Frugal Homemade Laundry & Cleaning Products

Frugal Homemade Laundry and Cleaning Products

Frugal living in the country means no mains sewers, sometimes no mains water and certainly no ‘nipping to the shop’ to buy an individual item if you run out of it, so we need ways of combating such problems, should they arise.

Washing Soda is our friend! First and foremost, it is suitable for use in septic tanks, which is where all the flushed or drained waste goes from a rural property. It should certainly make you think about what you flush down the toilet or tip down the plug holes if you aren’t used to dealing with your own waste – there are no sewers in the rural countryside! I am stunned by how many relocation households from town to country aren’t aware of this fact and go willy-nilly with all sorts of cleaning and laundry products, fancy bubble baths and bleach products. It’s quite shocking that they abuse our waterways in this fashion.

Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own waste and, when relying on a septic tank, you are relying on the liquid (water) by product draining into the ground, into the local steams and rivers and then into the sea. Those of us with any sense, decency and respect for the environment will look after our septic tanks and be wary of what goes in there.

Washing soda is septic tank friendly in that it isn’t contaminating your personal sewage treatment plant with toxic chemicals which, ultimately, may end up in the waterways. Washing soda is also cheap, at around £1 per kilo (at time of writing). It’s a giant leap forward in the frugal living stakes knowing what it can do. The back of any pack makes for a great place to begin your own research.

Washing up liquid and laundry cleaner are two uses for soda crystals and by making your own, you can save a small fortune over the year. This is how I make mine…

LAUNDRY 'GLOOP'

1 bar of soap, grated
1 cup of washing soda (or Soda crystals)
1 litre water
A few drops of essential oil (if required)

Boil the water, dissolve the soda crystals and soap in it, add the fragrance and then dilute to at least 5 litres if you don't want your liquid to set. Personally, I prefer to allow it to set then dissolve it one part cleaner to five parts water, then add to machine. For speed, dilute it, but for spacesaving, store in a wide neck container or bucket and dilute as required.

You can store this in whichever plastic bottles or buckets you prefer. 5 litre vinegar containers with wide screwtop lids are ideal, but a lidded bucket is better

I make 2 lots, one has a few drops of blue dye in it to help 'whiten' whites.

Washing soda is suitable for use with septic tanks, which is what I most like about it! Rural living means no mains sewage connections, so all flushed or drained waste has to go into a tank. Abusing your septic tank can have far-reaching consequences, as many a newcomer to the country has found out at their expense and humiliation.

FRUGAL TIP: I've been using this diluted to up to 7 litres and it works really well. I use the 'natural extracts' soap, which is a natural, antibacterial vegetable soap with tea tree & lavender extracts, so no need to add in extra essential oil unless you prefer a stronger scent.

Washing soda is one of the basic 'staples' of a frugal household kitchen cupboard. This, along with lemon juice and vinegar are excellent for so many things. Some people also keep *Borax and Epsom Salts in their store cupboards.

WASHING UP LIQUID

Heaped tbsp grated soap (Natural, not heavily scented)
Heaped tbsp soda crystals
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 litres water
A few drops essential oil (tea tree and lavender)

Make up exactly the same as for laundry gloop.

Please note that this will NOT lather up like ordinary washing up liquid. The mass produced liquid is chemically enhanced in the commercial product to create those soapy bubbles. I used 'Natural soap with lavender and teatree' soap. It's about 35p per bar, but it grates to give 8 heaped tablespoons.

You can use vinegar as a fabric softener.

I use same quantities of above that I would if using the shop-bought equivalents.

Another option is soapnuts instead of washing liquid or laundry detergent. See http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/ for free sample (just pay postage) and for more information.

The following is part of an old blog post from Frugaltips.org (American site)

How to Make Your Own Cleaning Products By Frugal 101

For kitchen and bathroom floors you need a mixture of 1 gallon of hot water with cup of white vinegar. The mixture is safe for hardwood, linoleum, tile, and pretty much every washable surface. You can also use this to clean your entire bathroom, not only floors.

To make your own dishwasher liquid use water with lemon juice. All you need is cup of lemon juice and cup of warm water.

To make a disinfectant spray mix a cup of borax with 1 gallon of hot water.

To clean your windows use a mixture of 1 cup of water, 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

For cleaning kitchen cabinets use a mixture of cup lemon juice dissolved in 1 gallon of hot water.

Toilet bowl cleaner can be made by mixing cup of baking soda with 1 cup of vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and scrub it with brush.

Making these products doesnt require a degree in Chemistry. You will not only get the unnecessary chemicals and toxins out of your house, but save quite a bit of money.

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Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and washing soda (or crystals) are available in local stores and supermarkets. Borax is available on Amazon if you can't find it anywhere else.

