Hi everyone!! I apologize for the delay in posting anything. The Christmas season found me up to my eyeballs in brownie balls (HA! That sounded funny!)!! I'll say that Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Peppermint Frosting (that came out for the season) combined with Wilton Candy Cane Colorburst Melts tasted like an after dinner mint - many people loved it!! And I made them half-size and they were perfect for Christmas!! OK... Back to the topic at hand!!! This is going to be a long post, but bear with me!! This is where the "crafty" aspect of Nifty Novice comes into play!! The time it will take to read the post is worth the DOLLARS you will be saving on a regular basis!! I'll admit that none of this was made up by me... But I'm combining all of them together for you to hopefully save you from having to search!!! I will tell you this - these are so insanely easy and cheap, you'll only be upset that you hadn't started earlier!! (Actually, when I first found the "recipe" for the laundry detergent, I wanted to try it so bad, I was washing everything in sight - some things, numerous times! I just wanted to use up all of the expensive store bought stuff!!) Also, I BELIEVE the items should be safe for those of you with allergies to detergents. I'm not sure on the laundry detergent because of the bar soap that is used... But I think everything else should be ok... (Please comment below and me know if you have any issues... We don't have allergies to the soaps in my house, so I don't know for sure...) Now I have started shopping with coupons as of last year. I do my best to match up coupons with sales... But some things just do NOT ever seem to have coupons (at least, on my schedule! LOL), and the coupons just never seem to take a big enough dent out of what I need... So while browsing Facebook one day, a group I belong to posted about homemade laundry detergent. SAY WA?! Surely this isn't going to work!! I was sure of it!! It sounded too easy!! So I browsed online to find other "recipes" and they all seemed to be the same, so I dubbed the "recipe," LEGIT!!! :-) Note that it might cost a bit when you first buy everything, but take note that you don't always need the whole box/bottle... So while something may cost $5, you will use it 20 times before you need to buy it again... So it's really only like $0.25 each time. I will posts prices of things using Amazon prices (since, for the soap, I bought the items a while back - and for the bleach and fabric softener, I had everything already, so I can't get you the prices I paid). I've used headers to help you search for the sections you need. I really wanted to keep it at one post (to ultimately make it easier on you to search for this post in the future), so please bear with me! So... are you ready to save some money? Laundry Detergent Price Comparison Tide Original Scent with ActiLift, 32-Load Bottles (Pack of 2): $7.54 per bottle (this would be about accurate at the grocery store with an AMAZING coupon...). In our house, a bottle of detergent lasts about a month since it is just my husband and I. This comes to about $90.48 a year in detergent (again - with a great coupon). VS Twenty Mule Team Natural Laundry Booster & Multi-Purpose Cleaner-76 oz. (aka "Borax"): $10.18, however you only use 1/2 cup per batch, which means about 19-batches out of this box. Since I just had to make our second batch of detergent, I know that a batch of the homemade detergent lasts about 3 months. That means that if you ONLY use the Borax for laundry detergent (because it can be used for regular household cleaning as well!!), it could last nearly 5 years!!! (Although I'm sure you should replace before then! LOL) This comes to about $2.14 a year for the Borax. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOTE: This is not regular Arm & Hammer!! Make sure it is the Super Washing Soda!!): $8.67, however you only use 1/2 cup per batch for this as well, so with this being 55-ounces, you get about 14-batches out of this box. This means the Arm & Hammer can last almost 4-1/2 years - if you don't use it for it's great household cleaning powers as well!! This comes to about $2.52 a year for the Arm & Hammer. Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap: $3.91, however you only use 1/3 of the bar for a batch. So in a year, you will would use 1-1/3 bars of the soap. This comes to about $5.21 a year for the Fels-Naptha. Water: Whatever your water company charges you - unless you are lucky like we are in that we live an apartment where they pay for the water!! :-) So let's do our comparison here: For one year, I can either spend $90.48 for store-bought bottles of laundry detergent, or I can spend $9.87 - and I have soaps that can be used for household cleaning as well!! I definitely am willing to spend some time in the kitchen to save $80.61 a year!!!!! And, for everyone concerned about the environment? No bottles of laundry detergent to deal with!! The Process I found the "recipe" for the laundry detergent here. This may take a while, but as we saw, well worth it cost-wise! First, collect your ingredients... 1. Borax 2. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 3. Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap (Although you can use any comparable laundry bar) You will also want to get a knife to cut the laundry soap apart with, 1/2 cup measuring cup, and a grater (I just used a regular grater for the kitchen since I was going to put it in the dishwasher after. A tip would be to use one that will grate the soap into smaller pieces...you need to melt them, so the smaller they are, the quicker they should melt). Also, you will want a large bucket. The original author of this used a 2-gallon bucket and said it was a bit too small. I believe my bucket was 5-gallon? (In any case, it was purple, so it didn't really matter! LOL) Cut the Fels-Naptha soap into 3 equal pieces. Now, you are going to grate it. Since I wanted to save myself time, I ended up grating all 3 sections at once. I would grate one section, put it in a small baggie, grate the next one, put that one in a baggie, put them both into a larger baggie, and label and date it. That way, for the next 2 batches, I just have to grab the bag of the already grated soap and not pull the grater out again! Be sure to monitor small children when you are grating the soap. It looks a LOT like grated cheese (in fact, to be honest with you, it put me MAJORLY in the mood to have pizza afterwards!). Next, heat 6 cups of water on the stove and stir in the 1/3 bar of grated soap. You want the soap to melt, but do not let it boil. Next, add 1/2 cup of Borax and 1/2 cup of the Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda. Stir until it is all dissolved. Then, continue to stir until it thickens to the consistency of honey. (Side note: I love honey, but I totally blanked on the thickness level and doubt my hubby would appreciate me squeezing honey into the sink to determine the consistency to see if it matched. LOL I would say: make sure it is nice and thick, but don't kill yourself standing at the stove for a half hour like I did!!) Once it is thick enough, remove it from the heat. Now, grab your bucket. Pour 4 cups of hot tap water in. Add the soap and stir. If you want to add a scent (like lavender), feel free to add a few drops of essential oil in. I didn't have any (a crafting accident a few Christmases back that made my solid wood kitchen table smell like lavender for the next year made me a bit hesitant to do that! Maybe in the future, I'll give it a shot!)... Next, add 22 cups (1 gallon plus 6 cups) of hot tap water to the bucket. Mix it for a few minutes more. This is when the large bucket is nice. I really got into the stirring. There is just something fun about stirring so much liquid and knowing it won't splash out!!! You are going to leave it overnight. We covered ours with a pizza box (don't tell me you didn't see that one coming after my statement about the grated soap! LOL)... Covering was more so to keep 2 very nosy kitties out of it!! The next day, depending on weather and soap you used, the detergent could be runny, gel-like, or thick and watery on the bottom. At this point, you can consider yourself done... Just scoop out 1/2 cup for each load. However, the original author went a bit further, so I decided I was going to copy her... I used a beverage immersion blender to help blend the soap up a bit. Then, I funneled it into a cute little container that I got at Wal-Mart for like $8 I believe... I think it was maybe 2 or 2-1/2 gallons? A few notes about the laundry detergent... It WILL settle. So you may have to shake it up between loads. That is why the handle is so nice. I just slide it off the shelf, shake, shake, shake, and put it back and we are all good... Or if I don't feel like sliding it off and back on, I just slide it back and forth on the shelf real fast. It also may still be chunk-like if the blender didn't help break up the final pieces. A little squeeze on the sides will help it come out. Use about 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load. Color-Safe Bleach *Note that at the time of this posting, I am not sure how long a batch lasts for us with the homemade version. I just made my first batch. I will update the bottom of the post once I have an idea of how long it lasts for us. However, for "sake of argument," I am going to figure it will be at least 2 months per batch, considering the laundry detergent lasted 3 times longer than the store-bought detergent and we use color-safe bleach in every load. **VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!! PLEASE READ!! The color-safe bleach results in a clear liquid!!! PLEASE!!! Be sure to label it properly and keep it out of reach of children (or thirsty family members!)!! It looks IDENTICAL to water!! We don't want anyone getting the two mixed up! Price Comparison Clorox 2 Liquid (16 Load): $5.69 per bottle. I think this is actually a smaller container than what we normally get (I believe our bottles are 32 load and cost upwards of $8), but it probably works out to about 1 of these bottles a month (maybe less, but we'll go with it). This comes to $68.28 a year. VS Hydrogen Peroxide (16oz): $0.98 per bottle. This price is pretty accurate depending on where you buy it at. I got mine for like $1.09 at our grocery store. You actually use the entire bottle for each batch, so considering 2 months per batch (see note above), that comes to $5.88 a year... Water: Again, if you have to pay, it's whatever you get charged... Or for us, nothing. :-) THAT'S IT!!! I verified this over and over because it seemed too good to be true!! But it IS!! To make it be color-safe, it uses an oxygen-based cleaner (think Oxy-Clean, but in our case, it is the hydrogen peroxide and water)... I think this made me the maddest - that I was paying so much for something that was so cheap!! So again, $68.28 or $5.88? That's $62.40 in my pocket! The Process I found the recipe here. I didn't take many pictures of the process because, quite frankly, there isn't much of a process! Ha! First, collect your ingredients... 