Homemade: Laundry Soap

My friend Lindsay posted this recipe for laundry soap a while back. It coincided perfectly with a scary presentation we had at ECFE about chemicals in all of our products & how toxic the environment is. So, I thought now is the time to break my addiction to TIDE (oh how I love thee!!). Plus its ridiculously cheap to make. And that fits into my budget right now.

Here's the recipe:

1 bar Fels-Naptha soap (found in the laundry soap section)
1 c. Arm & Hammer WASHING Soda (Not baking soda!! Also found in the cleaner/laundry section)
1/2 c. Borax (same section)
5 gallon bucket
Clean, empty laundry detergent container
Essential Oils (optional)

1.Grate the bar of soap and throw it in a saucepan with 4 c. water over med-high heat. Stir until all the soap is melted.
2. Fill the 5 gallon bucket half full with hot water.
3. Add the melted soap/water, washing soda and borax to the 5 gallon bucket.
4. Fill the bucket the rest of the way up with water. Give it a whirl, cover and let it sit overnight to thicken.

The next morning fill your empty laundry detergent container half full with the soap mixture. Fill it the rest of the way up with water. Add 10-15 drops of essential oil if you so desire.

And there you have it, homemade laundry detergent! 10 gallons worth once it's all said and done. Make sure to shake it before each use as it kind of gels up. In our HE machine we use ~ 1/4 c per load [which is to about line #2 in an old Tide cap).

I haven't put any essential oils in ours as I'm a pretty big fan of scent free EVERYTHING. But Steve likes a little scent on his laundry so I may make a bottle of scented to use when we want/desire.

This makes a TON of laundry soap. I mean, a lot. And we do a lot of laundry so this should keep us going for quite some time. My friend Sarah & I half-way figured out how many loads - 500-ish? Probably more. We got sick of doing math at some point & gave up.

Next up - homemade shower cleaner & dishwasher detergent!