Laundry Detergent - Soap

By gMinor

Clearly this isn't food (so don't eat it!), but if you enjoy making your own stuff, this is a fun and simple way to save tons of money when doing laundry (this is roughly $30 for 500 loads; it lasted my family of 4 about 4 months). A friend shared this with me; I was totally shocked at how well it worked. Look at it this way, if you have a stubborn mess you are concerned about, then use something off the shelf. That said, I haven't had to yet (and I have 9 and 11 yr olds)

Ingredients

• 1 (3.7-pound) box super washing soda
• 1 (4-pound) box Borax
• 2 (1-pound each) boxes Baking Soda
• 2 (14-ounces each) bars Zote
• 1 (1.7-pound) container Oxy Clean
• 1 (19.5-ounce) container Downy Fresh Protect (Possibly more if you are addicted to Downy like me)

Details

Servings 500
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 15mins

Preparation

Step 1

Get a big container that will easily hold all the ingredients. There will be some powdery puffs... if that is a concern then do this in a garage or on a deck or something.

Grate 1 Bar of Zote. I use a cheese grater, but you can use a food processor or whatever works best for you. If you are concerned about ruining the grater you use for food, the Zote is pretty soft and grates easier than a harder cheese like Parmesan. And... it's soap so cleans up very easily. Spread evenly around the container (this is to make mixing easier)

Add half of each of the other ingredients onto the Zote.

Repeat, grate the second bar of Zote into the container, then add the rest of the dry ingredients.

Mix thoroughly. The reason to add things in halves is to make this step easier (the soap can get 'clumpy'). Once mixed, you're all done!

Simply use 2 Tablespoons per load.