Pinned and Tried: DIY Laundry Soap (Powdered Version)

So, I had been hearing about this great laundry detergent that you can mix up yourself.  Lots of my friends were doing it, it's all over Pinterest and I just had to give it a try.  My days of using Tide and Downy are long gone.  

Unfortunately, it's been all about the cheaper detergents and Suavitel (which I do love) to not break the bank.

The thing that was holding me back was the initial investment, which ended up not being that bad after all. I got most of my items at WalMart and Big Lots and had a coupon for the Oxy products!

I decided to see what the general consensus was for those that had tried this already, so I asked my friends on facebook for their input.  It was pretty clear that those that tried the liquid version that's been going around on Pinterest were not happy with it at all.

Those that had tried the powdered version were generally pleased with the results.

I have a good friend that really liked the powdered version and she was keeping detailed information on how it was working and how many loads she has been getting, etc.  

I asked which recipe she used and she shared this one from howdoesshe.com that she found on Pinterest.  I promptly re-pinned and wrote out my shopping list.

 I used a food processor to shred my soap. It was easy and quick!

She told me the hardest part was shredding the soap, but she did it by hand.

 Isn't that pretty? =) 

 Here are the rest of the ingredients. I used:

2 bars of Zote 

1 box of Borax

1 box of baking soda

1 box of washing soda

1 container of Oxi Clean

2 bottles of Purex crystals (lavendar scent)

1 small trash bin with lid (waiting to get a clear glass cookie jar to store a smaller batch - of course I will have to cut out some cute letters with my Cricut to label it...but this works for now)

 My friend Vicki warned me and told me to make sure I pour the ingredients in a little at a time (layered) so that it would be easier to mix.  I am glad I took her advice. 

 I ended up just using my hands to really mix the ingredients well and toss it all around to get a good blend.  The house smelled fabulous!!  You only need to use about a two tablespoons per full load.  I kept the little purple lid from the Purex bottle and half of that seems to be a perfect amount.

Each load came out really clean and smelled so fresh!  The big test was when I did the colored towels. My daughter is a swimmer and the towels tend to sit, wet, in her bag for a while before they get washed.  They often come out smelling not-so-fresh after a wash.  However, these towels (and more not pictured) came out clean, fresh smelling and felt light and fluffy!  

This recipe gets two thumbs up from me! 

I love Pinterest.  Have you tried any good tips lately?  Please share!