Jump on the Frugal Bandwagon

This morning I logged onto CNN for my morning news and was startled to realize headlines about families, single parents, and the country at large are all competing with headlines about war, celebutrash, and breaking news. Usually about the latest in sport scandals.

Although frugality and gas spikes and mortgage crisis all go hand in hand, it really just hit me this morning that the entire country is nervously waiting for their own private economy to implode on itself. While I understand frugality and worries are all very real, it's interesting how the news depicts it all. Ladies are skipping their monthly salon appointments, families are clipping coupons, and people are switching to cloth napkins!!! The news somehow wants to make it into a stunning and compelling news piece. Instead, I'm finding delight in learning new ways to be frugal.

I've always been frugal at heart, though some people confuse that with being cheap. I'm frugal and will find a way to save even $5 from my bills, but I'll also find a way to fund a European vacation. I make travel a priority (not above paying bills and eating), and I find ways to scrimp on both my travel bills and daily life to make that a reality. Frugality is also an outlet for creativity, in my opinion. I love figuring out what's free and cheap and take pride in knowing what a great value I've gotten in my chosen activity or purchase.

So with all this in mind, I was dreading lugging myself up to my favorite Brooklyn bodega and buying a $15 bottle of economy sized Tide just to lug back to the apartment along with our groceries. Perhaps it was out of sheer laziness, but I decided to find out how to make my own detergent. Surely it would be cheaper, and less heavy, than name brands like Tide.

Seems like everyone else on the Internet has the same idea, especially those with children and loads upon loads of weekly laundry. Here's the homemade laundry detergent recipe I selected:

Homemade Laundry Detergent:

1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

I wasn't sure what the hell Fels Naptha Soap was, but I got the idea I needed laundry bar soap. I settled instead on a body soap called Pure and Natural, hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested, and $1.00 for three bars. Score. Worried I'd end up with a crazy suds-out batch of laundry, I again asked google if regular bath soap was okay. Google said it depended on who was writing about the laundry recipe. Some insisted on laundry bar soap, but I found plenty of novice laundry detergent makers out there that suggest the likes of Lever 2000. I figured I was safe.

Borax was surprisingly easy to find, as well as Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. Not much is easy to find in Brooklyn including the Kraft pasta kit my Mom always used, normal salad dressing, or brand names other than Utz. So I was wildly impressed I wouldn't have to hit up 3 or 4 stores to find what I needed. In any case, make sure you select the washing soda from the detergent aisle at your store and not regular baking soda. Otherwise you'll have a mess on your hands.

Next, I cleaned out an old bottle of Tide (with memories of lugging it down the street just a few months prior), ready to make my detergent with the suggested 2 to 5 gallons of hot water. But then I saw how goopy the online recipes looked, half-gel, half-powder, and completely like being slimed circa Ghostbusters. (But not Ghostbusters III, I really didn't care much for that one).

I then realized I could just opt for homemade powdered detergent instead, which seemed much less of a hassle and mess to me. So I got out my blender and threw in the bar of soap, which grated with ease. I then mixed in the Washing Soap and Borax, but by then the blender was so gooped up with shredded soap, it did nothing but buzzed angrily at me. Most recipes call for use of a real food processor, but I live in Brooklyn with limited counter space and I'm not up for spending money on a food processor to make my own laundry detergent.

I poured the mixture into a large zip lock bag and sort of jiggled it around so everything would mix together after my blender went dumb. I then had the foresight to write Laundry Detergent on it and 1 TBSP per Load. I know by the time I do laundry again, I'll have no idea what I'm doing. Either that or my hubster will dump in the whole bag and go to town on just one load, saving us nothing.

The verdict? Came out great. I really didn't notice much of a difference from the Tide I was using before. It didn't smell like anything at all, so next time I might drop in a touch of lavendar or lemon to the load to give it that Tide fresh scent we know and love. Next, I want to make my own fabric softener. That furry bear Snuggles is really getting on my nerves and a drain on my wallet.

The Breakdown:

Prep Time - 3 minutes, a marginal difference from just pouring a cup of Tide.

Use - 1 tablespoon per load (2 for heavily soiled loads) for approximately 35 loads total.

Cost - Approximately $7 upfront, but I can easily make about 9 more batches with the Borax and Washing Powder and spend about $2 for more soap. Overall, a projected cost of $.03 a load compared to Tide's $.35 a load.

Will doing $.03 loads of laundry enable me to pay for my Scotland trip this fall? No, but it'll save me lugging economy sized Tide around for a 1/3 of the cost, all while saving the environment. I say that's a day well spent.

You too can make your own detergent... and go to Scotland!