1. Hydrogen Peroxide (hint: get the 16oz bottle and then you can just dump the entire bottle in and not have to measure!) 2. Warm/Hot Water OK... Here's where the directions get tough. *winks* Pour 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide into a container at least one gallon in size. Again, if you get the 16-ounce bottle, just dump the entire bottle in. Technically, the next step says to "add enough water to fill to one gallon," but if you are using a larger container like I was and your husband doesn't point out right away that there are actually faint markers on the container that actually show one gallon, just know that if you had 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide, a gallon is 16 cups, so you just have to add 14 cups of warm-to-hot water. Cover your container. Shake to mix. And your done! Tough, hey? $62.40 for roughly 2 minutes worth of work? Well worth it to me!! Again, shake before use. Since it is clear, I can't tell if it separates, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. Use just under 1/4 cup per load. Fabric Softener *Note that at the time of this posting, I am not sure how long a batch lasts for us with the homemade version. I just made my first batch. I will update the bottom of the post once I have an idea of how long it lasts for us. However, for "sake of argument," I am going to figure it will be at least 6 months per batch, considering the laundry detergent lasted 3 times longer than the store-bought detergent and we only use liquid fabric softener for washing shirts (for everything else that goes in the dryer, we do use a Downy Bar in the dryer...). Price Comparison Snuggle Exhilarations, 3x Concentrate Fabric Softener, 32-Loads: $6.08 per bottle. We end up having to buy maybe 1 bottle every 3 months. This comes to $24.32 a year. VS Hair Conditioner: $1.25 per bottle. I am not connecting a link to this as I did not find one on Amazon that was price-comparable. I got my bottle for $0.89. You can usually find a bottle for $1.00. Don't go buying Garnier Fructis or another good, more expensive brand! Just a cheap, nice smelling conditioner will be good enough. For the batch I made, I got White Rain Ocean Mist Conditioner... smells so fresh! Get a bottle at least 16 ounces (I used 18 ounce) and you actually use the entire bottle for each batch (yes...I used the extra 2 ounces. I figured it didn't do any harm), so considering 6 months per batch (see note above), that comes to $2.50 (at most!) a year... Heinz Distilled White Vinegar 32 oz: $2.39 per bottle (Although I think you can get it even cheaper than this!). You only need 3 cups, so considering doing this twice a year, for $3.59 a year, you would have all of the vinegar you need for this! Water: Again, if you have to pay, it's whatever you get charged... Or for us, nothing. :-) So I ask you, $24.32 or $6.09? At a savings of about 75% (if not, more!), I'll take the $6.09 any day! The Process I found the recipe here. Like the color-safe bleach, I didn't take many pictures of this because of the ease of the recipe. Your ingredients: 1. Nice-Smelling Hair Conditioner (I recommend getting a bottle that is between 16 & 18 ounces... then you can just use the whole bottle) 2. White Vinegar 3. HOT water Pour 2 cups (-ish! LOL) of conditioner (or the entire bottle if it is 16-18 ounces in size) into your container. Add the 6 cups of HOT water (it doesn't have to be boiling... But I would make sure you have steam coming from the faucet when getting the water). Cover your container and shake to mix until the conditioner has dissolved. Add 3 cups of white vinegar. Cover and shake to mix. DONE!!! Easy, hey? Again, shake up between use. How much you use depends on how much clothing is in the load. Personally, I use a Downy Ball and throw it in with the clothes. The spigot on the container works great for getting the soap into it! Conclusion So ultimately, if you do all 3 of these, and have the same amount of usage as my husband and I, you will only spend about $21.84 (verses $183.08 - a $161.24 savings!) on your laundry needs for a YEAR!!! And if you do more than we do, you can just watch your savings skyrocket!! I managed to buy thinner versions of the detergent container to hold the fabric softener and color-safe bleach, so now, the OCD-side of me is happy! I also printed labels for each container labeling what it was, how much should be used, and how to make it again (so I do not have to continuously go online - although I would love for you to visit this page often!!). I have to admit that I am giddy about having made this post. I hope that all of you can find this as beneficial as I do. I would love to hear your results!! UPDATE: On April 29th, I finally had to make new bleach (I did a double batch for this next time since the container is (almost) big enough!). On April 30th, I made new fabric softener, but I probably could have went another week or two with what was in there...