Monday, July 12, 2010

Frugal Blue Monday & Ruby Tuesday

Well it is officially Monday and I've done it at last!  Made my own laundry detergent that is. I have had the ingredients of which there are few, for some months now but just never felt up to grating the bar soap that goes into. lol

So the other day I finally got a long desired purchase of a 10 cup food processor. I've wanted it to slice and chop vegetables mostly for salads and various things but I also want it for shredding up the bar soap for my detergent.  I got to use the processor today and  boy did it ever do a wonderful job of shredding up the soap for my home made laundry detergent. Sorry I didn't get a photo of it for you. I thought of taking pictures after I was well underway with the soap making exercise.

First off, there are many recipes for making your own laundry detergent on the internet. I used this website.
and this recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
 Hot water
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1  bar of Ivory soap
See the "blues" for Blue Monday

Grate the bar soap and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Stir over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Most recipes call for FelsNaptha and Zote soap but you can use Ivory soap or Sunlight bar soap if you are in Canada.


Fill a 10 gallon pail half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, Borax and Washing soda, stir well until all powder is dissolved. Top the pail up with more hot water.
I used a  nice ruby red bucket. Check out Ruby Tuesday here.
Use 1 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

Total Cost for all the Ingredients:
I bought 2 kg. Washing Soda for $4.99  (Canadian)
One large bar of Ivory soap was $.79 cents (Canadian)
1 2kg. box of Borax is about $5.99 (Canadian).
Total: $11.77 (Canadian)

I used only one cup of washing soda and half a cup of Borax and the entire bar of Ivory soap. There is still enough Washing Soda and Borax for many more batches of soap. As I am not into calculating everything down to a science, I would simply guesstimate about 10-12 more batches of soap can be made with the remaining Washing Soda and probably double that for the Borax.

Approximate cost of making my batch of detergent: 
$.38-49 cents  worth of Washing Soda used
$.79 cents bar soap used
$.23 - $.28 cents worth of  Borax used
Total: $1.40 - $1.56 worth of ingredients for 10 gallons of detergent or
14-16 cents per gallon.
This works out to approximately 160 loads of laundry (16 cups in each gallon x 10 and you use 1 cup of detergent per load) or 1.4 or 1.6 cents per load.

I've filled 6 empty liquid laundry detergent bottles which are just under 2 litres each and still  have half a bucket of detergent.

I didn't calculate the water cost or the electrical cost as that would be next to near impossible for me to determine.  I figure those costs are balanced by the energy savings to me of having to carry home heavy bottles of laundry detergent and the time it takes out of my week.  I hope that not only will making my own laundry detergent be good for the pocket book but also good for the environment. My detergent will sit over night to gel and be ready for use on Tuesday.

Would you be willing to  make home made laundry detergent or bar soap? Perhaps you already are. It seems that many bloggers are making a lot of things from scratch and that is, as Martha Stewart says, " a good thing".

In future I also plan to make bar soap and scented soaps. I met a wonderful blogger named Gerry who has a blog devoted to soap making which you can check out here. I'm hoping to try out her recipes and tips myself.

29 comments:

B i r g i t t a said...

Good work :)

http://foto.rudenius.se/post/2010/07/12/Macro-Monday.aspx

Gerry's Soap N Stuff said...

Hi Joyful, I really enjoyed this post, absorbing every word of the fine details...came to the end and there was a link to my site. :0) Thank you! I truly love sharing what I have learned over the years about soap making. Gerry

SmilingSally said...

Congratulations; you've met your challenge!

Happy Blue Monday!

Diary From Africa said...

This sounds wonderful, great for the environment and a money saver, too ! I look forward to reading more of your 'soap making' adventures, maybe I will even try some of them myself sometime, too !

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I have seen this on several blogs recently. That's neat that you have it calculated how much savings this would be. Let us know how well it works for you. I would definitely be willing to try it.

