In a time that we all want to save money there are TONS of ideas and ways out there. My friend, Courtney shared her awesome idea... making laundry soap with all of us! THANKS Courtney!!
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients:
Main
Ingredients:
Large Box
of 20 Mule Team Borax
1-4 Bars of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
1-4 Bars of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
Large Box
of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
Add Ins:
4 lb Box
of Baking Soda
2 Downy
Unstoppables Laundry Crystals
Oxy Clean
So I have tried a few
recipes for homemade laundry detergent.
Basic Liquid Recipe:
The most basic (and cheapest)
recipe consists of ½ cup Borax, 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap, and ½ cup Arm and
Hammer Super Washing Powder. I normally
mix mine in a 5 gallon bucket. It will
make about 2.5 gallons but the extra space makes it easier to mix and
pour.
-First, grate the 1/3 bar
of soap with a cheese grater (or cut it into cubes and stick it in your food
processor to cut time!) and put in a large saucepan.
-Next, add 6 cups of water
and heat on medium heat until the soap is melted.
-Add ½ cup washing soda
and borax. Stir until dissolved.
-Pour 4 cups of hot water
into the 5 gallon bucket and add your soap mixture and stir.
-Add 1 gallon plus six
cups of water and stir.
-Cover tightly and let sit
for 24 hours. Shake/stir before each
use. For ease, I normally pour the
mixture into one of my old laundry detergent containers. Use ½ to ¾ cup per load.
*Note here that some
recipes call for Ivory or Zote bar soaps and that you can increase the amount
of soap.
This is definitely the
cheapest recipe to use and my clothes were clean but did not SMELL…at all. Now if one of my job requirements as a
homemaker is going to be to put up the mountains of laundry that my 2 year old,
husband, and I somehow manage to create every week, I want to at least look
forward to bringing those warm clothes up to my nose and inhaling the sweet,
clean fragrance that millions of candle makers have tried to duplicate in their
“Clean Linens” and “100% Cottons!”
I decided that my search
for the perfect homemade laundry detergent was not over and I pulled up my
favorite search engine to start looking for more ideas. After trying a few of them and tweaking many
of the recipes and amounts, I finally found the combination of ingredients that
makes me feel like my clothes are
clean. This is what I came up with…this
recipe is more expensive to begin with but makes approximately 265 loads (using
2 tbsp per load…and yes, you only
need TWO tablespoons!)
Advanced (Powder) Recipe:
-I started with my trusty
5 gallon bucket and lined it with a clean trash bag.
-I grated 4 bars of Fels
Naptha soap (found in the laundry aid aisle)
Put the following into
your trash bag lined bucket:
Grated Fels Naptha Soap
Large Box of 20 Mule Team
Borax
Large Box of Arm and
Hammer Super Washing Soda
Large Box of Arm and Hammer
Baking Soda
4 lb container of Oxy
Clean
2 containers of Downy
Unstoppables
Now these ingredients are
not all necessary to clean laundry and the amounts are up to you…this is the
amounts that I have used and that I was happiest with. Play with it! You may cut out the baking soda or one of the
Downy Unstoppables or you may change brands on things. Try the Ivory Soap or Purex Laundry Crystals
instead of Downy Unstoppables. I liked
the scent of the Downy that was available at our store and did not like the
particular scent of the Purex. Totally
up to you! I like to make a large amount
at one time (even though it is a larger initial investment) so that I do not
have to make it every month. You can use
smaller amounts and make smaller batches.
Mix all ingredients by
either stirring or tossing the trash bag around a little. Whatever works for you! And I finished by pouring mine into a 32 cup
clear heavy duty plastic container that I bought at Walmart. I added a measuring spoon (1 TBSP) that only
stays with the laundry detergent so that I don’ t have to go looking for one
every time I do a load of laundry. Add 1
– 2 tablespoons per load. I like to fill
my washer halfway with water before adding powder. It works with cold water and with HE machines…make
sure your soap is grated finely for HE machines.
Now, if only I could find
a cheap way of hiring someone to put these wonderful smelling clothes up… =)
HOW AWESOME IS THAT?? Thanks SO much for sharing this Courtney! Can't wait to try it!!!
