Homemade Laundry Detergent

What an economical project to make your own laundry detergent! There are only 3 ingredients, which cost less than $10 (costs less than .05/load!), and you will have enough washing soda and borax to make several more batches! This is a watery gel and extremely low suds in the washer, so should be safe to use for any type of washer. There are many recipes and tips available on the internet, but this is my favorite, and so easy, cheap and wonderful to use.

1 Fels Naptha bar soap, grated

1 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

5 gallon bucket with a lid

Grate the soap into a small saucepan and cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually until the soap completely dissolves.

Place the washing soda and borax in a 5 gallon bucket. (This can be picked up FREE at a local restaurant, or you can buy one at a discount store.) Pour in the melted soap mixture. Mix until all the powder is dissolved. Place the bucket where you would like to store your detergent, as it will be heavy! Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. (I use a plastic baseball bat to stir.) The next mornig stir the mixture. It is ready to use. I prefer to use it full strength: 1/2 cup for a large top loading washer, and 1/4 cup for front loading machines.

You can fill an empty liquid detergent container with this mixture (add a few marbles and shake before using!), or you can dip it from a covered bowl, like an empty margerine bowl. it has a lemony scent, very clean and fresh, but you can also add a few drops of essential oil of you wish to have a different scent after the mixture is completely cooled (15 drops for the 5 gallon bucket; lavender, rosemary, lemon, orange, tea tree oil are favorites.)

Ingredients can be found in the laundry aisle of most grocery stores, including the bar soap. Other soaps can be used include: Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk's Hardwater Castile, and Zote. Avoid heavily performed soaps. The detergent is a lumpy gel. If you prefer it to be more liquid, you can fill your smaller container 1/2 full and add water to top, and use one cup for top loading, 1/3 cup for front loading washers.

POWDERED VARIATION: 2 cups grated soap, 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup Borax. Mix well and store in airtight container. Use tablespoons per load!

Fels Naptha soap is also good to remove stains. Follow directions on the bar. (Wet the area and rub the soap into the stain.)

Enjoy this lovely detergent, and saving so much money! You will never want to buy detergent again.

Watch for upcoming homemade dryer sheets, even more economical!