5 cents per load Laundry Detergent

I've seen enough episodes of 'Extreme Couponing' to know that's not for me. Have you seen it? It's an entire show about people who spend 20+ hours a week clipping and organizing coupons both physical and digital ones and map out big shopping trips to save money. The result is a house-full of stuff for very little money.

While this seems like it would be up my alley, it's just simply not.I still have that twinge of excitement when they get to the end of the show and the woman scans the groceries to total $300 and then WHAM the shopper whips out all their coupons and double coupons and BEEP BEEP BEEP the total is reduced to $1.55. That's exciting guys. But... I know it's the result of months of planning and clipping and I'm not entirely sure that's worth 18 boxes of Rice a Roni and more Juicy Juice than my children will ever consume in their lifetime.

Saving time? No. Saving money? Yep. Making my life easier and more streamlined? Nope. So I'll pass.

However, I did just hear about an interesting money saver I'm going to try out next week. Please let me know if any of you have tried it and your results...

Homemade Laundry Detergent


Most name-brand detergents average to .21 cents per load of laundry. While that doesn't seem like much, when you consider my little family of 3 alone does 3 loads of laundry per week it adds up. A friend (thanks Lisa!) shared a recipe she found online that is easy to make powder laundry detergent that is .05 cents per load. Um, I like saving don't you?!

At first I was a bit skeptical, but if it works on her kid's dirty baseball uniforms then it can work on mine!

The recipe is simple:
1 bar of Ivory Soap (other soaps are fine too - Zote of Fels-Naptha or any that don't contain moisturizers)
1 cup of Borax (a natural whitener and deodorizer - she suggests the brand 20 Mule Team)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA - It's in the laundry aisle)

Step one: shave the bar of soap using a cheese grater.
Step two: mix the powders in with the soap shavings until you get a nice mixed powder
Step three: store the powder in a plastic container in the laundry room
Step four: use one tablespoon per load (that's not a full cup guys - one tablespoon)

I'll post pics and feedback when I smell my clothes (hey, you know you do it too when they are fresh from the dryer).

Have any of you guys tried this?