Homemade isn’t just for food anymore. People are making their own everything!
Even a cursory look at Pinterest will show you that people are making just about everything from scratch these days. There are thousands of tutorials to show you how to make your own shampoo, toilet cleaner, face scrubs, wart remover, toothpaste, drain cleaner, lotion– you name it!
And I’m right there with them as I show you how to make laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent and even deodorant.
It’s like we’ve come full circle. Two hundred years ago, you didn’t have much choice but to make your own soap! As time progressed, our society became more modernized, and household products were mass produced and sold in store. Instead of making your own laundry soap, you could not only buy it, but you could choose from multiple kinds.
In order to extend shelf life and improve production (and who knows why else), manufacturers starting adding all sorts of ingredients that, in the last decade or so, we’ve decided were a bad idea. As a society, we’ve had a huge shift to wanting more natural products. Many of us are going “back to basics” and making our own.
But the big question is… Is it worth it?
That’s a question we each have to answer for ourselves. Our answers will vary depending on our preferences, priorities, and point in life. The value we find in something varies greatly from person to person.
A better question would be, “Is it worth it to me?
It’s okay if your answer is different than mine. It’s fine if your answer varies from one product or project to another. Hopefully thinking through the following ideas and considerations will help you decide if DIY-ing your cleaning and personal care products is worth it for you.
Why do I want to DIY?
Since your reason for wanting to make your own products may be different than those around you, it’s important to really decide the main reason that you want to do the project yourself. Here are a few of the most common reasons:
To save money
In many cases, making your own cleaning and personal care products is cheaper than the conventional, store-bought alternatives. That’s not always the case though. If your main reason in making homemade products is to save money, you’ll want to be sure to add up all the costs before starting. The costs of some projects may be deceiving as the upfront costs are often higher.
The cost factor is often at least a secondary factor in deciding if a DIY project is worth it or not, so I’ll talk more about weighing the cost of the project in a minute.
To choose my own ingredients
Whether it’s because you want to avoid potentially dangerous chemicals or because you have an allergy or special need, being able to choose your own ingredients in the products you consume is a major reason for wanting to do-it-yourself.
Nowadays, you can find many alternatives to mainstream products and ingredients available for sale, but sometimes the price is an inhibiting factor.
Because I can
Sometimes it’s fun to try new things. It’s empowering to know that you can make things from scratch and not have to rely on commercially made products. The “because I can” attitude is a common reason for at least giving homemade products a try.
To get creative
Sometimes you want to put our own spin on things or create products that aren’t readily available for sale. When you’re making something yourself, you can customize everything from color and size to scent and flavor. The creativity factor may be reason alone for wanting to do something yourself.
Don’t forget to consider…
Once you’ve narrowed down your main reason for wanting to make your own cleaning or personal care products, there are a couple more factors to consider when you’re deciding if a DIY project is worth it.
Cost
Even if you aren’t doing a project to save money, unless your budget is limitless, then you probably have a secondary factor involving price when it comes to deciding if it’s better to buy or DIY. For example, if your highest priority is having toxin-free ingredients, you still may want to factor the cost into your decision, even though saving money isn’t your primary objective.
You’ll most likely have to buy ingredients in bulk or at least more than you need for one batch. While the cost per batch (or serving or load) may be lower that what you would pay for the pre-made product, you’ll have a greater initial outlay to buy supplies.
Start with a small batch. If the product doesn’t work well for you or you end up not liking it, you don’t want to have invested in lots of supplies.
Time
When you figure the cost of a DIY project, you might forget to figure in the cost of your time. If your time is limited and precious, you will want to consider how long the project will take you.
What would you otherwise do with your time? If you would be doing an hour of work, instead of spending an hour on a DIY project, it’s easy to know what the cost of your time would be. However, if you would just be giving up an hour of watching TV, you don’t need to factor in the cost of your time. You might even consider DIY projects a hobby.
Adding in the value of time can be critical when you are comparing DIY with store-bought products. At the same time, know that the first time you try a project it’s likely to take longer than if it becomes part of your routine or you are making it in bulk.
Compare your options
After you’ve decided the main reason why you are considering a DIY project, as well as the additional factors of time and money, it’s helpful to compare with your next best option. If you didn’t choose to make the product from scratch, what would be your other option?
Often, putting your two best options head-to-head will help you make a decision. Sometimes looking at two specific options can make a third, even better, choice come through.
After thinking through the reasons and factors above, the best option for you should start to become pretty clear. If not, more research into the time and cost involved in your proposed DIY project may be needed before you can make an informed decision.
Confession: I don’t always make my own products anymore.
While I still love my homemade laundry soap and dishwasher soap, my life has gotten busier and making everything from scratch isn’t always my top priority or the best use of my time. I still care about what goes into the products my family uses though. Lately I’ve been getting some products from Grove Collaborative that I love.
