Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Welcome to 31 Debt Free Missions! A new feature this year on Queen of Free, during each day in January, I will provide 31 concrete missions or challenges for you to take on to #SlayDebt and take charge of your finances this year. Each mission will take you less than an hour (some will only require 15 minutes). Whereas, 31 Days to Kick Debt in the Teeth (which I’m reworking this year and reposting in January, too) focused on some of the philosophical changes you need to make in order to be successful with money, 31 Debt Free Missions are action steps to put into place after you have your thinking straight. Even better, during the month of January, I’m revisiting each of these challenges in order to sharpen my money saving and debt slaying skills.
Are you ready? Your mission is as follows:
Day 10: Make Your Own Laundry Detergent
I’ve been talking to a number of reporters lately, sharing our story and explaining more about the book. As I describe our debt free journey, I often make reference to the sacrifices that we made along the way – giving up restaurants, leaving the traditions of gift giving between adults behind for a short period of time, and even going without meat for a few months at the end of our journey. Each of these changes was made gradually and after smaller sacrifices had been put into place and kept first. However, the one change that we made that mystifies them most is the fact that we made our own laundry detergent.
If you’re like me and spend time dwelling in the Pinterest-y, frugal world, you’d think “What’s the big deal? Doesn’t everyone do that?” It turns out that not everyone does that (especially reporters). So perhaps if you’ve always wondered the why and how behind why we make our laundry detergent and how to make your own, check out today’s debt free mission.
Stay Out of the Store
We ran the numbers and our homemade laundry detergent costs right at $0.016 per load. So less than $0.02 a load. Now, you can contrast that number with the anywhere from $0.08 to $0.23 it can cost to laundry your clothes with manufactured laundry detergent and quickly realize that you’ll save anywhere from $58 – $166 on the face value. But let’s think about this . . .
Who has ever run into the superstore (say one with a large red logo that looks somewhat like a bullseye to grab a bottle of laundry detergent and a gallon of milk) and checked out with a full cart of items? Please tell me I’m not the only one.
So while you could scoff at making laundry detergent and throw complaints at me about it taking too much extra time and only saving pennies per load, I’d hazard to guess that making laundry detergent has saved me HUNDREDS of dollars in unnecessary purchases.
Save Time
Typically, I make laundry detergent in a double batch so that I have enough for over 800 loads. This saves me time, too. And time is money y’all.
Not really. I’ve never successfully been able to buy a candy bar with the second hand on my watch (not that I’ve tried). But you know what I mean. Your time is valuable. The time you spend in the store, driving to and from, and standing in line waiting for that weird lady with a million coupons to get through the check out (Oh hi! I didn’t see you there or I totally would have let you go in front of me), adds up.
And Now the Recipe
Now for what you’ve been waiting for. My recipe for laundry detergent has changed a bit over the years. But the basics are 1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Washing soda, and 1/2 cup of an Oxi-cleaner (You can use generic if you can find it. Oh, and by the way, these prices are not the best, but I’m linking the products so you can see what they are). That’s it. Simple as pie. Plus, you only need to use 1 T per load to get your clothes clean. Looking for more laundry tips? Read 4 Ways to Save Money While Doing Laundry. This post includes my alternative to fabric softener and some ideas to make clothes last longer.
Cleaning . . . while I hate to admit it (because I hate to do it) can help you pay off debt in more ways than you realize. The systems and products you use can have a significant impact on your home and productivity. There’s an entire chapter devoted to cleaning on the cheap and organizing for success in Slaying the Debt Dragon.
Do you go into your bank and know the employees? Make a plan to visit this week.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
Does this work for the new machines that require HE? Can it be liquefied?
Yes, Theresa! I have used it in my mom’s HE machine before. I put the detergent in with the clothes rather than in the detergent dispenser. I’m not sure on liquefaction though. I’ve never tried. I do know there are a number of homemade liquid laundry detergent recipes out there.
I would appreciate a link to your ingredients, I’m not sure what an oxy cleaner is.
Sure thing! I linked the ingredients in the post above now. The prices aren’t the best and I would highly recommend looking for a generic product for the OxiClean but at least you’ll know what you’re looking for now. 🙂 Thanks for the tip.
Just read your book – which I loved! I’m having my husband read it now. I’ve never made laundry detergent before, so figure me if this is a dumb question. Do I just mix the Borax, Washing Soap, and Oxiclean together and put it in a container? I’ve seen other recipes that say to grate a bar of soap – do I need to do that as well?
YAY and thank you! 🙂 Yes, just mix the 3 dry ingredients together and you’re good to go. I used to do the bar of soap method too (I used Ivory) but switched to this because it’s just a little bit easier and I find that it the Oxiclean works better in my washing machine & suds-es up better. If you get a chance, write a review on Amazon or GoodReads if you will. It would mean the world to me!