DIY: Homemade Detergent

If you're my Facebook friend, then you know a month or so ago I purchased a liquid detergent from Family Dollar with a scent that can only be described as "men's deodorant." I bought it in an effort to save money, but it truly was not worth it to smell like Speed Stick for Men every darn day. Ew.

On that post, a couple of friends commented that they made their own detergent at home. They said that one batch lasts a really long time, and it ends up being around something like .05 a load. Well Suzy Homemaker I am not, but I figured I could probably get a few supplies, dump them in a bucket and stir them around. So I bought what they suggested and also consulted this link.

I finally made time to make it today. The hardest part was grating the Fels-Naptha soap because, even though my mom had let me borrow her food processor and given me the grater addition, I didn't have the thing that hooks the grater to the machine ... anyways, suffice it to say I didn't have what I needed to use the food processor, so I decided to do it by hand. I didn't want to wait another day. I was a gal on a mission. So I grated that dang soap by hand, and it seriously took me about 45 minutes per bar, so ... maybe use your food processor. Haha.

This looks like delicious cheese. While grating, I made up a long story in my head about someone thinking it was cheese and using it and then finding out it was soap.  But since I live here alone, that is unlikely to happen. Good story Anna. Tell it again.

Then I threw the Fels-Naptha into my container, and added the Borax, the Super Washing Soda, the Baking Soda, and the Oxi Clean. Then I stirred it around with a spoon.

I had some laundry I need to do (some = a ton), so I decided to give it a go. I washed socks, undies, and pajamas and they look pretty clean! Haha. At any rate, they do not smell like Speed Stick, so that in itself is a huge improvement.