Saving on Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener

This posting is dedicated to an very old cocker spaniel named Cory, who was deaf and almost completely blind, and who passed to the Rainbow Bridge in February 2011 at age 17.   Cory was 15 when he came to live with me as my foster dog.  This sweet, old dog had bladder problems in that once he decided he needed to go out, I had less than a minute to get him outside before he would find his blanket and urinate on it.  Unfortunately, with my schedule, I did not always get to him in time.  As a result, I was changing his doggie blanket two to four times a day! 

Although I always have a large supply of doggie blankets on hand, I was having to do a lot of blanket washing in order to keep up with Cory's bladder!  For many months, I washed his blankets in Era and then used Snuggle Fabric Softener sheets in the dryer.  The cost was ridiculous!  I thought about making my own laundry soap, but I knew I would never get it made, so I looked for an alternative.  That's when I discovered a product at Sears called Ultra Plus.   I paid $28.74 for a 26.4 lb. box of the soap.   However, not only is it laundry soap, it has fabric softener in it!  One scoup of Ultra Plus replaced a capful of Era and a Snuggle sheet!  The first box that I bought lasted a day or so over six months, and that was with all of the loads (about 13-14 loads) of dog blankets that I did every week.

I will continue to use Era and Snuggle for my clothes and towels because I know those two products do not irritate my skin.  However, when it comes to other washable items, I am using the Ultra Plus!  The savings have been fantastic!