Sarah Saves

I can't take credit for the idea but I made my own laundry detergent!  My friend Nicole told me it's much cheaper than buying the detergent at the store.  And it was kind of fun for the girls and I to do together.  Even little c's American Girl doll Molly got in on the action. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

8 boxes of Baking Soda
1 box of Borax
2 bars of Fels Naptha soap (I bought mine at Walmart)
1 oz. Lavender essential oil (I bought mine on Amazon)

You will need to grate the Fels Naptha with a cheese grater.  Mix all ingredients in a glass jar or container of some sort.  I did not have a container large enough to house all of the detergent so I only made half and saved the other ingredients for a later batch. 

A full batch is supposed to wash something like 288 loads but I am not sure how much you would use for each load to make it last that long. I use about 1/4 cup of detergent per load and find it works very well.  The lavender doesn't make much of a difference so I am not sure I would buy that again.  It's the most expensive ingredient in the recipe.