I'm Such A Thrifty Country Girl!

I always thought I would have made a good farm wife, but life took me elsewhere.  But now I can fulfill my dreams of being as self-sufficient as possible.  I'm starting a garden, hang my laundry out in the sun, can and freeze local produce and generally try to live as close to the land as possible and save our precious resources.   

Recently I posted my dishwasher detergent recipe, so today I'm going to show you how I make laundry detergent.  I haven't bought laundry soap in a couple years since I started making my own, and I'm horrified at the price of detergent when I see it in the stores!  I can't imagine why people spend precious dollars on something they can make which works just as well, is more natural and with no chemicals to clog up our serwers or septic tank.  I don't even have a box to see what's in the stuff anymore, so go take a look at your box or bottle of detergent.

There are many variations for both liquid and powdered laundry soap, but they all use the same basic ingredients:  Borax, Washing Soda, bar soap, and water of course.  I found that the liquid, while a little more trouble to make, works better for me.   I've tried a couple recipes, but the
Dugger Family recipe works well for me.  http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html which I am showing here. 

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (you can also use Ivory bar soap)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

 

After sitting a few hours or overnight, this is what it will look like.  Sort of like Jello.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with the gel and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will continue to gel).  I use a plastic quart bottle.

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.  I didn't add anything because it already smells so good!

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

You can also check out Planet Green's recipes, a little different proportions and they don't dilute the gel: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/make-your-own-laundry-soap.html I find that diluting the gel doubles 5 gallons of soap to 10 gallons, which can last up to 6 months, depending on how often you do laundry (there's only 2 of us, so it lasts for over 6 months)

Try it!  It's good stuff and really does clean your clothes!