Saving money with homemade laundry soap

Update: I have tried another version of the homemade laundry soap and like it much better. I now use a different bar of soap called Zote. It's big and pink. I like the smell better and I feel like my clothes are cleaner with it. Same recipe.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have been looking for new ways to save money.
I found this recipe for
Homemade Laundry Soap
I love it. It is a mild soap which is great for all those with sensitive skin. This soap is easy to make and really cheap!!!! It is going to cost about 2 dollars to make the equivalent of 10 gallons of laundry soap! It smells nice at first but does not leave a scent on my clothes, they come out clean with no residue. I had lots of fun making this liquid version of homemade laundry soap. Next time, I will try a dry powder version.
I researched recipes online before I decided on this recipe my sister-in-law gave me, which is like most of the recipes online.

First, I got a Fels-Naptha bar of soap. They cost about one dollar per bar. You will need to find a store that sells them or order it online. It's worth the effort you spend to find this. Think of all the money you will be saving.

Grate the entire bar of Fels-Naptha on the fine side of your grater. The finer the soap shavings the better because you are going to dissolve it on the stove in some water.

Put the grated Fels-Naptha soap into a pot with 4 cups of water. Put on Medium heat, don't walk away!! Keep stirring with a whisk until dissolved.

Once that is done put one cup of Washing Soda into a 5 gallon bucket.

Add 1/2 cup of Borax to the five gallon bucket too. 20 Mule Team is the brand you want for this.

The Washing Soda and Borax comes in a large box for about five dollars each. You will only use one cup of Washing Soda and a half cup of Borax for this recipe.
So, Put the rest in your storage for the next time you make laundry soap.


Add warm water to the 5 gallon bucket filling it to about 1/3 full. Stir with a tall spoon, until your Borax and Washing Soda are dissolved.




Add, your dissolved Fels-Naptha soap into your 5 gallon bucket as well. Stir than add water to fill the 5 gallon bucket.
Soap will thicken to a gel when set.
Mine didn't turn out like a typical gel. It was more like water with clumps of gel in it.

My soap turned out to be something like this, except
mine is yellow not white.


After letting set over night, fill empty Laundry bottles half way with your
homemade laundry soap and half way with water.
Shake before each use.
Put about 1/4 cup in your washer with each load.


Experiment for what works best for your washer. You may want to up the amount of Borax to 1 cup or use baking soda instead of washing soda. What ever works best for your washer.
*You can also use 1 cup of white vinegar in your rinse cycle as a fabric softener.
** I fill my laundry bottle with the soap without adding the water than use the full 1/4 cup in the wash. I always wash super loads and have hard water. I felt like I needed more soap in my load.
I love that I no longer need to spend the big bucks on laundry detergent.



My next try, I am going to make this.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

• 4 Bars Laundry Soap (to yield 12 cups of soap shavings)
• 6 Cups Borax (this is roughly one box)
  
• 6 Cups Washing powders (this is roughly one box)

Grate soap using cheese grater. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Place in sealed container and measure out two tablespoons for each load.

Pictures were copied from the internet.