Laundry - On The Cheap

Laundry is expensive.  The kids and I are allergic to everything.  The only washing powder that we can use is All Free and Clear.  Every other brand causes rashes or itching.  All isn't exactly cheap.  It's around $12 a bottle and it may last a month if I am lazy with laundry.  $12 isn't a lot for a month supply of anything but I wanted something better. 

A few months ago someone tipped me off to this wonderful video demonstration on how to make laundry detergent.  I wasn't too excited.  I had gone down this road before.  I made liquid laundry detergent.  I ended up with a bucket full of water and a thick layer of soap floating on top.  I didn't have the time or patience to remix it every single time I washed a load of clothes so I used it for a few days and then the rest went out the back door. 

This recipe is different..it is powdered washing powder.  I figured I couldn't screw this up so I sat down and checked out the video.  How to make a year worth of washing powder for under $30.  Cute title but yet right.  I'm sure she drove all around town for a solid week hitting up every sale with a stack of coupons to get all of the ingredients.  At least that's how it normally goes.  Nope, she just hit up Walmart and the dollar store.  Shock!!

So I wrote down the ingredients and headed out.  Everything was super easy to find.  I got everything at Walmart except for the oxi clean.  The Sun brand at Dollar General is half the price of the brand name and that is even the same brand that she uses in the video!!  I searched for a large container to store this giant load of detergent in.  I found the same one from the video at Walmart and she was right..it was only $10.  It's the exact size that I needed.  One thing that I noticed that she didn't mention is that the scoop inside the Sun oxygen cleaner is 2 tbsp. which is the amount of detergent suggested for a load of laundry in a top loading machine.  Convenient!

I followed the instruction in the video, made a huge mess in my kitchen and ended up with a lot more powder than I thought I would. The only change that I made was leaving out the softener..can't have itchy kids going to school and scratching all day.  Now it's time to test it out!!  I washed a load of clothes and threw the baby's stinky tennis shoes in there.  They came out smelling so fresh.  I was impressed so I decided to test it a little harder.  It was time to wash my favorite Mike the tiger blanket (go LSU) that the dogs rolled around on a few days ago when they ran inside soaked from playing in the rain.  It stunk!  Totally stunk like several day old wet dog.  I was prepared to burn it stunk.  So I threw it in the washer with 2 tbsp. of detergent and waited..knowing that when the washer stopped I was going to have to face the fact that I would be saying goodbye to my favorite fluffy, comfy blanket forever.  Well, I opened the washer, removed Mike and slowly went to smell him.  Amazingly, he smelled brand new.  A fresh, clean smell that is even better than the smell after using my favorite All detergent...which by the way did not get the wet dog smell out of Mike on a previous try.

I am converted.  I have said my final goodbyes to "store bought" detergent and will be making my own from now on.  Unfortunately, I can not take credit for this amazing recipe.  I have attached a link to the instructional video, located on YouTube, below.  Good luck and happy washing :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXHOfLFhMQI