every penny counts...

this is not cooking related, but certainly helps those of us on a tight budget.

my mom just sent me a "recipe" for a laundry detergent mixture that yields 2 gallons- which each net 64 loads of laundry- for less than $1 per gallon. yowza!
she claims it works great, even in high efficiency washers.

all of the ingredients can be found in your local Kroger or similar in the laundry aisle, and the mixture takes just minutes to whip up.



ready?

Donna's Miracle Detergent:
1/3 bar of Feld's Naptha Soap
1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Powder
1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax powder
Water

Shave or chop up the 1/3 bar of soap into small pieces and add to a saucepan with 4 cups of water. Heat on stove until soap is completely melted. To that, add both of the powders and stir until dissolved. Add 6 more cups of water, and stir.

In a large stock pot or pail, add the soap mixture to 1 gallon plus 6 additional cups of water. Stir, and let set for 24 hours. Stir again, then pour into containers -- I'm going to use gallon size plastic milk jugs for now, and collect a couple old laundry soap containers for future batches.

Note, the mixture will congeal a bit as it sets. Simply stir it up again before pouring into the containers. Before using, shake the container a bit. Use 1/4 cup of soap per load of laundry, or 1/2 cup for heavily soiled loads.

From Mom-
"My total investment for the ingredients (one bar of soap and the two boxes of powder) was $6.85. After making two gallons of laundry detergent, I have enough powder left over to make about ten more batches (20 gallons), and enough soap for two more batches (four gallons). After that, the soap is just $1.29 a bar -- and each bar makes six more gallons! So, by my calculations, I will invest less than $11 for 20 gallons of laundry soap -- enough for 1280 loads of laundry. Goodbye Tide!!"

And of course she sends this to me after we spent $12 at target for a bottle of cheer that yields a mere 52 loads. as soon as it's empty, i'm trying this!