Homemade Laundry Soap

I am going to switch gears a bit today and post a recipe, but not for something edible.  It is a link to make homemade laundry soap.  Before you quit reading, hear me out!  I made my first batch in March after seeing it on a blog and I was skeptical.  However, the cost to make it was so cheap I decided it was worth a shot.  If it did not work, I was only out $10 or so.  And guess what?  I am thrilled with it.  It is going to last me at least 5 months and, more importantly, it works!  As an added bonus the recipe states each load costs less than one cent.   Guess what that means?  I save mucho money on laundry soap and can spend that money on more exciting things, like trying a new restaurant!  J 

Back in March, just to make sure I was correct in my assessment of the soap, I gave some to my mom.  She fell in love with it as well and made a batch of her own.  (On a side note, I have an old washer, but she has a newer high efficiency one and she said this works just fine)  I told some friends about it and they wanted to make it too.  So, last night I had them over for dinner, wine and soap making.  (I’ll share my spaghetti squash with basil pesto and stuffed zucchini recipes that I made for dinner soon)  Both Katie and Brittany were in awe at the ease of preparing the soap and asked I blog the recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Below are a few notes on what I did for mine:

*I have one of those rotating cheese shredders that it saves a TON of time.  I didn’t use it the first time I made it and it took awhile to shred the soap.  Last night, I shredded 3 C. for our triple batch in about 5 minutes.  If you don’t have one click here to see the one I have from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

  

*The first time I made this I did not use any essential oils and my clothes smell clean, just not scented.  I was very happy with how it smelled with no essential oils.  This time, my friend Katie had essential oils and brought them along.  Each of us added lavender to our soap and I am anxious to see how we like it.

*I used the Fels-Naptha soap she talks about.  It’s only $.97 at Wal-Mart. 

 

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
*Recipe and pictures from www.dollarstoremom.com

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup bar soap, grated (I used Fels-Naptha. She said other good options are Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote.)
1 cup Borax
1 quart boiling water
Large bucket-I used a 5 gallon bucket with a lid

Next, grate your bar soap. As I mentioned, much easier with a cheese grader.

Boil 1 quart of water on the stove, then add the grated soap one scoop at a time until completely dissolved. (Pay close attention and stir constantly.  You may have to move it back and forth from the stove as it will boil over if you aren't careful)

Fill your bucket about halfway with hot water. I do this using my shower head. Then add the Borax and Washing Soda and stir well.

Stir in your melted soap mixture. Mix well. Fill bucket the rest of the way with hot water.

YOU’RE DONE. no kidding. well, there are some additional things you CAN do, if you wanna be fancy. One way or the other you’ll need to leave the detergent alone overnight to allow it to set. When it has set, you’ll need to mix it up again…I mean REALLY get in there and mix it up…

Use 1/4 – 1/3 cup of detergent per load of laundry