Budget buster laundry detergent

[sameyeyam]

I am loyal to absolutely no brand at all and I stack coupons.

Last week Safeway had the new Arm & Hammer gel detergent for $2.99, back by their pharmacy they had a book of mfg. coupons and in it was $1 off. So that was $1.99 for a nice size jug of detergent. I got 8 coupon books and bought 8 jugs of it.

Then this week Fred Meyer (Kroger) had Sun Detergent for $2.99 and there was a $2 off coupon in the Sunday paper, so my net cost for a box of detergent was 99 cents. They also had a store coupon for All detergent for $2.99 and I had $1 off coupons for that from the Sunday paper that I stacked.

This week I bought 11 containers of laundry detergent and paid from 99 cents to $1.99 for each. Enough to stock up for several months for less then the cost of one large bottle of detergent.

 

[dtr_angel]

I use whatever I can get the cheapest, and stock up. I have a few months worth of laundry detergent!

What the best deal for me is usually Arm & Hammer. Our Martins grocery store (Giant) runs a deal about once a month for BOGO and they are 4.99 each so I can get 4 bottles for $10. Even better when there are coupons in the paper for Arm & Hammer, sometimes I've gotten 4 bottles for $8 or less.

And depending on CVS/Rite Aid deals with rebates or ECB, I get whatever I can for cheap.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

We were told not to use any kind of powdered detergent because of our septic/well system.

Dawn

Do you know why you were told this? We have a pump up septic, so I'm wondering if this would be the case for us as well?

I think I'm going to try making my own detergent. We have front loaders and the place we got them from said they don't typically like powdered detergent, so my question is what do ya'll make your detergent in and store it in?

 

[crisi]

I use a VERY SMALL amount of the Ecos detergent, plus borax.

I don't use fabric softener.

I cut my dryer sheets in half.

I agree with the statement up above, instructions are written by someone who has a profit motive to get you to use more (they guy responsible for getting people to wash their hair twice - rinse, repeat - is taught in business school.) Use as little as you need to feel like your clothes are getting clean. There is a ton of stuff you can probably just run through with water alone and its clean enough (I wouldn't do it with my undies, but my bath towels)......

 

[eliza61]

When I look at my grocery bill, laundry detergent and softner are a budget buster. Other than making my own any suggestions on a good quality detergent and softner for a reasonable price.

It's funny because I actually think Tide saves me money. I find the bargain brands do not clean my clothes as well, so I end up using lots more or rewashing.

I buy tide with coupons, stock up when it goes on sale and don't need nearly as much as when I'm using store brands or the cheap stuff.

 

[maleficentmom]

We buy the biggest box of powered tide that we can get at Sam's. We just can not be happy with any other brand. I use 1/2-3/4 of the called for amount and we stopped using the frabic softner. We only buy 2-3 times per year for our family of 4.

I love the Tide HE Powder, but our Walmart has it cheaper per load than our Sams Club.It is the best ,imho, for stains/smells.......I use Purex or something I can get cheap in the HE variety, for anything that isn't really dirty. I too just use 1/2 the amount.

 

[maleficentmom]

I love them!!! Target and Walmart are about the cheapest on them...and I always see coupons for them.

You can go to trypurex.com for a free sample if you want to try them out first!

(I think thats the website...just do a search , it should come up)

I saw on TV, that the actual cloth-like sheets are made right here in my home state of TN...my mom loves these,they are great for travel...and we feel like we are supporting our state's economy.

 

[MEM]

I was going to say the same. I've made both liquid and powder and have found the powdered is quicker to make and works just as well. I probably spend 15min on making a batch that lasts months, and I do it while I'm watching the kids or TV so it doesn't really feel like I spent any time on it.

ETA: I use the same recipe Carl_Fredricksen posted here: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36662793&postcount=9. I grate the soap by hand with a cheese grater, which takes about 10min and is the most time consuming part of the process. I've used Fels but actually prefer Ivory for the light scent and the fact that it is so much more readily available.

I agree with all of the above except that I use Kirk's castile soap and DH grates it on a 25 cent yard sale cheese grater while he's watching TV. We store it in a stainless steel container I picked up at a yard sale.