Homemade Laundry Detergent

So in an effort to save money I decided that a good place to start would be making some of the things I need myself instead of buying from a store. One thing I do a lot of is laundry. Having a three year old it is hard to avoid.

I found a recipe online for making homemade liquid laundry detergent from http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/ by Crystal Miller. The recipe is simple, easy to make and seems to work well. I have a front loader and was concerned about how things would wash up, but I didn't seem to have a problem.

For the recipe you will need: 

•  a bar of soap, I used Fels Naptha. You can also use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirks Hardwater Castile or Zote bars.
• Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
• Borax
• water
• bucket, I used a 5 gallon bucket (I figured bigger was better so I didn't make a mess)

First, start by grating 1/3 of the bar of soap you have choosen. I grated it in the large sauce pan I would be using. Then add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap shavings melt. Then add 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup Borax until they dissolve. Remove from heat.



Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket and add your detergent mixture. Stir.  Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water and stir again.

Then let the mixture sit for 24 hours.





After the 24 hour waiting period you can then pour your mixture in an clean empty container to store. Shake before using. 1/2 cup per load should work for normal wear washes.

Hope you try this! It was not hard at all to make and did not take long to do either. Save yourself some money and make your own!

Enjoy!