I am cheap. Some people would like to call me thrifty, but I'm really just cheap. I'm also lazy. Sometimes it's hard to decide if I am more cheap or more lazy. This blog post is an attempt to get you, my dear readers, to interact with one another and me and give us your frugal, thrifty or even plain cheap tricks to save money. However, I request that you give easy suggestions, as I am too lazy to work very hard.
Here is my tip: Homemade Laundry Soap
I found this recipe and love it. It is easy and super cheap. It costs about $2 for 10 gallons. There is an initial outlay of a little more money as I will explain after the recipe, but it still is minimal cost.
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads
Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate.
We have had good luck finding washing soda and Fels-Naptha at Kroger and Rural King.
We got a FREE 5 gallon bucket from the Wal Mart bakery. The first one would not give us any, but another one gave us several, so ask at different locations. Bakeries get their frosting in 5 gallon buckets. I bought a special ladle that stores in my bucket with my soap.
The Borax and Washing Soda will cost you a few dollars each for initial outlay, but you will get many, many sets of this recipe out of one box of each. I have started using Borax and Washing soda for lots of things since I have it around now.
I put the undiluted stuff in a spray bottle to use as a pretreat for stains. It works quite well. I have an HE washer and I use it regularly. I was tired of spending so much money for those little bottles of laundry soap.
Now, it's your turn. Comment below and share your favorite cheap tip with us!
