Homemade Laundry Powder

We've been using homemade cleaners for a while, but finally took the plunge and tried out homemade laundry powder.  There are a ton of different recipes on the internet, but the ingredients tend to be the same:  soap, washing soda, and Borax.  I used Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap because it's organic, but next time I'll probably use something cheaper if the babies can tolerate it.  You can also add baking soda or Oxiclean to the mix.  I played around with the ratios until I came up with a mixture that worked for us.  I absolutely love this stuff; clothes smell so fresh and even Jason's uniforms got clean!

Three Little Embrys Laundry Powder

1 cup washing soda

1 cup Borax

1 bar soap

1/2 cup baking soda

Grate one bar of soap (~5 oz) with a cheese grater or food processor.  Mix ingredients together and stir thoroughly.  Store in an airtight container.  Use 1-2 tbsp of powder per load.  Makes ~32 oz of detergent (32-64 loads).

Cost Breakdown
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 55 oz - $3.24 ($0.47/cup)
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 4 lb - $2.12 ($0.27/cup)
20 Mule Team Borax, 76 oz - $2.98 ($0.31/cup)
Ivory, 3.1 oz - $0.25 ($0.40/5oz)
Dr. Bronner's, 5 oz $4.04

A batch using Dr. Bronner's cost $4.95 ($0.08/load) whereas Ivory would cost $1.32 ($0.02/load).  We had been using Tide Pods ($0.25/load) and since we do about 10 loads of laundry a week, not counting  diapers, the savings is pretty substantial.  For comparison, the cheapest detergent at the commissary is $0.12/load.

Basically, we can save $120 a year by making our own detergent that works just as well as Tide.