DIY Laundry Detergent

Recently I was asked about making my own laundry detergent due to a FB post I posted the other day. Well, it's true, for around 30 bucks I was able to make over a years worth of detergent and it works great. The next time you hit the grocery store go ahead and pick up a few ingredients.

3 Fels Naptha bars. (These are with the regular detergent, in fact most of these things will be in the same aisle.)
1 box Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1 box Arm and Hammer baking soda
1 box Mule Team Borax
1 tub Oxi-Clean stain remover
1 bottle of Purex crystals, any scent

Alright, you got a bunch of random cleaning stuff, now what? Brace yourself, this part gets a little complicated....
Grate the Fels Naptha into a powder. then, mix it all together. I recommend using the oxi clean tub to keep a small usable amount by your washer and keep the rest in a bucket in the basement or garage.

As a nanny I am constantly cleaning up gross stuff. Blown out diapers, spilled food and the ever present milk residue that gets literally everywhere. This stuff cleans great and smells awesome, you know, as awesome as laundry can smell.

You can also use a little distilled white vinegar and either a cake pop pan or an ice tray and press the mixture into handy tabs. I tried it with half of the mixture and it came out just fine. I recommend using only half the space in an ice tray as it wont completely dissolve and you will have little white stuff from the undissolved solids. Personally, I just use a baby formula scoop and use two or three depending on the load. (Don't use a scoop in the detergent then make a bottle with it. Have one designated for the laundry room. I don't feel it is necessary to inform you all of this but well.... There are some people...)

So there you have it, I have saved hundreds if not thousands in laundry detergent. Don't forget to use walmarts savings catcher app to save even more money and an occasional bleach run through the wash will help keep your washer clean and avoid that mildew smell some washers tend to acquire over time.