• About Me
  • Disclosure
  • Shop

Making Cents Matter

  • Home
  • Resource Library
  • Budget
    • Budgeting Tips
    • Our Monthly Budget
    • Meal Planning
    • Free Printables
  • Debt Free
    • Debt Free Tips
    • Our Debt Free Journey
    • Free Printables
  • Saving
    • Ways We Save
    • DIY
    • Free Printables
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch
      • Dinners
      • Instant Pot
      • Slow Cooker
      • Soups
    • Meal Planning
    • Preserving Food
  • Garden
    • Gardening Tips
    • Preserving Food
  • Shop

November 9, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Homemade Laundry Detergent

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
Click here to read my disclosure policy.

Budget· Budget Tips· DIY· Frugal Living· Saving· Ways We Save

17shares
  • 17

homemade laundry detergent
Throughout the past few years, I’ve been researching on how to make homemade laundry detergent. When I started researching it, I only had the boys.  Monkey was still in diapers, and had skin sensitivities to so many products, including a majority of baby washes and lotions on the shelf at your local big box store.

At the time, I had done multiple Google searches on homemade laundry detergents, and came up with far too many variations.  Most of these recipes required me to melt soap down, and do what seemed to be a chemistry experiment in my kitchen, with my cooking supplies.The recipes that didn’t need a makeshift chemistry lab had some ingredients rated as not safe for cloth diapers.  There wound up being so many variations that I just gave up and continued to buy the one {expensive} laundry detergent that worked for Monkey’s skin and got our cloth diapers clean.

Fast forward a few years later.  Monkey was out of diapers, and Lady Bug was in diapers.  As I was thinking about other areas I could cut our spending, the laundry room seemed like the next obvious choice.  It feels like I’m constantly doing laundry, and my mother-in-law doesn’t help when she tells me as much.  She isn’t too far off since we don’t use paper towels or napkins, and have lots of towels to use.

As a matter of fact, when my kids were in cloth diapers, I was known to go through 14 loads of laundry per week and not even bat an eye!  Cutting back on our laundry detergent expenses and making a homemade laundry detergent seemed like the natural next step.

When I started researching my current concoction, I wanted something that not only would save money, but would be simple to make and was cloth diaper safe.  There is a tad bit of measuring here and grating there, but this is about as simple as it comes without creating a chemistry experiment in my kitchen.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Cost:

In order for this to be something that we were going to continue doing, I needed to know it was going to be worth doing in the first place.  There’s no point in making a huge batch of something that may or may not save us money.  Here’s a breakdown for the ingredients that I used at the prices in my area.

(1) 4lb box of Baking Soda {found in the laundry detergent aisle}; $2.24
(1) 3lb 7oz box of Super Washing Soda {found in the laundry aisle}; $3.24
(1) 4lb 12oz box of Borax {found in the laundry aisle}; $3.99
(2) 4.25oz bars of Yardley Soap; $0.44 each
Optional – 2 cups (about 2 pounds) of OxiClean; $1.70

Total Cost: $12.05!

How To Make Homemade Laundry Detergent:

Grate your bars of soap. This will take the longest amount of time.

homemade laundry detergent

If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, by all means, please cut up your soap into chunks and run it through the food processor a few times.  I lost the ONE piece that allows my grater attachment to secure to the lid when we moved.  Needless to say, I’m out of luck and have to do it the harder way, with a bit of elbow grease.

homemade laundry detergent

When I was researching various detergent recipes, most of them used bars of Zote or Fels Naptha, which are bars of laundry soap. After researching them further, I had decided against using them since they both contained ingredients that were not safe for cloth diapers, as well as ingredients that would aggravate Monkey’s skin sensitivities.  Yardley is a soap company that uses natural ingredients, as well as essential oils, and I knew that using these bars of soap would not cause issues with Monkey’s skin.

homemade laundry detergent

Add all the ingredients to a large bin and mix thoroughly.  I use a 27 quart Rubbermaid from Target; it’s large enough to hold a double batch.  I suggest layering the ingredients to allow for an easier time mixing the ingredients evenly.

homemade laundry detergent

Once all the ingredients are mixed together evenly, you’re done!

