Homemade Laundry Detergent

I found this helpful hint on the Startsampling website. I am really tempted to invest in making this. As you may know, Joshua is self-employed but the competition is fierce in the electrical business, and as a result he has not been able to obtain work for the past few months. So money is rather tight for us right now, and I'm looking for any and all ways to save a buck!

Kara from Illinois writes:
I've stopped buying expensive or even cheap laundry soap. Instead, I make my own. It's easy to do, works great, smells fresh and it's cheap!How cheap? 3 cents per load compared to national brands which are about 27 cents per load!Here's how to do it:- 1 bar of soap (whatever kind you like)- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff)- 1 box of borax (this is not necessary, but it really kicks the cleaning up a notch - one box of borax will contain more than enough for tons of batches of this homemade detergent)- A five gallon bucket with a lid (or a bucket that will hold more than 15 liters - ask around - these aren't too tough to acquire)- Three gallons of tap water- A big spoon to stir the mixture with- A measuring cup- A knifeStep One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it's almost boiling. While you're waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you'll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.And you're done. When you wake up in the morning, you'll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that's a paler shade of the soap that you used. One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry - and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you'll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you'll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70. Happy laundering!

Some of the comments:
Wow that's a huge savings.

I saw the Duggar's use something like this on their TV show. I might have to try it. Thanks for the recipe!

What about the machines that you are suppose to use HE soap only? It would be great if this works for these too.

I don't believe this is harmful to HE machines....sudsing is the issue with High Efficiency machines and actual 'soap' does not suds like commercial detergents do.

If you use Fels Naptha you can definitely use this type of washing detergent with a high efficiency washer because it will not suds at all.

In times like we are going through right now, every little bit we can save is a God send. Our grandparents would be proud and I'm so glad we (as Americans) can show we can be bend with the times and not break in them....

This is also a great idea if you have family members who have skin allergies to regular laundry detergents. Most laundry detergents formulated especially for allergy sufferers are very costly. You would just choose a bar soap that is made for sensitive skin (i.e. Dove for sensitive skin). The washing soda is just basically baking soda so it is soothing to the skin and the borax usually doesn't cause skin irritations. For an extra fresh scent you can also stir in a few teaspoons of lemon or orange extract or you can go to any health food or organic store and get some essential oils to customize your own scents (I like to combine lilac and lavender essential oils and the scent is like a spring garden).

This is a great savings I use Ivory Bar Soap when I make this. Also, forget about fabric softener and that expense I take my Downy ball and add white vinegar to the fill line and drop it in the load. The empty gallon vinegar jugs make great jugs to keep the homemade laundry detergent in, make sure you give it a good shake before trying to pour it out the slime gets really thick. The clothes come out wonderfully with these tricks and the savings is great.

Can you shake it back up and pour it into gallon jugs or old laundry soap jugs for easy use, or keep it in the big bucket? The big bucket would actually make a great step stool in my laundry room with its high shelves but the smaller bottles would be much more convenient to pour. Just wondering how thick it is I guess?

I've poured it in smaller bottles before... I just shake the bottle up good before I try to pour it because it kind of separates.

You can also grate the soap using a cheese grater... Spray the grater with nonstick spray or brush with oil and the soap won't stick to it.