Let me start by being perfectly clear.....those laundry boosters that promise to whiten our whites and remove our toughest stains- you don't need them..

For a frugal laundry booster (and we're talking pennies a load frugal), just add a cup of white vinegar to your washer's rinse cycle. It's one solution that's as simple as it is effective.

The Benefits of a Vinegar Laundry Booster

Vinegar does so much...wait until you see what distilled white vinegar will do in the rest of your life...

Vinegar whitens your whites, brighten your colors, eliminates static-cling, removes lint, 

prevents the dye in new clothing from running,  kills any bacteria present in your laundry,

removes soap residue from fabric and your machines, softens your laundry, without the use of fabric softeners and it

neutralizes any odors

Why This Works

The acetic acid in vinegar acts as a solvent and disinfectant--just what you need to fight your toughest laundry challenges.

Warnings

As with any cleaner, you should avoid all contact with the eyes and prolonged contact with the skin

Laundry Detergent

Detergent is the must-have item for clean clothes. There are a number of ways to make or obtain detergent. We often use the largest box of the powdered, boxed detergent from Wholefoods, when they're on sale or we have a coupon. Another brand I like is Arm & hammer. Cut your powdered detergent 50/50 with baking soda. It works, honest. We NEVER use liquid detergent, unless we've made it. Plastic bottles do not get recycled. It's also easier to over use liquid then powder. We purchased a Seventh Generation gallon of laundry soap, on sale & with a coupon. That's the container we use for our liquids.

The Soap:  The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha.  It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle.  The other options for soap are Ivory or another brand called, Zote.  Any of these will work.  I use my own homemade soap and find it works quite well. We will soon be offering this in our Frugal Country Store If you use Ivory or your own homemade soap you will need to use the whole bar.

Washing Soda: Please pay attention here - do not confuse this with baking soda. They are most definately not the same thing.  Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate).  It is a white powder.  Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders.  The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.  I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store.  Many people have a hard time finding this locally.  I know you can purchase it on-line, even through Amazon.com.  I would also suggest asking your grocery store manager if it would be possible for the store to get it for you.

Borax : 20 Mule Team® Borax is made of 100% Borax, a naturally occurring mineral composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water. 20 Mule Team® Borax is not harmful to washing machines, plumbing or septic tanks and does not contain phosphates or chlorine. I love it for the occassional extra boost! BTW- this is a powder.

*** TIP*** Pre-soaking Stains.

Add one tablespoon of 20 Mule Team® Borax per gallon of water or ½ cup in washer. Pre-soak for at least 30 minutes before washing.

***TIP***

Got hard water? 20 Mule Team® Borax works great as a water conditioner, helping your detergent to work more effectively. Add ½ cup of 20 Mule Team® Borax along with your regular laundry detergent. You'll get clean, fresh smelling laundry.

*** TIP***

Cloth Diapers and Baby Clothes

Flush out cloth diapers and soak the diapers immediately, using ½ cup 20 Mule Team® Borax for each diaper pail of warm water. We would also add a bit of distilled white vinegar. Follow soaking with warm wash, using the "regular wash" instructions above. We used a large pail we had around the house. There's really little need to get a special diaper pail. We placed a piece of screen in it, with the edges rolled over the sides. That way I could pick up the screen with out sticking my hands in the pail. Of course, we 'flushed' the solid waste in the toilet. Just remeber to hang onto the diaper.

Liquid Recipes

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

Recipe #2
1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Tablespoons Glycerin
2 Gallons Water (NOTE: This recipe originally called for 2 Cups Water)

Mix all three ingredients together. Add glycerin and water.
Use 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load. Best when used with cold or warm water.

Recipe #3
Water
1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
5 Gallon Bucket
1 Cup Washing Soda
4 1/2 Gallons Water

Place grated soap in a small saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water, and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and mix well. As it cools it will thicken. May be used immediately. Use 1-2 cups per load.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

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

For light load, use 1 tablespoon.
For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons.

FYI:

TIPS
Liquid detergent can also be used as a pretreater for stains.
Ivory Soap, Deodorant Soap, and Beauty Bars can be substituted for the Fels Naptha Soap. A few months ago, our aged aunt went to an nursing home, I ended up with almost 24 bars of Ivory. The Ivory works just as well as any other soap.

****A few things to note about your soap**** 

~The finished soap will not be a solid gel.  It's more of a watery gel. Do not be afraid! It will work!

~The soap is a low sudsing soap.  So if you don’t see suds, that is ok.  Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap. Honest.

The Savings; After we figured out the cost, including time....we were paying about 1 cent per load. Yes...that's one cent per load. Another added bonus....my daughter & I are making memories.

Baking Soda

No time to devote to scrubbing? No problem. Just add 1/2 cup of baking soda in with your detergent, and your clothes will come out cleaner.

Fabric Softener

Use a clean used white vinegar gallon bottle. This formula will make about a gallon and it takes less than 5 minutes to make!!

1 cup of Baking Soda

6 cups of distilled white vinegar

8 cups of water

Add the baking soda to thge plastic gallon container \Next add 1 cup of water

Slowly add the distilled white vinegar to the bottle. I say slooowly because the vinegar & baking soda will start to fizz.

Add the rest of the water

Swish it around -

cover the gallon jug but vent it a few times.

Add 1 cup to the final rinse cycle.

Now that it's winter, we don't use fabric softener. Why? you ask?

We bought dryer balls. They cost $10.00. There are two balls in each package. I threm them in the dryer. I take the clothes out while damp. That way, there's no ironing needed.

These balls are great! And I have in my possesion, a two year gaurantee.

So....when I can't hang my laundry out, I use the dryer balls. I seldom use the dryer for jackets, sweats or bloses & shirts. I never dry my tote bags in them.