Back in April, we talked about making your own laundry detergent. Gather washing soda, grated bar soap, borax and boiling water and you can avoid the store-bought stuff. Whether or not it’s worth making the product yourself is up for debate.

Ultra-frugal blogger Girl with the Red Balloon put the practice to the test and found that the savings was paltry, knocking only $23.88 a year off her laundry soap-buying budget. She spent only 33 minutes making the soap, and invested $8.57 in ingredients.

Despite the unremarkable impact on her finances, the writer finds soap-making to be worth it because it lacks those nauseating fragrances manufacturers insert into their products and it doesn’t irritate her skin. It’s also worth noting that large families who do laundry constantly will find laundry soap-making more lucrative.

Homemade laundry detergent: Time invested [Girl with the Red Balloon]

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