There are many online sources for homemade laundry detergent. Here's a basic "recipe" for making your own detergent that NJ Traffic South reporter Jill Myra swears by.

According to Jill, it smells amazing, works really well and best of all, it's super cost-effective. It's even pretty and almost looks good enough to eat. A large batch of this will last a while. The recipe below was adapted from a website called The Frugal Homemaker, which has more details about how it's made and how much it costs compared to the store-bought stuff.

BASIC INGREDIENTS:

  • Fels Naptha bar soap found in soap aisle or laundry aisle
  • Borax
  • Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
  • Baking Soda
  • Oxyclean powder
  • Fragrance booster crystals (optional)
  • 3 big bowls or containers for mixing
  • A cheese grater

DIRECTIONS:
Melt the laundry bar soap in a microwave for 45 seconds, just long enough to see a little bubble form, and then grate it with a cheese grater. It can also be softened, broken into chunks, and then put into a food processor. After you deal with the soap, you simply have to mix the remaining ingredients and put it into a container to store it in your laundry room or closet.

You only need a very small scoop per load of laundry.

Jill Myra is the morning New Jersey Traffic South reporter for New Jersey 101.5.

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