OK.  So it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted a pinterest post.  I never said I was going to do 52 consecutive weeks!  I have pinned several homemade cleaning products and wanted to try them out.  So I headed out to Wal-Mart this afternoon to get my supplies.  (I HATE going to Wal-Mart)  Not including my container costs, I spent $26.77.  From these supplies, I made dish washing detergent, laundry detergent, fabric softener, and homemade dryer sheets.  All of these products should last us for a long time, so I think that I saved a considerable amount of money already.  Here is what I got:

The first thing I made was dish washing detergent.  Mainly because our dishwasher and sink were both full of dirty dishes!  Here is what I used to make it:

I got the recipe here.  As suggested, I am using white vinegar as a rinsing agent.  We ran the first load through the dishwasher, and I didn’t notice much of a difference than with store bought detergent.  I am very happy with how it turned out.  It made a huge container and with only using 1 TBS at a time, it’s going to last for a long time!

The next thing I made was the laundry detergent.  I researched several different recipes before deciding on one.  I knew that I did’t want to use a recipe that involved cooking the soap.  I decided on using this recipe.  I didn’t get a picture of all the ingredients before I used them!  It was a very easy recipe and even easier when you get your husband to grate your soap for you!

It sort of looks like cheese.

But I don’t recommend eating it!

We poured all the ingredients into a bucket lined with a trash bag.  I layered all the ingredients as I poured them in to make it easier to mix together.

We ended up cutting a hole in the corner of the trash bag to make it easier to pour into containers.

My husband is going to try it out tonight on his laundry.  I hope it works out well because he is very doubtful about all of this homemade stuff.  I told him that I was going to make our laundry detergent and he said I was a hippie!  Oh well!  I guess I will use all the extra money that I save to go buy some tie-dyed shirts!

Next I made some fabric softener.  It’s very easy and you can choose any scent that you like.  I used this recipe.

You can use this fabric softener in your washing machine, but I used mine to make some reusable dryer sheets.  I just soaked plain white washcloths that I got at Wal-Mart in my homemade fabric softener.  I wrung out all the excess and put them out to dry.

Each one can be used about 10-12 times in the dryer.  I have enough fabric softener left over to soak them again.

Including the trip to Wal-Mart, the whole process only took me about 3 hours.  I’m very pleased with my results and will be very happy when I can by-pass the detergent aisle in the grocery store!

Alison