Cleaning Up

Have you ever thought about making your own laundry detergent?  The other day, we were shopping at our local farm/home supply store and found coupons that had all the items necessary to make your own laundry soap on sale.  The total cost to make the detergent for 288 loads was just under $15.00 or about 5 cents per load, about 3 times the savings over commercial laundry detergent.

We tried the laundry soap and it works great!  Kristy is excited because she feels it works better and it is how her grandmother made laundry detergent. The directions:

• 2/3 bar Fels Naptha soap*
• ½ cup Borax
• ½ cup washing soda

Grate the Fels Naptha soap. Mix in the Borax and washing soda.  Store in an air tight container.  Use 1 – 2 tablespoons per load.  Can be used in HE washers.

* Freeze the Fels Naptha soap prior to preparing the mixture to keep it from clogging the grater. 

Happy Washing!

PS. We have had questions following this blog posting asking for the liquid form of the detergent:
• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap
• 1/2 cup Borax
• 1/2 cup Washing Soda
• 2 gallons water (32 cups)

Grate Fels Naptha Soap. Heat 6 cups of water and add grated Fels Naptha until soap melts. Add Borax and Washing Soda. Sir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into 2 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture and stir. Add remaining water and stir. Let sit for about 24 hours until it gels. Use ½ cup detergent per load of laundry. Can be used in HE washer.