Grove is great for people who care both about price and what’s in your product. They carry great natural brands like Mrs. Meyer, Seventh Generation, and Method. Their prices are comparable to what you’d pay in-store (and often cheaper), but with the convenience of having it delivered to your door.
If you’re new to Grove, you can get $10 off your first order too. You need to have a minimum $20 order (after your discount), but the shipping will be free! This is a great chance to stock up on toxin-free home products.
It’s personal!
As you can see, there are lots of factors that go into a decision on whether to buy it or DIY it. In the end, whether a DIY project is worth it or not is personal. Totally personal. What’s worth it to you might not be worth it for me and vice versa.
We all go through different seasons in life. Sometimes making our own homemade products is worth it and sometimes it’s just not. If you’ve decided that making your homemade cleaning and personal care products isn’t for you right now, don’t feel guilty. Spend your time, energy, and money where it works best for you. If you want to get started with homemade products, then get your ingredients together and set aside some time to get started!
While I focused on cleaning and personal care products, these same factors and questions can be applied to other DIY opportunities too. If you’re considering a DIY project like a craft or home improvement project, but wondering if it’s worth it, take the time to ask yourself why you want to do the project first, then consider the cost and time involved and weigh your options. You’ll avoid wasting time and money by only DIY-ing the projects that really are worth it to you.
How about you?
- Do you make any of your own cleaning or personal care products?
- What are the main factors you use to decide if you should buy or DIY?
- What DIY projects have been worth it to you? Which ones haven’t?
This post contains affiliate links for products or companies that we use and love. Purchasing through affiliate links helps support our site even though there is no additional cost to you.
I am thinking of making some products my own but don’t want to eliminate all synthetic products because I don’t have the time or money right now. But I always thought that even doing a little bit of something helps our health and the environment in some way. Plus I have a busy life so it’s conflicting but I still want to try some things. Even as a way just to get closer to nature.
I don’t make any of my cleaning products. I love Mrs. Meyers products and can afford them. I spend my time and energy on things I enjoy: quilting, birding, cooking, reading.
Perfect! 🙂 Spend your time and energy doing what matters more to you.
I like that I can make cleaners that are less harmful to the environment, using common items such as viniger, baking soda, and boric acid.
That’s another bonus of homemade products!
I tried making my own laundry detergent but wasn’t happy with the results. Instead, I’ve been making my own laundry booster and using the minimum amount of detergent required per load. I basically do the same thing with dishwasher detergent. I am able to use the generic versions with great success with little cost by using a few inexpensive ingredients. Vinegar for my dishwasher, and equal parts borax, washing soda, purex crystals, and oxiclean for my laundry booster. I really like that my laundry booster only takes a couple minutes to make.
I’ve used vinegar in my dishwasher too! That’s a nice quick one!
I make my granite cleaner and all-purpose cleaner for my kitchen. It’s cheaper than store-bought, and all natural, so I can clean my counter and then prep a meal and not worry about chemicals getting into our food. These are the ones I make… http://goodnessgraciousliving.com/blog/diy-household-cleaners-volume-1-kitchen/
Thanks for sharing Beth!
I started making many things instead of buying when my husband got sick with aspergillus so bad that he had to have 3 quarter’s of his lung removed. I started researching how and why it got so bad this time and what we can do to prevent it from happening again.
As we began learning about chemicals and things that are harmful and shouldn’t be in products, we started eliminating them.
Then I became concerned about the amount of trash I was creating because much of the plastics are toxic as well.
I make my own shampoo, laundry soap, cleaning supplies…. The more store bought products I eliminated, the less I needed my $100 with insurance inhaler. I can’t even remember the last time I used it. As a matter of fact, the prescription has expired long ago.
My laundry soap doesn’t irritate my skin. My shampoo makes my hair feel awesome and I get lather without the chemicals. My body soap doesn’t dry out my skin. I get to make fragrances I enjoy instead of someone or some advertising group deciding what’s ‘in.’
So, with my husband’s illness, we got rid of my asthma. Sure, doing it yourself is a little time consuming and not always cost effective… But the health benefits make it cost effective, at least for me.
That’s great that you took care of your asthma in the process!
That’s amazing that your asthma cleared up! Would you mind sharing your shampoo recipe? My scalp is very dry and sensitive and it’s just getting worse, even with using “more natural” shampoos.
I make some of my own cleaning products, not a very common practice here in the UK. One of the things that I liked about it was the number of different products I could make using a core group of ingredients thus making it more economical when purchasing in bulk up front. Some I have found worked better than others so I dropped some and have kept others. I especially like that I can choose my own fragrance with essential oils.
Very true Mandy! It’s nice when you can use the same ingredients to make other products. That makes it easy to try out other recipes without as much upfront cost.