Okay, so for about a year or so I’ve been making my own laundry soap.   Basic recipe, very simple:

• 1 bar Fels-Naptha soap, finely grated
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup borax

Mix all together, use 1 or 2 Tablespoons per load.

It just doesn’t get any easier, and it is super inexpensive, and doesn’t have a whole paragraph of hard to pronounce fillers and other ingredients.

I noticed this morning I was running out, so just for fun I decided to go buy a box of  washing powder.  First off, I was shocked to discover that the laundry aisle has become 80% or more filled with LIQUID laundry soaps, and about 5-8 feet worth of powders.  And the liquids began at about $14.00 a bottle.  WTF???  I got a box of the kind I’ve used for a few years: Arm & Hammer, for about $6.00.

And it comes with that neat little plastic scoop.  Notice the numbered lines at the middle and near the bottom?

The box comes with very handy instructions, including how much to use:  for medium loads and regular washers, fill the scoop to line 1; for large or really dirty loads, fill the scoop up to line 3. Isn’t that lovely?  But for the really really tough stains, soak overnight with a FULL SCOOP.

keep reading…

The first line equals 1 Tablespoon.  Just one!  I usually save up laundry to make a large load, so I use 2 Tablespoons of my homemade recipe, and will likely do the same with this.

But think of it… when you dip the scoop into the powder, do you actually use just up to line 1 or 2?   Maybe you pretend you are being conservative and only use a half scoop.  How many people actually read the box to see how much is appropriate?

A standard coffee scoop is 2 Tablespoons, or 1/8 cup.  Seriously, measure it yourself.  And then put a coffee scoop measure into your laundry powder.  Or an actual Tablespoon measuring spoon.  A full scoop of laundry soap is the same as a full cup.  Yes, I measured it! That is 16 Tablespoons!!   SIXTEEN!

The box says you should get about 54 loads, right?  But if you are like the average dumbass person using a half a scoop (8 Tablespoons) you can divide that projected number by 8 and that box will get you about 6-8 loads of laundry.  WTF??  And if you are a brainless oaf who shouldn’t go anywhere near the laundry room and just grab the scoop and fill it, that box won’t last a week.  I’ll be happy to get 25-30 loads, since I often use 2 Tablespoons, but that’s still about 6 weeks of laundry, since I only  do 4 loads a week, in a heavy laundry week:  a load of whites, a load of colored t-shirts, a load of pants, and a load of towels.  I do bedding as needed, of course.

THROW THE DAMN PLASTIC SCOOP AWAY — IT PRACTICALLY BEGS YOU TO WASTE WASHING POWDER!  Use a real Tablespoon measure and drop it in the box.  It’s okay — you can take it out and put it in the next box!

In fact, go through ALL your dry product staples around the house — rice, oatmeal, coffee, etc. and drop in the appropriate measure for what you should use.