Store your laundry detergent in an airtight container.  I store it in a flip top container I found in the kitchen section of Target a few years back.  I don’t want to open up the huge Rubbermaid container each time I’m doing laundry.

homemade laundry detergent

This detergent makes roughly 15 pounds of detergent.  For your regular load of laundry, you use 1 tablespoon of this detergent.  If you have a larger load of laundry, or really dirty clothes, you can use 2 tablespoons of detergent.  Jeans and towels always fit the bill for really dirty laundry in this family.  And yep, I said tablespoons.

According to my trust digital kitchen scale, a tablespoon of the detergent weighs about 0.03 lbs. That’s enough for 500 loads and costs me $0.02 per load.  To get the same amount of loads from the detergent we bought before, I would have to spend $89.95.  That’s a whopping $77.90 saved, just by doing laundry!

If I were still doing 14 loads of laundry a week, one batch would be enough for nearly 9 months worth of laundry.  Hello savings!

I have to say, this recipe won me over a lot faster than experimenting in my kitchen!

Have you started making a homemade laundry detergent?  What are some other ways you’re reducing your expenses around the house?

homemade laundry detergent

homemade laundry detergent

Related Posts

  • Blueberry Crumble BarsBlueberry Crumble Bars
  • Carrot Squash SoupCarrot Squash Soup
  • October Budget CategoriesOctober Budget Categories
  • What I’m Planting In JuneWhat I’m Planting In June
  • Five Money Saving Apps You NeedFive Money Saving Apps You Need
  • What To Buy At Aldi, And What To Pass OnWhat To Buy At Aldi, And What To Pass On
17shares
  • 17
Previous Post: « October 2016 Budget & Debt Update
Next Post: 7 Must Haves for Packed Lunches »

Reader Interactions

Want access to our resource library? Sign up for our free email list!