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I have been asked several times about why I don't use Borax. There are a couple of reasons:

1. I have never needed it, even if it was available locally, which it doesn't seem to be.

2. Despite Borax allegedly being as safe as table salt to handle, it is now listed in the Substances of Very High Concern list and has been reclassified as Hazard class Re-protoxic, Category 1B. Any product that contains above a particular % concentration of borax (about 4-8%) should display the warning "May damage fertility and May cause harm to the unborn child."

Saving on the Annual Costs of Laundry

Shop-bought laundry detergent is becoming a luxury item!

It may not seem much at the time, but laundry detergent is becoming somewhat of a luxury for many frugalers. Naturally, we were all very keen to get out of having to pay pounds at the supermarkets for glossy boxes of powder, tablets, capsules and plastic containers filled with chemically enhanced liquid. That was how we all discovered the marvelous 'LAUNDRY GLOOP'. It had been discussed often on the Moneysavingexpert website, so it had to be worth a try, adapting the 'recipe' to suit our water type.

I'm not sure if it's because of our soft water, here in Scotland, but I get almost 50% more out of one bar of soap than was originally recommended. Please keep this in mind if you decide to make your own, homemade laundry detergent. If it sets too thick, just reheat it slightly then dilute it or else dilute a tablespoonful at a time in some hot water as and when needed.

I made my first batch in 2009 after having used *soapnuts for the previous year or so.

I haven't bought any laundry detergent in a long time! It now amounts to a saving of around £1 per week for this household, an extra £50+ into the savings pot for other things - anything except spending it on laundry detergent.


  Frugal Laundry Detergent 


• 1 Bar of soap, grated (or 8 tblsp soap flakes)
• 1 cup of washing soda
• 2 litres water
• few drops of essential oil

I'm a little bit extravagant with my recipes, as I prefer to use Natural Extracts soap, which is already infused with tea tree and lavender. I keep a small stock of it - it's available from Sainsbury's at around 38p per bar - and it's also great for adding into gift baskets. Sheer luxury for the frugal living!

Boil the water in a big stock pot or similar, dissolve the soda crystals and soap in it, add the essential oil and then dilute to at least 5 litres. (I make mine up to 7 litres.) It takes a bit of time to fully dissolve the soap, but make sure it's all gone before you dilute, cool and decant the liquid. I store mine in 7 litre lidded buckets, after finding out it was too thick to pour from a 5 litre container. I use a ladel to fill a plastic laundry ball and then that goes in the machine.

As with all washing machines, you'll still need to give your machine a boil wash cycle every few months to ensure all the hoses stay clear of soap residue.

This homemade laundry cleaner works equally well as a hand wash for you ultra frugalites who live without the modern convenience of an automatic washing machine or a twin tub. I have used it often in my Ventus 'Twister' foot operated washer.

I make 2 lots of detergent at a time, one has a few drops of blue dye in it to help 'whiten' whites. I also now make it for another friend, who is always happy to return a favour by way of some freshly picked strawberries or the odd bunch of carrots.

Frugal Washing Up Liquid

Heaped tbsp grated soap or soap flakes (Natural, not heavily scented)

Heaped tbsp soda crystals

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 litres water

few drops essential oil (tea tree & lavender)

Exactly the same as for laundry gloop but please note that this will NOT lather up like ordinary washing up liquid. The mass produced liquid is chemically enhanced in the commercial product to make those soapy bubbles. Again, I tried this using 'Natural Soap with lavender & teatree'. One bar grates down to produce 8 heaped tablespoonsful of flakes and it saves on the expense of buying essential oils.

You can use ordinary white vinegar as a fabric softener without it leaving your laundry smelling like the local chippy.

I use the same quantities of the above as I would if using their shop-bought equivalents.

*Another moneysaving option is to use natural soapnuts instead of laundry detergent. These can also be used to make washing up liquid. See http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/ for more information and a FREE SAMPLE (just pay postage). I was very pleased with these, especially as £4 bought enough to last a full year for us. But even that's a bit expensive when comparing it to the homemade liquid. You can make a year's supply of that for around £2 if you stick to store's own basic soap, as the washing soda is under £1 per bag and is enough to make gallons of the stuff. I have to admit, though, I do get beguiled into buying washing up liquid when it's on special offer. I think I've been subliminally programmed to expect bubbles in my washing bowl.

Frugal hint - Always keep a good stock of soap, vinegar, lemon juice, washing soda and baking soda - with that little lot, you probably have enough to keep the whole house spick and span, all the washing kept up to date and the daily dishes done without the need to buy anything else. Away from the rural communities, I'm led to believe you can buy basic soap for less than 5p per bar! We don't get bargains like that in our local stores, that's for sure.

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