Being frugal

Since becoming a stay at home Mom, I have found many ways to save money. I desire to be a good steward of our money, and I am always searching out new ways to save money. Recently, I was on the Duggar website and came across a recipe to make your own laundry detergent. I do a lot of laundry, and thought that this could be really benificial to us. I told some friends about the idea, and they wanted to know how it worked out. We made our first batch last night, and it was fairly simply. I'd say the most work was in grating up the bar of soap. I read some things online that said you could leave the bar of soap in hot water overnight, and that it would dissolve. I think I'll try that next time. I just did my first load of laundry with it, and I am pleased! I bought some oil to fragrance it with, but I was kind of scared to put it in. Some information said it was safe, some said it could leave oil spots on your clothes. I decided not to chance it. I wouldn't be saving much money if I ruined a load of clothes and had to buy more, would I? They also have a money saving idea for fabric softener, so I think I'll try that. I figure that should scent the clothes plenty. I didn't use fabric softener with this load, but found that because of the scent of the bar of soap, my clothes still have a clean scent. Even though I've only begun to use this soap, I am really excited about the money that it will save! Plus, it makes 10 gallons of detergent, so I won't be needing to buy any for a while. We spent about $20 bucks total. $5 was on buying a 5-gallon bucket and a funnel. The washing soda I had to buy online, and it was about $8 (it is supposed to be available in some stores for around $2, but I wasn't able to find it around here.) I bought the borax from Target for only $3, and the zote from the dollar store for $1. We still have a lot of washing soda, and borax, so the next couple of batches I make I will only need to spend $1 on the Zote bars of soap. All in all, I think it is a pretty great deal!
Here is the recipe:
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)