Columnist: Save money, make your own detergent

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 3, 2016

Thrifty sister

Gabrielle Dominick

Staff columnist

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The meaning of the word thrifty is the management or use of money in a careful or wise way, per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

In 2015, 85 percent of Americans used coupons, according to a statistic provided by creditcards.com. If you’re like me and you’re a part of that 85 percent, or maybe you’re a part of that 15 percent, more than likely you’d love to save some of your hard earned money.

I’m not talking about the thriftiness of washing and reusing paper towels, though it would save money. Let’s start off with simple changes that are going to save you big money.

Something I do at my house to save money is making our own laundry detergent. In my personal opinion this stuff is amazing. It is very strong since it has no additives. Here is the recipe I use:

Laundry detergent (powder)

• 1 box of borax.

• 1 box baking soda.

• 1 jar Oxi Clean.

• 3 bars FelsNaptha soap (found on the laundry detergent aisle) grated.

• 1 box super washing powders.

• 1 cheese grater.

• 1 5-gallon bucket (or any sealed storage container).

• 1 container of any kind of softener (not liquid) optional.

• Trash bag (optional).

Line your container with the trash bag to help keep it clean and less messy.

Shred Felsnaptha soap with your cheese grater. TIP: Cover the grater in the other powders to prevent the soap from sticking and clogging up the grater.

Mix all ingredients in your container. Inside the Oxi Clean is a small measuring cup. I use this to measure each load, a very large load I will do a whole scoop or 2 tablespoons of laundry detergent. Small-medium loads use 1 tablespoon.

Yields 208-215 loads.

To store mine I got really cute mason jars and labeled them. If you’re crafty, you can even put some cute labels and ribbons on them and make them a perfect homemade gift for a hard-to-shop-for friend or family.

There’s a lot of reasons to make changes in your daily routine to become more thrifty and save money. Maybe you’re wanting a new car or home, the list goes on and on.

The average cost on a 5 gallon bucket of the laundry detergent is anywhere between $15-$22 dollars to make. This lasts my family of three anywhere from two to three months.

I am excited to share thrifty ideas to make your life easier and help you to save money. Look out for more thrifty ideas!

Gabrielle Dominick is an advertising sales representative for LaGrange Daily News.