Recap- Homemade Laundry Detergent

I did it! I made my own batch of homemade laundry detergent... and I now have the components to make a years supply. Yeah! I have tried it out and it works great! It smells clean and has really no odor when it comes out of the dryer. There are no perfumes or dyes to irritate the skin. It really is great. Here are some pics:

These are all of the ingredients.
When you grate the soap it looks like shredded cheddar cheese. I have also heard of chopping up a block and running it through the food processor.

When you melt down the soap melt it super slow.

After you mix the batch and let it sit it will gel up like runny jello.

















A good tip is to funnel a portion into a recycled milk jug or detergent container. Then you just shake the container each time before you add it to your washer instead of stirring the 5 gallon bucket each time.

I also found this site that makes it in the dry form:
http://www.knittinandnoodlin.com/2008/07/homemade-laundry-detergent-a-tutorial/

I then went to Freddies and found a Mr. Steamy two pack for under $14. I just fill one up with water and throw it into the dryer with my wet clothes. This eliminates the need for fabric softener.

Because sometimes it's hard to be a Mom

We had enrichment last night and it was all of self-preparedness. My favorite tip was how to make your own laundry soap and store enough components for a years supply.

Recipe:
1 bar Fels Naptha soap (grated with cheese grater)
1 cup Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer, not baking soda)
1 cup Mule Team Borax

Put grated Fels Naptha in a saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Put dissolved soap in 5 gallon bucket and then add hot water to fill the rest of the bucket. Stir. Add Washing Soap and Borax and mix well. As it cools it will thicken. It helps to mix it every now and then as it cools to reduce thickness. If mixture becomes too thick, add hot water to thin to desired consistency. May be used immediately. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2 cup (normal) to 1 cup (heavy) or 1/4 for HE front loading washers.

Cost:
Winco has everything
Fels Naptha- $1.12 / bar
Washing Soda- $2.70 / about 6 cups
Borax- $3.76 / about 12 cups

To make a 5 gallon batch- $1.88
1/4 cup per load means 5 gallons will do 320 loads of laundry
Each load would cost $0.005875
For a family of five that made a batch about every other month a years supply would cost $13.08 and still leave you with half a box of Borax.

A tip for easier use is to find one of the juice pitchers that has a mixing paddle in it. Fill it with recently mixed soap and just pump it once or twice before each load. Refill as needed from the big bucket.

Cheap deals of the week.

If you have just $10 to spend on food storage this week, I've got some ideas for you:

Fred Meyer has a coupon this week for cans of tomatoes or beans 2/$1, limit 10. If you had 2 coupons, you could stock up on 20 cans. I love that Fred Meyer usually has tons of extra ads at the store early on in the week - so it doesn't matter if you don't take the paper, you can still take advantage of the coupon savings.

Another good deal at Freddy's this week.

Albertsons has a deal on for Betty Crocker cake mixes and frosting - $1 each, if you buy 10. That's a pretty common sale price for the cake mixes, but a slightly better deal than usual for frosting.

What deals have you found this week?