Has anyone ever tried making their own to save money? There are several methods to making your own detergent. Some people do this. I do not think it is worth the trouble however, laundry detergent doesn't cost that much, maybe if I was a survivalist I would try it!
Obviously much depends on the size of the family and how much washing you do - as well as whether you can get the ingredients at an affordable price - having done this myself and still do to some degree - although I more often than not use soap nuts these days - as not only are they hypo-allergenic but also way, way cheaper than anything else - generally speaking making your own laundry detergent will very definitely save money and quite a significant amount too. Oh and I would just add - that as making your own laundry detergent is real simple and far from time consuming - but more importantly - the majority of home-made laundry detergents are just as effective if not better than their more expensive store bought counterparts - I don't really see any reason not to - especially when the end result is an equivalent product for a fraction of the cost of the commercially produced one - along with the added bonus of being free from chemicals and therefore totally natural too.
No, I wouldn't make my own, but I soak things instead to make the detergent go further. When I have traveled without any detergent, I just used some cheap shampoo or shower gel instead. It works, it's amazing how useful you can make things when you have no choice.
I haven't made my own supply so far. I have tried some. I know people who make their own detergent and swear by it. I think it would be a decent idea. You can do your own fabric softener too. I am able to find laundry detergent for a reasonably cheap price most of the time, which is probably why I haven't tried this at home. I may still do it at some point though. I'm just thinking that I'd need to make a lot at once, and the biggest issue with that is finding containers and space to store it.
I have seen the information to make your own laundry soap which seems like a good idea if you have a large family. I have used shampoo to wash clothes when we ran out of laundry soap. To me soap is soap regardless of the name written on the label.
I've never tried to make laundry detergent at home. Someone I know did make some, got a small amount of it from him so I could test it and it was no good. But he had a good excuse, it was his first attempt at making detergents. Since it is easy to learn how it is done, I wouldn't rule out making some laundry detergent but I'd only do it if I can sell most of it to my neighbors — save some money and make a little more from the sales.
I think you summed it up nicely for me when you said laundry detergent doesn't cost much, so really, how much are you going to save and is it really worth it? It's just never going to break the bank. For me, the answer is no, I wouldn't bother making my own. I just wouldn't want the hassle and the mess of it. I'd rather just go into a store and pick up some of the most fragrant detergents and get going. If I made it myself, I doubt I could get it to smell as good as some of the shop bought stuff LOL
Detergent is quite cheap already, so I think that making your own is quite fussy for the little money that you will save. I also don't think it would be as effective as the ones that are sold in the stores.
Making your own laundry detergent seems like a lot of work. Take a look an article on how to do it at home.Log In The savings were pretty good, but you have to invest time and effort that I think are worth money as well. I would just stick to buying laundry detergent on sale and with a coupon to get better savings.
If done as shown in the link then yes I would definitely agree that making your own laundry detergent would be a great deal of work as well as very time consuming. Fortunately however - that is not how it is normally made - as its actually way easier and considerably quicker if done the regular way - particularly as it usually takes no more than 15 minutes - as all that is required is to grate the soap and then mix all the ingredients together. In fact considering that the process generally only needs to be done once or at the very most twice a year and the cost of the ingredients for a years supply of laundry detergent amount to somewhere around $25 - yes that is correct - $25 for a years supply of laundry detergent - I think it pretty good value in all respects - especially as it cleans just as effectively as any of the commercially made detergents - but at a fraction of the cost.
Thanks for posting, @purplepen88 . In as much as gata montes makes some very valid points, I'm still not sold on the idea. I have never really been a fan of the 'back to basics' type lifestyle. Maybe because when I was growing up, mum and dad would do things like making us bake bread and grind our own minced meat and I remember really not liking the hassle LOL Maybe that's where my hatred of the idea of making anything at home stems from!
I haven't tried making my own, but whenever I go shopping for groceries, I always purchase the cheapest laundry detergent on the shelf, which would have the greatest value for my money. I watch out for promos or freebies of this stuff so that I can have more to use for my soiled clothes. Then when laundry time comes, I use a measuring scooper to maximize the amount of detergent I use per batch of clothes in the most efficient way. It is fortunate that I do not have really dirty clothes so that I can use less detergent to save up on costs.
I have bought a laundry bar that I grated with a cheese grater. It was a dollar for the bar and I was able to wash my clothes for the whole month. that beats paying $17 for Gain at Target. I used that extra money to buy clothes!
