This year, I’m learning to live with less in my 2014 Simplicity theme year.  That means finding innovative ways to save money so we can spend our money in the places we really need to (or want to). I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to try it. Homemade laundry detergent! And the recipe is so simple – and best of all, it saves you hundreds of dollars a year.

Pinspiration: Natural Laundry Detergent. This easy, useful project can be completed in 15 minutes. And it helps you save money, reduce your environmental impact (if you use liquid laundry detergent – you’re paying for them to transfer the liquid, water, to your store).  I’ve been using this laundry detergent exclusively for about 6 months now and I love it.  The detergent works great, smells great and is so easy to make – worth it!

Start with the right supplies.  We ordered a few of these items online, but most items can be easily found at your big box store. You’ll need:

• Borax
• Washing soda (or Baking Soda)
• Fels Naptha Soap (can usually be found in the laundry detergent aisle)
• Essential oils (optional)
• Grater & Bowls
• Storage Container & Table Spoon

Grate your Fels Naptha Soap.  This is the part that takes the most time.  I’d suggest making enough to make one bar’s worth of laundry detergent each time.  You can do this during the commercials of your favorite show to help pass the time easier on this project.

Mix the ingredients together. Here is the complete recipe:

• 1 bar of grated Fels Naptha soap
• 1-2 cups of Borax (many recipes call for 1 cup, I use about 1.5 cups)
• 1-2 cups of Washing Soda (many recipes call for 1 cup, I use about 1.5 cups)
• Essential Oils (optional)

Add in Essential Oils. I add quite a bit of lemon essential oil to most of my mixes because I love the scent.  You can choose any essential oil that works for you – or leave it with no fragrance.

Store in an airtight container. We use one tablespoon for regular loads and two tablespoons for large or heavily soiled loads. This is safe for HE machines too.

Cute packaging makes it a great gift. Store items in mason jars and add a tablespoon as trimming.  Then you can easily gift this to everyone you know and start them on their path to more frugal, and still wonderful laundry detergent.