all into a large garbage bag and shake it around a few times, and presto!)
Use 2 tablespoons per load.
Now lets break that down:
Ivory 10 pk = $4.49. I used 6 bars so that means I spent about $2.69 for the soap. (4.49 divided by 10 x6) (at Amazon )
Borax = $5 (at No Frills)
Washing Soda = $6 (at No Frills)
Resolve Bright and White = $6.22 x2 = $12.44 (at Amazon)
Purex Crystals = $6 (at Walmart)
Total Cost of Homemade Laundry Soap: 32.13.
Now if you have learned anything about me it is that I like the easiest way to make homemade everything.
So, for the last batch I made, I bought a box of Ivory Snow therefore skipping the grating soap step completely. I know, pretty genius (or shameful).
The No-Grate Method
2 1/3 cups Ivory Snow
1 box Borax
1/2 box Washing Soda (which works out to about 6 3/4 cups)
2 containers of Resolve
1 Container Purex Crystals
Mix it all together. Use 2 tablespoons per load.
The Cost Break Down:
I paid $9 (at Target) for a 1.5 kg box of Ivory Snow. According to my rough math: 1.5 kg = 52.9109 oz. So $9 divided by 52.9109 = 17 cents per oz. We use 18.6 oz (or 2 1/3 cups) x 0.17 = $3.16 for 2 1/3 cups of soap.
Therefore if I wanted to not grate the soap and buy a box of convenient Ivory Snow then the overall laundry soap cost would be $32.60.
This laundry soap lasts me about 9 months. 9 months! Next time I will try to remember to keep a tally for how many loads it does. It is also H.E. safe. Just put it right in the drum before adding your clothes.
So next time you’re in the grocery store and see all those brands of super expensive laundry soap, all lined up looking pretty on their little shelves, just think of all those little pennies sitting happily in your wallet…and they get to stay there! So ha!
(P.S. For a super easy and cheap fabric softener check out this post)
Shared on: Mostly Homemade Mondays
