Homemade "Green" Laundry and Dish Detergents..BIG MONEY SAVERS!

I spent about 30 minutes last night making my homemade laundry detergent. It was easy and not too time consuming. I started by using 3 simple and cheap ingredients.

I purchased these three ingredients from my local Publix for around $6. I peeled the bar of ivory like cheeses and put in a pot with 4 cups of hot water.

After the soap was completely dissolved I added 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. I mixed this up and poured into a 5 gallon bucket and added hot water to fill it almost to the top.

This is the final product! I used a measuring cup to refill a few laundry detergent bottles that were in my recycling bin. I washed a load of laundry last night and it worked great! They were fresh and clean and smelled good too.

I will store this in the 5 gallon bucket with a lid and it should last me a long time. My husband did some mathematical calculations and came up with the price per load in this recipe. He said it equates to less than 2 cents a load. You can't beat that!

I also made my own dishwasher detergent using the same products. equal parts of washing soda and borax in a container shake up and you have some really good dishwasher soap. I tried this too and the dishes were really clean maybe even cleaner than with regular store bought detergent. I used a large peanut butter plastic jar from my recycling bin and it works great to store and pour.

Give it a try! You can save lots of money and keep your house clean and be green:)

Recycling Facts

I recently completed an assignment for school that required some research on recycling for my topic. I found some facts that amazed me. Did you know that in terms of energy wasted, every time you throw away an aluminum can it is like throwing it away half full of gasoline. That's crazy! The energy used to recycle an aluminum can is 90% less than it takes to make a new one.

Here is another fact about recycling that amazed me. A ton of paper from recycled pulp saves:
17 trees
7000 gallons of water
390 gallons of oil
and 4200 kilowatt hours (this is enough to heat an average home for half a year)

Americans toss out 2.5 million plastic bottles every HOUR!!!

If you saved the glass bottles that Americans throw away every 2 weeks those bottles would have filled both of the world trade centers! Wow! We really need to consider these facts next time we toss something in the garbage.

One more fact, there are 2 man made structures visible from outer space. One is the Great Wall of China and the other is a landfill! The landfill is in New York and it is called Fresh Kills.

I don't know about you but these figures have definitely moved me to be more cautious about what I throw away. I hope it will move you too!

Be sure to check out my next post because I have a recipe that I will be using to make homemade laundry detergent. If my figures are accurate the $6 I spent on supplies will make enough laundry detergent for my family of 5 for at least one year! Also this recipe is a safe, green product too! so be sure to look out for my next post. i will be trying out all kinds of recipes for cleaning products that are green, cheap, and will provide cleaner air in your home.