I have been using their products for a little over a year now and just love them so of course I was going to order some more. I looked online a few weeks ago to compare prices. I looked at bulk prices, different website prices, and retail prices. And I came to the conclusion that I couldn't pay that much for detergent any more.
First off: What would the Amish do? They certainly would not pay that price for that product. They would make it themselves with good quality ingredients and save the money.
That's just what I did. I looked at countless homemade detergent recipes, most of which are very similar, but I wanted something that would be mine. So I took in a lot of tips and advice, kept those recipes in the back of my mind, and began creating.
This is what I came up with...I call it "Boober's Soap"
And yes, I bounced the name off of Charlie's Soap, super original.
Let's start with the ingredients:
1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax
1 box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soap
4 pounds of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
4 pounds of Oxiclean
2 Fels Naptha Soap Bars
I pulled out a trash bag to mix it all because I didn't have a big tub I could use. Buckets/tubs are preferred, but if you choose to make your own and want to use a trash bag, please make sure it's a strong one like a Glad Force Flex.
I poured all the powdered things into the trash bag and then began breaking apart the soap bars. You can use a cheese grater if you prefer, but I used an automatic food chopper. I broke the bars into chunks and placed a few at a time, with some of the powder, into the chopper. When they were shredded into tiny pieces I added them to the trash bag as well.
I also added about 15-20 drops of Lavender essential oil and then began mixing.
Once everything was mixed well, I scooped it into some containers. The middle container below is the one I have in the laundry room, the other two juice containers are just extra that are stored away.
Here is a cost break down:
Borax- $4.99
Fels Naptha- $1.94
Baking Soda- $2.97
Washing Soda- $3.97
Oxiclean- 5.24
Total: $18.91
I counted on one tablespoon equaling one load. This recipe made 33 cups, which is 528 tablespoons. 528 tablespoons comes out to be 528 loads. This makes each load worth $0.035. That's a good price if you ask me!
To the best of my knowledge, this is a very green detergent. I know there is controversy over borax, but I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that I feel safe about it being used in my home. Borax has the same toxicity level as table salt. I think most of the confusion comes from people thinking borax is boric acid. It's not. Another cause for confusion comes from our lovely EPA. They claim the way borax is mined is dangerous to the environment. I didn't look into it any further than that though. Cars, pollution, trash, and over population all damage the environment. I didn't see any of the people attacking how borax is mined, say anything about the real dangers to our world. So I dropped that right there. I research everything in our home, anything that comes in contact with our bodies, and what goes into our system, and after the hours of research about the safety of borax, I am completely 100% perfectly fine with it.
Oxiclean was a last minute call. I saw a lot of recipes called for it, but for some reason I didn't think Oxiclean was a natural product I wanted to use. It's a great stain remover, however, it's a big brand and we all know the love affair between big brands and harmful chemicals. I was in the laundry aisle picking up the items when I noticed Oxiclean and decided to read more about it. I thought it was odd that they don't have their ingredients listed on the containers so I pulled out my phone and went to their website. Three basic ingredients make up Oxiclean; sodium carbonate (washing soda), hydrogen peroxide, and an alcohol based surfactant. I found the ingredients pretty safe, I made sure Oxiclean doesn't test on animals, and I loaded it up in the buggy along with everything else.
To me, based on my thoughts and my research, all of the ingredients in this detergent are safe for laundry use. However, they are not safe to ingest. It would also burn if you put this recipe in your eyes, or nose, or where ever else you put laundry detergents. But for every day laundry use, I know this is safe for my family and I. If you choose to make this recipe, or any homemade recipe, please do your research and decide what you believe to be safe for your family.
Now that I've gone over everything, these are some things I've discovered about Boober's Soap so far...
1. It smells amazing!!! Seriously, the aroma of the laundry room is heavenly!
2. It is cheap and easy to make
3. This will last longer than commercial products
4. It gets clothes clean, but it doesn't get out every stain. The clothes are clean and smell amazing though!
5. It works well with skin. We haven't had any irritations.
I feet better about myself making laundry detergent than I do when I just pick it up off of the grocery shelf. There is something about using your mind and using your hands to create something for your family. We are saving money, using a good homemade product, and are getting closer to the Amish lifestyle we desire.
If you decide to make your own detergent using this recipe, please link back to this page and let me know about your progress!
Have you ever made your own laundry detergent before? If so, how and why??
Cursty
We just use borax and washing soda (sometimes with EO) and it seems to work great! I had concerns over the fels naphtha (we used to use it .. It was a lot of work lol!!). We have found the laundry detergent is a great stain remover if you sprinkle a little on the stain with some water and let it sit before washing :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried using it directly as a stain remover yet, but I will certainly try that on the next stain. Thank you!!
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