Many times when I have tried to save money by making something home-made, it hasn’t turned out real well. One thing that I have had great success with is home made laundry detergent. It is easy to make, works very well, is fragrance-free (by my choice) and is much cheaper than buying a comparable brand of laundry detergent. I figure I can do a load for around 3 cents, compared to warehouse-club detergent that costs 15-20 cents a load. Since we have a family and lots of laundry to wash, the savings really add up.
The recipe I use was created by Trent at The Simple Dollar. I use his exact recipe, but instead of using soap I have laying around, I use Kirk’s Original Coco CASTILE Bar Soap, which is a natural coconut-based soap. The great thing is that YOU can use whatever kind of soap you want!
Kirk’s Castile Soap – Great for making home made laundry detergent
For me, being able to use a fragrance free formula that is more “natural” than the off-the-shelf detergents is as important to me as the up-front cost savings. You can make the decision to add fragrance or not, but fragrance free can end up saving you money by saving trips to the doctor – fragrances are often skin irritants and fragrance-containing products can pollute the air indoors and increase your risk of cancer.
This detergent works great for washing cloth diapers also!
Let me know how your experiences work out!
Links:
The Simple Dollar: How to Make Your Own Laundry Detergent – And Save Big Money
The Simple Dollar: Making Your Own Laundry Detergent – A Detailed Visual Guide
