Baby Steps #1- Making Your Own Laundry Soap

Make your own laundry soap! 

This is easier than you think!  With just 3 simple ingredients and a large bucket with a lid, you will be able to spend less than $10 for a year (or more!) worth of laundry.  Amazing?  Yes!  Most people have the same questions....

Does it REALLY clean the clothes?  YES!  I still use a spot cleaner on the tough stains, but I used it before too.

Is it good for SENSITIVE skin?  YES!   Both my daughter and I get eczema and are prone to break outs.  No problems at all.

What do your clothes SMELL like?  Honestly, nothing.  The laundry comes out smelling neutral.  If you are someone who loves your clothes with a particular scent, you can add a few drops of essential oils to a washcloth and put it in the dryer with the clothes.  Nice thing here is that you can choose the scent!

Is this ok for HE washers?  YES!  This is a low suds formula so it is safe for all washers - front loaders included. 

 OK!  On to the recipe.... so easy and I have a family of 5 and this tub lasted me over 5 months.

3 to 5 gallon bucket with a lid (we chose a screw on lid for convenience)
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
1 bar Ivory soap or Fels Neptha soap

THAT'S IT!

1. Grate the soap and dissolve it in a pan of 2 cups hot water.  Stir until dissolved.
2. Fill the bucket up 1/2 way with warm water.
3. Put in the Borax and the Washing Soda.  Stir until dissolved.
4. Add in the soapy water.  Stir.
5. Fill to 2/3 high or so with more warm water.  Stir and let sit for 24 hours.
6. Mixture may look slimy, or goopy, but this is fine.
7. Use 1/2 cup per load.

Not that this makes doing laundry fun, but it gives me satisfaction knowing that the supplies are so cheap.  Cost analysis - Tide bought in large quantity from club store ran about .25 per load.  I figured this laundry soap to cost LESS THAN .01 PER LOAD!  (I can send you the math if you are skeptical!  lol!)

Tip #1:  If you still want to be able to pour from a container, save your last one and keep refilling it.

Tip #2:  This tip I am just about to implement: pre-measure the Borax & Washing Soda into a quart-sized ziplock.  Shred one bar of soap at a time and place it in another quart ziplock.  Place both bags in a gallon ziplock.  I know this is going to use up some ziplocks (I can usually get these on sale with coupons often) but it will save TIME and CLEAN-UP later on.  I would not suggest doing this until you have approved of the desired consistency of your liquid.  This will also keep moisture away from your remaining powder since you won't have to make the mixture often.