I Saved Over $300 Doing Laundry

All of you women out there reading this will relate to the idea of laundry is a fact of our lives. Not that men don't do laundry however I am convinced that they figured out long ago that if they ruined a couple of batches of clothes on purpose they wouldn't be allowed within ten feet of the washer again! "Oh Babe...how was I supposed to know my red long johns would turn all your white blouses pink"! Laundry is an expensive affair. The bottles are getting smaller and more "concentrated" but surprise surprise the cost has gone up and up. Big box chains understand the draw of cheap laundry detergent and it is why they use it as their biggest loss leader to get us laundry dazed women in there. Well thanks to the Duggars (the family with the 20 kids) I am no longer singing the laundry detergent blues. In 2011 I decided enough was enough. Michelle Duggar makes her own for 19 kids so why not me for my two that are home now. I found their recipe online and started making my own and as far as I can tell it has saved us over $300 this year and the year isn't even over yet.

You will need:

1 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry So

( you can use any laundry bar soap-I got this in Houlton however you can also order it online for just over a buck a bar)

1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda

(not baking soda. I found it at a Co-op)

1/2 cup Borax

Essential Oil ( I use Orange)

4 Cups of hot tap water

STEP ONE: Grate one bar of laundry soap

STEP TWO: Add 4cups hot water put on stove on medium heat until the soap melts.

STEP THREE: Fill a 5 litre pail half full of hot tap water. Add the Borax, Washing soda and soap mixture stirring thoroughly until it all dissolves. Then fill up to the top. Let sit covered overnight. This mixture will gel not quite as hard as jello but you will need to stir it the next day.

STEP FOUR: Pour 1/2 of this mixture in an empty laundry container mixing 1/2 soap mixture with half water and shake well. It is always a 50/50 mix no matter what container you use. I had a Pampered Chef large juice container that works lovely but that's a bit expensive I just happened to have it. Add 10-15 drops of essential oils (Bulk Barn sells them) per two litres. I have a front loading machine and fill the drawer to maximum.

Viola - Ten litres of laundry soap for just over $3. I bought $15 worth of supplies and I have enough to last me until the end of 2012! Ridiculous the money made on soap.

Suds alert - there aren't any. I was a bit stressed at first wanting a washer bin full of suds but this soap doesn't suds up. No worries though it does clean your clothes really well. Also for all of you sensitive skin types this hasn't bothered any of us.

So that's my money saving tip - a bit of work involved but well worth the effort and savings. Next week I'll tell you how I saved a goob on dryer sheets....Mama out.