On the other hand, while I think it is a wonderful way to conserve, I start to wonder about people in the soap factories losing their jobs were lots of people to make their own detergent, soap, etc. Then with those people out of work, there would be more foreclosures on homes, higher unemployment, etc. So I continue to use products on the market, but I try to go green. I do, however, want to try one of these home recipes, and I thank you for sharing it with us. I like the fact that it means less plastic in the landfills by reclycing the jugs you already have.

Happy Blue Monday!

XO,

Sheila :-)

A 2 Z said...

Very educational! I will keep your post handy. I teach science and I will try this recipe in class with my kids next year. What's the worst that can happen other than getting clean! Thanks for sharing.

anne-marie

Susan said...

I can't wait to hear how it works.
Don't know if this is a project I want to try. Right now I get a 96 load bottle of name brand detergent for under $6 USA and it lasts for several months. I just use a small amount as water is the best cleaner EVER!
You are so clever with this new approach to Blue Monday!

Barbara said...

Well that is good, I know you gain great satisfaction in doing this, hugs Barbara

Kim, USA said...

Thanks for this one. I am thinking of making one too and your site came. Happy Monday!

Blue snake

LV said...

That seems to be more popular now, making your own washing powder. I do not have that much to wash, so I will stick to store bought.

eileeninmd said...

Great post and info. I would love to try this but I would need more time. Happy Blue Monday!

Siromade said...

You had a nice post, i like reading it in your challenge of making detergent, You did a great job.

eden said...

Nice Ruby post and informative too. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed this post.

reg said...

wow I now have a recipe this is really cool. By the way hello from a fellow Canadian!!!!

stan said...

tt's a great idea altho I v much wan to get hired help with the housework. Hahaha.

Anonymous said...

Well done you! That is wonderful!!!

Robin said...

Well done you!

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Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

That is a lot of calculating. There must be a program on line that cane help to simplify that. You are very ambitious to make the soap.How well does it work on theI laundry? greatstuff!

Joyful said...

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments. I really enjoyed making the soap and it wasn't difficult. I've used it now for washing two loads of clothing. It works well. You just have to stir it or shake it before you use it. It doesn't suds so don't worry about that. It will still get the clothes clean.

Kleistemotte, it really wasn't a difficult job to calculate. I just hope I did it right, lol.

My Castle in Spain said...

Wow...I'm impressed because i heard lots of talking about that and you're doing it...bravo !
your comment made me smile...yes me too, i thought the tapestry was worth every penny :-)
Have a great monday!
xoxo
Lala

Kilauea Poetry said...

This is pretty neat- i enjoy stuff like this! I think you breaking it all down is terrific. It's at the the point where you need to do something like this because everything is getting or is so expensive!
I've got your link up (I wanted to but kept procrastinating).
I've seriously been thinking of taking a break this week until I feel better.
Anyway, thanks for the pictures and recipe..hope you have a great day (or evening)..my best, Regina-

Teena said...

It's good to see the breakdown of the costs and what you are saving by doing it yourself. Sometimes things are not cheaper if you make it yourself, so it's good to know! Thankyou for the birthday wishes <3 <3

Diane said...

Thanks for visiting my site. Glad you enjoyed the fireworks. Making detergent sounds a wonderful idea. Diane

Bossy Betty said...

This is so cool! What a great idea!

EG CameraGirl said...

Excellent! You are saving money and the environment at the same time!

Jan said...

That sounds like a very worthwhile thing to do.
I have never heard of anyone making their laundry detergent..... I will see if the ingredients are available locally.
Blessings - Jan

Rhonda said...

I am thinking about it but have not yet located washing soda in my little town yet,

i will keep looking and will order online if need be,
I have been using Borax for other cleaning jobs, it works great

Anonymous said...

I found this interesting, too. Simple ingredients and the photos were helpful, too. Your blog really contains a LOT of very useful information. YC

Joyful said...

I found this interesting, too. Simple ingredients and the photos were helpful, too. Your blog really contains a LOT of very useful information. YC

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