Loving my Homemade Laundry Soap

I am sure by now if you watch the Duggars or read any of the blogs out there, chances are you have heard of people making their own laundry detergent. 

Well, I have finally joined the ranks and am SO glad I have!  I have made about 3 batches now and plan to continue on as long as I can find the supplies. 

I actually made a batch of homemade liquid laundry many months ago and but didn't care much for it.  I had used Ivory soap instead of the soap the recipe suggests.  I also diluted it, like the recipe calls for, but it turns out I prefer to not dilute it so much. 

This recipe is so easy, so cheap and not full of harsh chemicals.  Here it is:

• 4 Cups - hot tap water
• 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar ( I have only been able to find these at Walmart and when I do I buy several now because evidently I am not the only homemade laundry soap maker round these parts : )
• 1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• ½ Cup Borax

I start by boiling my water, then I grate the bar of soap (I use my handy dandy food processor for this). Once the water gets good and hot I add the soap into the saucepan. Then stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Next, 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.  This whole process takes about 15 - 20 minutes tops.

The most time consuming thing about making this laundry soap is that you have to let it sit overnight to gel, which is really not a huge deal at all. 

Once your soap has sat overnight it is ready to use.  Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser or empty milk jug.  The other option, which I didn't like as much is that you can half full with soap and fill the jug half full and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use.

Either way you do it, it will gel.  I feel like it gels more when you don't dilute it as much.  Depending on whether you decide to dilute it or not you will end up with either 5 ot 10 gallons of laundry detergent for a fraction of the store bought stuff.  Yippee, aren't you excited!  I know I am! 

I am sure that many of you are wondering if this stuff really gets the clothes clean, and my answer is a definite yes!  I have 2 little boys and it gets their stuff clean - that kinda says it all right?  You may also be wondering how it smells, well my husband has not complained.  When I would buy the store bought stuff, I'd get the fragrance and dye free stuff and he used to say that his clean clothes smelled like feet : ) So far no smelly feet comments so I aqm thinking we are doing good.