Homemade Detergent!

Materials 

When M and I first got married, it was obviously  a big change for the both of us. We were both young and were used to having our own space. Cleaning was oddly a big issue only because we both had our own aways of cleaning. He was used to cleaning his barrack until it was spotless but he only cleaned when he absolutely had to. I would classify myself has having "organized clutter". Never dirty, but just a little messy. But, between the two of us we found a happy medium and the finished product was a clean and organized home! One thing that shocked me when moving into my own home is the price of cleaning products. Unless I have a coupon, I hardly ever have store bought cleaning products. Laundry detergent is one of those things that I found an really simple and affordable alternative that worked even better than the leading name brand. There are a lot of liquid and powder detergent recipes on blogs and websites all around but I just took a little piece of each and did what worked best for me. If you do a load and aren't completely happy with the results, add a cup of the generic oxy clean and t will help with stain removal. A big plus for using this recipe is there are no harsh dyes or perfumes so it's easy on your skin! 

Start out by grating one bar soap. I use ivory because I found it to work the best but use whatever you feel is best!

Use one cup of borax, you can find it along side the washing soda at almost any Walmart. I measure it out 1/4 cup at a time so that I can mix it in well gradually.

Also add one cup of washing soda gradually so it is mixed well.

mix well!

I store it in an old canning jar. Practical and pretty decorative if I do say so myself!

I use one heaping tablespoon per load. One batch normally lasts me over two months depending on if it's just me at home or if M is home with me. Again, if you feel like you want your clothes a little more fresh add a little extra per load. But I use just one heaping tablespoon per load even when washing M's smelly uniforms! 

Another little trick I do is with my fabric softener. What most people don't realize is that vinegar is a natural fabric softener. So when I get my fabric softener on sale or with a coupon I dilute it. I have an old bottle left from the last time I ran out of fabric softener so normally I fill it up with a little more than half with vinegar and fill the remaining space with the fabric softener. Now, most people can't stand the smell of vinegar but you can't even smell it by the time the clothes are done with the spin cycle. I hope my tips and tricks help make washing laundry a little easier on your wallet!

inspiration:

set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth-colossians 3:2