Well....

I haven't had a chance to sit down at the sewing machine yet to start my holiday crafting.  I did however, have the chance to try something that might get us through Thanksgiving without having to buy laundry detergent.  I know, the little things in life.

I have been reading about making our own laundry detergent for a while.  What had been holding me back was that I couldn't readily find all of the main ingredients, namely Fels-Naptha and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda. Well, about a month ago I found the Fels-Naptha at Wal-Mart.  Yippee.  Especially since it was only 97 cents per bar.  AWESOME. 

So, that just lef the Super Washing Soda.  I bit the bullet and ordered from a wonderful site.  Alice.com.  This site is wondeful for ordering non-perishable items.  They never charge shipping, and my order arrived in approximately 2 business days.  Plus, the offer online coupons that are automatically deducted from the item when ordered.

So, back to the laundry detergent.  I received the Super Washing Soda which meant there wasn't anything stopping me from making the laundry detergent.  I used the Duggar Family laundry detergent recipe.  It didn't take long to make, and the biggest problem in my house was finding a 5 gallon bucket to pour everything in. 

According to the recipe, I should get approximately 640 loads of laundry.  That's a lot of laundry!  With only 97 cents for the Fels-Naptha, 2.50 for the Borax, 2.99 for the Super Washing Soda (and the last two only used small amounts from the package which means I can make more from that initial investment), I have less in the ingredients than I would in purchasing pre-made laundry detergent and I am getting more loads!  BONUS! 

Now all I have to do is let it cool, add some essential oil to make it smell nice and try it out.  Yippee!