DIY Laundry Detergent - Guest Post

Today I have a guest post from Amanda at Because She Said Yes.   She's going to share with us how to make dry laundry soap. 

Amanda here from over at Because She Said Yes and I'm super excited to be doing my first ever guest post.  Thank you to Rachel for giving me this opportunity!

While scouring the many wonders and distractions that is Pintrest, I stumbled across a recipe (if you will) for DIY laundry detergent.  Just recently had I become a user and fan of dry laundry detergent.  Cheaper AND better, it said.  Well, who can say no to that?

Personally, I'm all about the smelly-goodness of laundry.  I hate it if I pull my laundry out of the dryer and...nothing.  Okay, so it doesn't smell like puke or sweat, but it doesn't smell good either.  If I'm going to do all this laundry, I at least want to get some enjoyment out of it.  So, this recipe sounded pretty promising with the inclusion of the Purex Crystals (a laundry enhancer).  In the past I have used the Purex Crystals in combination with my laundry detergent and I absolutely loved it!

Well, I'm really good at finding and repinning awesome projects and then never actually getting around to doing them myself.  Well, this wasn't one of those times.  I went out and bought all the needed items (or so I thought) and got started.  Turns out I did end up forgetting Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, but that's what I get for not taking a list.  I stopped and picked it up the next day.

The most challenging part of this project was grating the bar soap.  I actually had to go out and buy a grater from Wal-Mart because I didn't have one.  I spent about $8.  I think it'd be safe to use a fancy food processor or blender if you're so lucky as to have one that could mince bars of soap.  My hubby was a sweetie and grated my last bar of soap while I was at work, so I was able to come home and get mixing.

After grating your soap, you'll need a large container to mix all the ingredients together in.  You might want to do a little bit of each ingredient at a time, so you're not trying to mix 6 things at once.  I mixed mine in a mop bucket I had in the garage and poured it into the now-empty Purex Crystals container and some other containers I had saved.

You only need 1 to 2 Tablespoons and the cap of the Purex Crystals bottle is about 2 Tablespoons, so you can even use that to measure.  According to Jen from Blissful 55, it even works well in a high efficiency machine because it doesn't cause suds.  Apparently, whether we want to believe it or not, you do not need suds for clean laundry.  Who would have thought?

I loved the smell of this detergent and even threw some in the bottom of my trashcan one day for the heck of it.  It seems to always dissolve, unless I over stuff my ancient and tiny washer with a comforter and the water can't properly access it.  I also wash in cold water, so hot water is not necessary for it to properly dissolve.

The other day, I was lucky enough to snag some help from my two year-old.  Apparently, he enjoys helping with laundry.  If only I found it as much fun as he does!

What You'll Need

• 1 or 2 Bottles Purex Crystals Fabric Softener (55oz) - Technically optional, but who doesn't want smelly good laundry?
• 1 Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (3 lb 7 oz)
• 1 Box of Borax (4 lb 12 oz)
• 1 Container of OxyClean (3 lb) - Also, technically, optional.
• 1 Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (4 lb)
• Zote or Fels Naptha Bar Soap (28 to 30 oz)

Do It Yourself

• Finely grate bar soap or microwave and then crumble.
• Mix all ingredients together.
• Wash!