Pinterest Love: DIY Laundry Detergent

I remember when I first heard about Pinterest.  I was running around telling everyone that there was a new website that was going to be huge and that I couldn't get enough of it.  I loved the idea of having a virtual corkboard that I could "pin" all the ideas I love onto.  It was like a picture book of great ideas using a single photo to express whatever interested you.  I started out pinning to the variety of boards I created and then I stopped pinning and just liked everything for awhile.  A friend of mine convinced me that I needed to start pinning my likes again, so I did.  I have around 6500 "likes" on my page, with only 1600 pins on my 45 boards.  What can I say? I like to "like" stuff.  I am the same way on Facebook.  Always hitting the "like" button.  If you haven't checked out Pinterest, you need to hop on over and see what it is all about. 

Since I have 6500 likes, I figured I would share some of the ones I have actually tried.  First up: A link to the detergent I made. 

DIY Laundry Detergent

 

 

I have a pretty glass jar that I keep powdered detergent in.  I have had it for years.  Depending on the mood I was in, sometimes it sat empty for months.  (That was when I was in the mood for liquid detergent.)  We go through detergent pretty quick around here.  Our washer never has a day off and we never get rid of the laundry pile. NEVER.  I do not have a love affair with laundry, but it must be done.  I would say we wash around 10-15 loads of laundry a week on average.  Some weeks we are right at 10, others at 15.   We wash at least one load every day.  I don't know how much laundry detergent we have used in a years time, but I liked the whole idea that I could make a tubful of detergent that would last months. 

 

I made the detergent as listed except I used Fels Naptha instead of Zote.  I couldn't find any Zote in the stores I checked, so I stopped looking and bought the Fels.  I did use 2 bottles of softener.  I love the smell of fresh laundry.  I read through some of the comments on the link posted and I did follow the advice of those who said to microwave the soap and then grate it.  It grates into a fine powder without any effort.  I also used more detergent than what was called for in the recipe when I washed my clothes.  I used the entire capful off of the softener bottle.  I made the soap in August and we just ran out of it last week.  So that is around 4 1/2 months.  I spent close to 35.00 dollars on the supplies.  I was very happy with the detergent and the way it cleaned my clothes.  I will make this again in the next few weeks using the same recipe.  DIY Laundry Detergent = Happiness.

 

Thank you Pinterest!