Easy $100

The average american household does 400 loads of laundry a year. That comes to 7.69 loads per week. That's according to  the Consumer Energy Center.
It has been reported that Tide is the clear winner for the first place spot in laundry detergents according to Galtech.

So...if the average household does 400 loads a year and uses Tide laundry detergent they're spending roughly $118 a year on laundry detergent. I searched and the best price I could find  for Tide  was at Walgreens. Using the 50oz bottle from Walgreens @ $9.49 they would have to buy 12.5 bottles in the course of the year to do the 400 loads. That's roughly 30 cents a load.

I have a way you can do the same amount of laundry for 2 cents  a load. Is it worth 15 mins to save over $100? It is for us and has been for years.

You'll need one bar of Fels Napha Soap. We buy it at Krogers for $2

One cup of 20 mule team borax. A box (76oz) of this will cost you $4. You'll get 10 cups out of the box. So one cup will cost you 40 cents.

One cup of "Arm and Hammer Washing Soda". Now that's washing soda, not baking soda. It's gonna cost you $4 for a 55oz box. That means one cup is gonna cost you 57 cents.

Add all this up and you have a grand total of $2.97. We'll round up to $3 and that's for 5 gallons of laundry detergent. At 1/4 cup per load you'll get 160 loads and that's 1.87 cents per load. I rounded up to 2 cents per load.

Here's how you make it:

Grate the entire bar of Fels Napha soap. We just us a metal grater. In a large pan bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add grated bar soap, stir and dissolve. Remove from heat and add 1 cup borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Mix well. Pour this into a 5 gallon plastic bucket with lid. Fill the bucket with warm water to the rim. Detergent will form a lumpy consistancy and will need to be stirred prior to use. Use 1/4 cup per load.

You can make 7 loads or 35 gallons of detergent out of the box of washing soda. The only thing you'll have to buy is a bar of soap.

15 mins and you'll save over $100 a year.