How little do you use?

[Valerie in WA]

These discussions on clothing and purses and towels are fascinating me. Now I'm wondering about a couple of things: laundry deterent and dishwasher detergent/dishsoap.

All this chat about homemade laundry detergent has me scratching my head. I just don't think I go through enough to justify making my own, but I'm wondering what goes on in your laundry room and kitchen.

I have on my shelf a 300oz bottle of liquid laundry detergent. I opened it on August 19th (yes, I wrote the date on the bottle) and it's about half full. So it should last me about 7 months. I do 4 or 5 loads a week. That bottle cost $11 (warehouse store), for an average monthly expense of $1.50. That - to me - is pretty low. It doesn't seem like I could save much money for the effort of making my own.

I use a gel-liquid dishwasher detergent. It's 120oz and lasts about 5 months. I run the dishwasher daily (or very near so). The detergent was $4.37 (Walmart), so my monthly cost is under $1.

How about you?

[forestdale]

Valerie, I make my own not just for the financial benefits but mainly so that I know what is on my clothes. Residue is always left on clothes after washing, I want my residue to be natural chemicals and not manufactures ones.

I recently decided to use up the remains of half a bottle of store bought laundry detergent we had in the cupboard. I've been using homemade detergent for almost two years. When I used the store bought detergent I felt, and so did DH even without me prompting, a coating on the clothes. It was like wax or something similar. I don't know what they put in that detergent, but I don't want it next to my skin.

You also have to take into account that every time you buy a new bottle, you're buying new plastic to throw away.

[halo475]

I only use 1 heaping tablespoon of laundry detergent per load, and I use (usually) Arm and Hammer powder. So to me, no it's not worth making my own detergent. Like you my monthly detergent cost is very very low, so I am happy buying. I tried making it once and it was more expensive oz per oz than buying arm and hammer

IMHO frugality is all about choices. I choose to buy laundry detergent, but I choose NOT to buy pre-packaged (convenience) foods, and make (Almost) everything from scratch.

I do agree with Rhonda, about what is left on the clothes after washing, and if it was something I felt strongly about, I would be making a different choice.

It's what makes the world go 'round. "different strokes for different folks"

[MOMMYDEAREST]

A 300OZ OF LAUNDRY DETERGENT LASTS ME ABOUT A MONTH. THERE ARE 6 POEPLE IN MY HOUSE & I DO ABOUT 4-5 LOADS OF LAUNDRY A DAY.

[QuilterMom]

I make my own laundry detergent for pretty much the same reasons as Rhonda. I have a septic tank so I'm very concerned about what goes into it and I like knowing exactly what my clothing and other items are being washed in. I use a specific brand of dishwasher detergent (lowest in phosphate content) because I'm concerned about the environment (and my septic and ground water as well) so I don't bother tracking how long it takes me to go through a bottle. I used to make my own dishwasher powder, but it stopped working effectively (we figure it has to do with the poor quality of our well water here on the coast).

[YankeeMom]

I honestly don't keep track of exact amts. I know a smaller (40 load?) box of powder lasts me about 5 weeks. The larger boxes last so long I never remember (and I always mean to write the date on the bottle, but never remember to bring a marker down to the laundry room ). I have a large (120 load?) bottle of liquid Purex that I've been using for a month and it's more than half full. I do at least 7 loads of laundry per week. Not including bedding, that's another 8 loads

Dishwasher detergent...none. I don't have a dishwasher. I buy a large (40oz?) bottle of Ajax dishwashing liquid and it lasts 2-3 months.

[YankeeMom]

Wow Angie... 4-5 loads of laundry A DAY??
We have six in our family as well. I would die if I had to do that much laundry LOL!

[cheapgeek]

My main reason for doing hm laundry detergent is transportion. I have no car, so any time I can avoid buying and carrying home water, it saves me. I only have to buy borax and washing soda once a year, and there's always a bar of soap around. That beats lugging home detergent every other week or so.

[YankeeMom]

I stand corrected, it is a 64 load bottle that I have been using for a month and is half full still. Not 120 load bottle

[Mamaw]

I actually use both. But when I did the math, the homemade saved me a few dollars plus I liked the scent of the clothes. I have not kept track of how many loads are done per week or how long a batch of homemade or a bottle of store bought lasts me. I really should I guess....maybe after the holidays

[canadian gardener]

I live in hard water zone, so the hm doesn't work well for me. I can get about 6 ot 7 months out of a 13$ tub of Costco powder so it works out ok as far as I'm concerned.

[Telephus44]

I haven't done the actual math, but I find it hard to believe that in my situation there would be much of a savings for using HM. I buy either Xtra, Arm & Hammer, or Purex (depending on sales/coupons). I can usually get a 100oz bottle for around $2.00. For DH I and (no kids, and we both have desk jobs), we use about 1 bottle every 8 months - we also use a front loading washer, so we use maybe 2 tablespoons per load? We also wash around 4 loads per week.

So I figure if I'm currently spending $3.00 per year - it would be tough to get HM cheaper (or justify the initial investment in supplies).


For dishwasher detergent, I'd love to find a HM recipe. We spend about $12 per year on that (buy large bottles of liquid on sale at BJ's twice a year). We run the dishwasher about every other day. I always make sure to put it in "light" wash to save water.