I’ve heard about home-made laundry detergent for a while, but it took me a long time to finally decide to do it. (Oh, and I know there’s a difference between soap and detergent, but don’t really feel like looking it up to figure out if what I’ve made is soap or detergent. If it’s really that important, you can figure it out yourself.)

Anyway, I found a link to one that said it was H-E compatible, which is what I had to insist upon, since I didn’t want to ruin my one-year-old front-loading HE washing machine just to save a few cents on laundry detergent! So I made it, and it works!! I’m so happy. I’ve used it on diapers, regular clothes, and clothes that my boys were wearing when they played in the muddy garden-spot. So, needless to say, it’s been tested, and it passed the test! Not only does it clean great, but my clothes are actually softer (and I dry them on the clothes-line), and it smells wonderful. There isn’t a heavy perfume-y scent–just the smell of clean. I’m going to hang my diapers on the line the next chance I get, and see if they’re soft enough using this laundry soap. If they’re soft enough, then that will save even more money, because I won’t have to use my dryer! I don’t know how much most laundry detergent is, but the cheapest I was able to buy High-Efficiency detergent was 19 cents per load.

Somebody sent me a link to another site that had several more on it, but I haven’t tried any of those. They’re all made with the same ingredients, so they should all be low-sudsing, which seems to be the only requirement for HE washing machines. If you try them, let me know how they work!

Also, on this blog, she’s got several home-made cleaners, including laundry detergent and a lot of other stuff on various posts (as well as comments other people have left), so you can check that out for more stuff. Apparently, vinegar, baking soda, bleach, Borax, and ammonia (not all at once!!!) can clean just about anything.

Now, where to get the stuff. See, “washing soda” is not the same thing as baking soda. I couldn’t find it at any of my local Walmart-type stores nor at grocery stores, but if you live in a more populated area, you might be able to find it. After I purchased some online, I found out that the nearest Kroger carries it–but we live about an hour away from that town, so I don’t go there often, but I could have gotten my mom or sister to pick some up next time they went, and saved myself at least the cost of shipping. Anyway, if you can’t find it locally (let your fingers do the walking, but be careful, because a lot of people will see “Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent” and will tell you that they have the “washing soda”, when it’s not the same thing!), then you will be able to find it online. Of course, you’ll have to pay for shipping, so check your prices and make sure it’s worth it! Some people sell “package deals” of Borax, washing soda, and Fels Naptha (or some other variation), but I didn’t look at any of those, because I already had Borax that I bought locally, and planned on using the bar soap I had (Ivory), so all I needed was the washing soda. Make sure you add in the cost of shipping when you check prices, because a lot of places may look like they’re the cheapest, but over-charge you on the shipping. The recipe I used called for 1/2 c. of Washing Soda, and it comes in a 55-oz. box. One-half cup was 4 oz. by weight, which would do at least 13 batches. Since each batch can do over 100 loads of laundry, a little is going a long way!!

Even paying for the shipping for my washing soda, I estimate that the cost per load of laundry is  1.3 cents per batch — a savings of nearly 17 cents per load! That may sound like chump change to you, but let’s do the math: my kids go through a lot of laundry. They love dirt and mud; my older son is essentially potty-trained but seems to be regressing, so we have extra laundry from that; he frequently wets the bed through his diaper, so I have to wash his bedding with more frequency than I’d like; plus I wash cloth diapers at least 2-3 times per week. All in all, I think I do at least 7 loads per week. That means that I save $64 per year. Every little bit helps. I’ll have to make laundry detergent maybe 3 times per year; it takes about 10 minutes of total hands-on time per batch, or 30 minutes worth of work per year. That’s like earning a tax-free income of $128/hour. That’s a lot of money!