CHEAP Laundry Detergent

I have shared this before, but not in a long while, so I thought I would share it again for those of you who are interested.  I have made my own laundry detergent for years (probably 8 or so) and it has saved me a ton of money and it gets the job done.  I still use regular fabric softener in each load and dryer sheets but the detergent is all mine.  Here is the recipe and instructions.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT

1- 5 GALLON BUCKET WITH LID (NEW)

1 CHEESE GRATER

1 BAR FELS NAPTHA SOAP

1 CUP ARM & HAMMER SUPER WASHING SODA

1/2 CUP BORAX

1. Grate the bar of soap with cheese grater ($ Tree).

2.  Fill saucepan with about 4 cups of water and turn on med/high to get it simmering and add grated soap.  Stir constantly to dissolve as much as the soap as possible (it will turn the soapy water yellow and make some bubbles.

3.  Fill Bucket half way with hot water from tap.

4.  Add your melted bar of soap mixture, super washing soda and borax to bucket and stir

5.  Fill the rest of the bucket to the top with hot water from the tap and stir.

6.  Put the lid on the bucket and let sit overnight (it will turn to a gel in liquid, consistency of jello)

7.  You can mix it with a long paddle or stick but the best way is to put your arms in the bucket and break up all of the "soap jello" with your fingers until it is the consistency of laundry detergent.

Store it in your laundry room and use an old laundry jug to make a bottle at a time.  This mixture is 50% concentrated so you just made 10 gallons of detergent!  When filling your bottle, fill it 1/2 way with the gel mixture and 1/2 with water and shake.  Ready to roll...or should I say wash.

All materials can be bought at Walmart. Fels naptha and borax can be found at any grocery store but the Super Washing Soda cannot.  Many hardware stores have it too.  You buy it by the box and it makes several batches of detergent.  Same with the borax.  1 bucket lasts us about 6 months so I only make this maybe twice a year.