DIY Homemade Laundry Powder Detergent!

So...I'm VERY into homemade non-harsh cleaning products, but one I hadn't tried yet was laundry detergent. My aunt had made some a while ago, but since we've been living with my parents, I haven't had to buy laundry detergent lately. But the other day while we were grocery shopping, I saw the Fels-Naptha bar and all the supplies to make it (cost less than $10!), so I thought I might as well.

The source I got the recipe from says that the final mixed amount will be enough for 60 loads, so about 15 cents per load. But you'll also have enough of the Borax and Super Washing Soda to make at least 2 to 3 more batches if you don't use it in other places around the house. An 150 oz container of Tide is roughly $18 for 90 loads or 20 cents per load. It may not seem like a lot, but if you do a load a day for a year, that's a savings of about $18.25, which adds up. Especially if you replace the other chemical cleaners in your house for cheaper homemade alternatives.

All you need is:

-20 Mule Team Borax, roughly $3 at Walmart

-Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda, roughly $3 at Walmart

-1 Fels-Naptha (yellow) or Zote (pink) laundry bar (they do essentially the same thing, but Fels has a cleaner scent, and Zote has a flowery scent), less than $1 at Walmart

Take your cheese grater (it's safe!) and grate up the bar of soap (only half the bar if you're using Zote). I've heard you can use a food processor to annihilate the soap into tiny pieces so it mixes with the other ingredients better, but mine just made little tiny soap balls in the bottom, so I won't try it again. If you're a prankster, put this in the fridge or on the counter and see how many think it's cheese. Just kidding. Don't do that. :)

1 cup of Borax.

1 cup of super washing soda. Easy peasy.

Stir to mix. Or you can put a lid on it and shake it, but when I did it, it made a layer of soap on top and everything wasn't mixed together very well.

Throw in a tablespoon of the mixture with each load. That's it! AND, it works well enough that it got out the blueberry stains that had been left on my son's clothes for a day. This will be the only detergent I use at home for the rest of my life! So cheap, easy, and safe. :)