Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

This recipe for homemade laundry detergent creates some serious savings!  I meticulously calculated all the measurements and prices to give you the closest possible estimation at the price of making this detergent.  The results will astound you!

But, first the recipe!

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

You will need to get your hands on these ingredients:

-Powdered OxiClean (1 ½ cups)

-Super Washing Soda (2 cups)

-20 Mule Team Borax (1 ½ cups)

-Ivory soap bars (2)

Directions:

Grate both bars of soup into a 6 quart stock pot.  Add 4 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil.  Once all soap has melted, turn off heat.  Add the washing soda and borax.  (DO NOT ADD OXICLEAN YET!!!) 

Once dissolved, pour mixture into 5 gallon bucket.  Add 7 quarts of HOT water.  Cover with bucket lid and let sit over night.

The next day, detergent will most likely be thick (like a gel).  But, don’t worry!  Use a large spoon and start mixing it.  It will loosen and soon enough have a liquid-like consistency.  If it still appears very gel-like, add another quart of boiling water.  Stir until smooth and lumps have dissolved.

Now, add the 1 ½ cups of powdered OxiClean to the room temperature detergent.  Stir in very well.

At this time, if desired, you can add a fragrance oil to give it an amazing smell.  I stirred in 2 tablespoons of Fresh Linen scent to my batch.

This recipe makes about 44 cups of detergent.  I use about ½ cup per load.  So, one batch will give you 88 loads.

Some tips-

-The detergent will expand after adding the OxiClean.  This is a normal reaction.  Don't worry.  It won't overflow and it WILL stop "growing".

-Stir detergent before each use.

-If it has small lumps in it, don't worry!  It will still dissolve in your wash.

 Now, for that serious savings!

1 ½ cups Oxyclean: $1.33

2 cups Washing Soda: $0.56

1 ½ cups Borax: $0.45

2 bars Ivory soap: $0.66

GRAND TOTAL: $3.00 per batch/ 3 cents per load

If you are adding a fragrance oil, that changes things.  The oil I bought costs about $1 per fluid ounce which, is what I added to my detergent.  The brought it up to $4 a batch.  You can choose to add only 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, or none at all, depending on how cheap you want to make your detergent.  But, even with the 2 tablespoons I added, this detergent is still twice as less as store-bought ones!!

WITH FRAGRANCE: $4.00 per batch/ 5 cents per load

Just for fun, how about we compare?  I looked up 3 of the most common/best detergents in the stores.  Here’s what I found:

Tide 2x Ultra= 25 cents per load

Gain 2x Ultra= 19 cents per load

Cheer 2x Ultra= 19 cents per load

I think THAT is some serious savings!!!

White Chocolate Banana Bread

Yum.  That's all I can say about this bread.  I made it a couple weeks ago and David ate half the loaf the following day!  The only unfortunate thing about this bread, is the bananas don't ripen fast enough!

White Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 (heaping) teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
3 medium ripened (black) bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.


In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Set aside.


In a medium bowl, mash bananas with fork until no lumps are visible.  Add beaten egg, sugar, and oil.  Stir well.  Pour over flour mixture and stir until just moistened.  Lumps are OKAY!


Fold in white chocolate chips.  Pour batter into baking dish.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Or, until toothpick (or, butter knife in my case) inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.  


Surprisingly, this bread tastes best after it's been completely cooled!


Enjoy!

Heinsch-isms

I never realized my family had created a language until I started dating a linguist. Every once in awhile, David tries to pick apart the weird sounds my family has put together to mean certain things.  But, sometimes (like with my family), there is no sense in what we create.  It was simply created, used, and used again because it got the point across.  Why bother with real words if it works, right?

Now, allow me to give you a glimpse into some of the Heinsch-isms I used and still use today:

Basic 1 word vocabulary:
Burbur (ber-ber)  is a hamburger.
Cachee (ka-chee) is chocolate.
Boops (pronounced as is) are boots
La (pronounced as is) is a call for mom/mother.


Clever Phrases that Stuck:
poo-poo-choo-choo
(pronounced as is) literal translation- "this stinks".
This was a phrase created by my mother.  I have no idea why, but it stuck.  It's an equivalent to saying "darn" or "shoot".

schootsy-boomp
(skoot-see-boom-p) literal translation- "move over".
Another one created by my mother.  Do you need more details?  I think you get the idea.

finity-carry-i-win
(pronounced as is) literal translation- "I beat you and you can't do anything about it."
I created this one.  In my household, if you tacked on the phrase: "Times Infinity" to a verbal argument with a sibling, you won.  Well, way back in the day, I thought a neighbor girl (Carry) was the coolest person in the world.  For some reason, I slid her name in between the "Infinity" phrase and it worked.  If you belted out this completely pointless phrase in an argument, there was nothing anyone could do, but give up trying to beat you.

mash-mash-ma-ana-pluck-ma-ma
(pronounced as is) literal translation- "This is still dirty.  You need to re-wash it."
Amanda created this one.  This goes back to the day when my two older siblings and I were forced to wash the dishes every night after dinner.  My sister always convinced me it was cooler to wash instead of dry.  So, of course, I washed.  But, hearing this phrase over and over again made me soooo angry.

Homemade Tacos

Normally, I try to post the next recipe on my list of recipes to post on my blog. But, I just made this tonight for dinner and I had to bump it to the top spot. In fact, I just finished eating them and now I'm blogging about them! That's how good this recipe is!

Lately, I've been on a healthy cooking kick. Today, I was in the mood for tacos. Since my new obsession is healthy cooking, the seasoning packets you buy store (loaded with preservatives, sodium, and who knows what else) simply wouldn't do for me.

I browsed a couple online recipes for a homemade taco seasoning but wasn't greatly impressed. Ultimately, I created my own and let me tell you-- ABSOLUTELY amazing! I will never go back to a taco seasoning packet again! Please try this one. You won't regret it!




Taco Seasoning Mix ^Shown above
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons corn starch

Combine all ingredients in an air tight container. Shake or mix until will blended.

That's it! You're ready to go! Now, for the actual taco recipe....

I brown 1 pound of ground turkey in a large skillet coated with olive oil. After browned, drain remaining grease. Reduce heat to a medium-low temperature. Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning. Stir until meat looks evenly coated. Add 1/2 cup water to pan. Let meat simmer for 5-10 minutes until water has been absorbed.



Put taco meat on top of a tortilla. Top with your favorite taco toppings, such as: tomatoes, lettuce, olives, green pepper, onions, cheese, and/or sour cream. One pound of meat makes enough for 5-6 tacos.

Enjoy!