Laundry Soap

Becuase I think this is such a huge money saver I wanted to post about making your own laundry soap. With 5 people (3 of them little girls!), 6 dogs and constant potty training we go through a lot of detergent. I have to give credit to the Duggar family for this recipe. I got it off their site.

Below you will find step by step instructions with pictures to help you see how easy it is to make your own laundry soap and save money. My commentary is in italics.

To begin you will need:

• 4 Cups hot tap water
• 1 bar of Ivory
  
• 1 Cup Washing Soda
• ½ Cup Borax

The washing soda and Borax can be found on the laundry aisle of your grocery store. You might never have noticed them before...but they are there!

Grate bar of soap. I used the smaller grating side.


Add soap to saucepan with water. I actually got mine pretty hot before I added the soap and turned the burner back down once it was added. I would recommend adding it slowly...you may grab a child or husband to help you do this. It is much easier if the soap doesn't clump back up.


Stir continually over medium heat until soap dissolves and is melted. It gets a little foamy, but that's fine. Cook it until the water is clear...that means all the soap has melted.




Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. I didn't take a picture of this...I think you can imagine what it looks like!

Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax.


Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. You should notice that the liquid is thick at this point. It will be about the consistency of, well, laundry detergent.


Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. Again, no pictures...if you like watching soap thicken you must also like watching paint dry and this blog is not for you (I hope!)

The next morning bright and early you can begin using your soap. Take an old detergent bottle from one of those overpriced brands you used to use before you became soap savvy and fill it half way with your soap. I use a Pyrex measuring cup and just put in 50 ounces if the dispenser holds 100 ounces, etc. Then I fill it up with plain water. You will have to give it a little shake each time you use it as it will gel up a little.

If you want to get fancy, you can also add smell to your soap. The Duggar recipe recommends: 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

Here's how much to use per load.

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

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

This recipie makes 10 gallons of soap for about $2. Now go to the grocery store and total what it would cost you to buy 10 gallons and treat yourself to a nice dinner out!