I made this

I have been hearing alot about homemade laundry detergent. I've been wanting to try it for my self. Two of my sisters-in-law have tried it and liked it. So, I'm up for the challenge. Their recipe makes a liquid detergent, but I opted for the dry stuff. The homemade version is also supposed to be quite inexpensive. I hate math, so I'll take their word for it. This is supposed to cost 5 cents (what? my keyboard doesn't have the little "cents" sign? How disappointing.) ...anyway, 5 cents compared to 30 or more cents per load. Unfortunately, for me, I bought my ingredients at an Amish tourist trap store, so, apparently, I paid several dollars more for my products than most people. Live and learn. Next time I'll buy it online somewhere. Also, each load only takes one tablespoon.
So, without any further delay, this is how I made my laundry detergent.

Here are the utensils needed:

Here are the three ingredients needed:

Step One: Use the grater to shred the bar soap

Add one cup Borax

Add one cup Washing Soda

Mix well, using hands to break up the soap shreds into smaller pieces

Put in container.

Use 1 Tablespoon per load.

Okay, I'll spill the beans on the prices I paid for my ingredients. I'm doing this for your benefit, so you will know how much NOT to pay!
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda: $ 5.49     (55 oz. box)
Borax 20 Mule Team                          6.95     (76 oz. box)
Fels Naptha Soap                                  2.49      per bar
Making My Own Detergent: Priceless!  One other consolation is that each box will make approximately 5 recipes.

Consolation #2: You can also make your own dishwasher detergent with these ingredients.  That recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup citric acid

I have no cute pictures, but just mix it all up and it fits nicely into a 16 oz. sour cream container. Again, use 1 Tablespoon. I made this in a panic because I just ran out of my dishwasher detergent, so I mixed this up in a hurry. I had coarse salt, which I used, and no citric acid. It seems to work OK without the citric acid, but I will look to get some. Citric acid is used in wine making, so you can get it at a wine supply store.
Need a rinse aid? Pour white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment of the dishwasher. It seems to work fine, and is better than washing dishes by hand, in my humble opinion.

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