Frugal Friday

Frugal Friday is a marketing ploy by one of the big supermarkets in NZ. The supermarket never advertises what their actual specials are anywhere. They just advertise that it's Frugal Friday and it works because it's always busy on that day.

So I thought Frugal Friday would be a good day to do something frugal and dollar saving like making 'Laundry Detergent'. I used to make this because I absolutely hated it when the price of washing powder went up and the boxes kept getting smaller and smaller.

Things You'll need:
A big pot to melt your soap in, Measuring Cups, Wooden Spoon, Jug, Grater, Large plastic bucket with lid.
Bar of Soap, Borax, Washing Soda, Water

Now lets get started, the recipe I use is very basic:
1 bar of soap
1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax ( I usually use a cup I can't help myself, I think more is better)

Gather all the things you might need.
This is my laundry detergent stuff,
It's only for soap not food. I use an old
 preserving pan to melt the soap in...

Go out and buy your supplies, 1 bar of Soap,
 Borax and Washing Soda.... don't forget a bucket!

Grate up your bar of soap....

Boil a jug of water...I'm not very precise with
my measurements use about 1.5L or the
whole jug if you want....

Put the grated soap into your pot and pour the
boiling water over it. Let in simmer away
melting the grated soap. Give it a stir
occasionally

Add 1 cup of Washing Soda to the melted
soap and water. Keep it on the heat and
stir until it is all dissolved.....

Add 1/2 cup of Borax to the melted soap and stir

The Borax will start to thicken the detergent
stir until dissolved and remove from heat.
If you leave it on the heat too long as it goes
 back to being watery

I normally use a plain bar of Sunlight 
Laundry Soap (the yellow one). But today
  Zote made in Mexico was my choice. You can
 add your own essential oils to the mix. I
  added a few drops of Eucalyptus Oil but the
 fragrance of  Zote over powered the
 Eucalyptus smell.....

Now pour the soap, water, Borax, and
Washing Soda mix into the plastic bucket

Then add hot tap water to the bucket...
Give it a stir while filling

The Laundry Detergent is starting to set now
you can use it if you want. It's just a
 bit messy to handle at this stage...

You can see the mix goes all gloppy and
slippery, this still isn't set yet

Now 24hrs later it has thickened. You can
use less soap, 1/2 a bar if you like.
 To do the washing use 1/2 to1 cup
of  detergent. Don't be surprised if
 there are no bubbles it's
low suds!