* indicates required

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Post Categories





makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Only you can determine what your financial goals a Only you can determine what your financial goals are. If that means you're adding money to your savings account, or contributing to your retirement, while you are paying off debt, then so be it!⁠
.⁠
Do what looks right for you and your personal finances.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#budget #budgeting #savingmoney #savings #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
The trick to meal planning is to make it predictab The trick to meal planning is to make it predictable. But predictable doesn't mean the same thing week to week. You could have a chicken meal, a soup meal, a pasta meal, a leftovers meal, a family favorite meal, and so on.⁠
.⁠
We always try to go with themed days, but some weeks are so hectic the theme is literally "fast". Thankfully that hasn't been the case lately.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#mealplanning #mealplan #budget #budgeting #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
I can only hear about my extended warranty I never I can only hear about my extended warranty I never purchased so many times. 😣⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#makingcentsmatter #budgets #monthlyincome #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #payingoffdebt #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom
March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠ .⁠ House: $51 March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠
.⁠
House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $0 – this has a residual $3 in interest charges since payoff, due in April⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $600⁠
Explorer: $336.27⁠
.⁠
Total Paid in 2021: $8,258.84⁠
.⁠
Extra Payment: There isn’t one this month since we were $25 away from zeroing out the budget for our February 15th monthly paycheck. That $25, and monies left from our January 15th paycheck, covered our OOP costs for Hubs’ filling. We also have some savings goals coming up that need to be met, making our debt payments a little lower for the time begin.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #payingoffdebt #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom⁠
The battle for who can charge what tonight is abou The battle for who can charge what tonight is about to begin. 😬⁠
.⁠
My kids run off with my charger, plug it into one outlet 5 feet from where they found it like that particular outlet is the only one in this house, and then proceed to fight over who can charge their device first at night.⁠
.⁠
Then they get grumpy when it's their turn and it's not the proper input cable. #itwasmychargerfirst #dontlikeitgofindyourown⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#parentingteens #parentingtweens #momlife #realife #budget #budgeting #savingmoney #cash #frugalblogger #frugalmom #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter
A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a bit in our February Budget Check-In about how much of this I think we'll owe, and you can check that out on my YouTube channel if you're interested, but I wanted to say here...⁠
.⁠
To the mother with little kids struggling to get your finances in order, it will get better. I wish I could have heard those words years ago.⁠
.⁠
Nearly 10 years ago we were facing a $1,400 out-of-pocket portion for A's Phase 1 orthodontic work (I looked it up after I uploaded the video... we had a $1,400 portion).⁠
.⁠
It was a lot of money for us at the time. Our kids were 6, 2, and 3 months old. I don't think we even had $500 in savings, and I just left a part-time teaching job because it wasn't paying the part-time daycare bill, so paying our portion in full was just a dream I didn't think was achievable.⁠
.⁠
I was even stressing about the monthly $100 payments. We were so strapped. It was our breaking moment to start cutting costs and budgeting more effectively. We've learned a lot in that time period.⁠
.⁠
What we've learned is that it does no good to stress about it all the time. Life happens. All you can do is try to plan ahead, and if it's something that's unplanned, readjust. It won't always be easy, especially at first, but it will be worth it.⁠
.⁠
Nearly 10 years later, we are still paying off our debts. Student loans suck. But I see this bill as a reminder of how far we have come. Seeing a bill like this doesn't stress me out like it used to, and I know we can easily create a plan that can get it done and out of the way.⁠
.⁠
Will it delay our debt-free date more? Yes. But it's not worth stressing over. Life happens, readjust, and continue on down the path. It's called a journey for a reason.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#wisdomteeth #personalfiannce #personalfinancetips #financialgoals #budgeting #budgets #savingsgoals #savings #cashbudget #zerobasedbudget #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #adulting #lifehappens #realife #realbudget #makingcentsmatter
It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budget It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budgeting categories are working out for the pay month.⁠
.⁠
Food is looking good this far into our paycheck, probably because miscellaneous - which includes eating out - took a hit with unexpected purchases. Pet is low for this time of the month, and Household is spot on.⁠
.⁠
Fuel looks like it'll be lower than last month (yay for weeks of snow days & delayed school starts), and Therapy had one more appointment than initially planned.⁠
.⁠
Garden, Dental, Medical & Propane are not included in these estimates so far because those expenses are coming from sinking funds. Once we're done with the month and review the budget, I'll move over the total amount spent from those sinking funds.⁠
.⁠
How's your paycheck budget coming along?⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#realbudget #monthlyincome #monthlybudget #budget #budgetupdate #budgeting #savingmoney #variablecategories #savingmoney #savings #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #cash #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #frugalliving #frugalblogger #budgetblogger #makingcentsmatter
Automating your finances makes saving money and bu Automating your finances makes saving money and budgeting more convenient, and therefore easier on you. Out of sight, out of mind, right?⁠
.⁠
What's one thing you can automate this week to make your finances easier?⁠
.⁠
Me? I'm going to set up our sinking fund transfers to automate every payday (the 15th of every month). Our bank set up a feature on their app where we can schedule savings transfers now, and I'm going to take advantage of it!⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#personalfinance #personalfinancetips #budgeting #budgettips #personalfinancemadeeasy #savingmoney #savings #sinkingfunds #cash #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogess #financialfreedom #makingcentsmatter
Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone a smidgen overboard this month!⁠
.⁠
I foresee a goal for March's paycheck to at out less than twice. That's where this category went awry. $99.16 of it went to eating out. 😑 Some of it was avoidable, but not all of it. Having to drive to multiple appointments in one day during snow squalls and rearranging our whole day was one of those unavoidable instances.⁠
.⁠
Tracking our expenses - much like a budget review - is vital to sticking to your budget!⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #budgetcategories #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom #expensetracking #budgetfail
Load More... Follow on Instagram


Copyright

I love it when you share our content! Please keep in mind that all content, images and text on this site are property of Making Cents Matter. Feel free to use no more than two photos on your own site, provided that a link back to my original post is included. Do not crop, edit, or remove any watermarks from any of my images without obtaining written permission from me first. Thank you!

Privacy Policy & Disclosures

MakingCentsMatter is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and other affiliated sites.

You can read more about our privacy policy and disclosures here.

Copyright © 2023 · Captivating Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in