Did It Myself

So... I really like DIY. In the past, I've gone through sewing, crafting, refurbishing, and cooking phases. I really like the idea of making something from scratch, especially things you don't really think you can just make. I mean, we all know we can make a cake from scratch, but how many of you consider making your own potato chips? Or your own face masks?

I've done several projects at different times. I usually get really into it, make several things, get busy, and lose steam. I must have left dozens of projects forever undone. Right now I have half of a sheet set upstairs, waiting to be hemmed and finished. Sooner or later, I usually get back into it and finish things up, but sometimes not for awhile.

Before I lost steam on that sheet set, my next project was to be DIY laundry detergent. Part of my sudden stop was that we had plenty of laundry detergent, so I never got around to it. I bought everything I needed, and then just left them on my laundry shelf.

Well, this weekend, I noticed we only had a few more loads worth of laundry detergent, so I dug all my supplies and instructions back out and got to it. I haven't washed anything with it yet, but I will update when I do to let you know how it worked.

I found the instructions on Pinterest off of a blog, but that blog referenced the Duggar family website. Makes sense to me! I'm sure they do LOTS of laundry.

It's pretty simple. All you need is: 

•  1 Fels-Naptha bar soap
• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup Borax

I found both the washing soda and borax at Superstore in the laundry aisle, but I discovered you can't buy Fels-Naptha in Canada. I could have ordered it online, but I bought a bar of laundry soap at Bulk Barn instead.


Once you've got it all, it's easy:

1. Grate the entire bar of soap and add flakes to 4 cups warm water on the stove. Stir over medium heat until they all melt.
2.  Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, borax and washing soda.
3.  Stir until everything dissolves, then fill the rest of the way, cover and let sit overnight.
4. Stir, then fill a clean, used laundry dispenser half way with soap, and half way with water. Shake before each use.

Simple as that! The hardest step is just grating the soap because your arm will tire. Utilize any helping hands you can!

It all took me about 45 minutes, including the soap-grating. The website says how much to use with each load, but my washing machine is ridiculous and I can only use a tablespoon of detergent anyways.

I spent about $12 on the supplies, but if I make it again, it will cost $2 or $3, because all you have to buy is the bar of soap. I'd like to add some essential oils, but we don't have any, and they're expensive, so maybe next time.

So all in all, this was a great project, if it works well! The only thing I'm really worried about is smell, because my washer has drain issues and tends to stink. Since this isn't scented, I'm afraid our clothes will smell. Also, I'm afraid that the soap I picked might sud, because I have an HE washer. Fels-Naptha doesn't sud, but this soap didn't have a label or instructions or anything. So who knows!