Homemade Laundry Detergent

For the last year and a half I've been making the Duggar family recipe of liquid laundry detergent. It has saved me so much money! I used to buy laundry detergent at least once a month, sometimes, twice. That can range from $7 to $15 per month I was spending. Now every six months I invest about $1 in my detergent. The start up supplies are around $12, after that you simply have to buy a new bar of Fels-Naptha. Eventually I will run out of borax and washing soda, but for now, laundry is very cheap! All I buy is some Oxy clean stain remover every few months and I'm all set. It's been wonderful!!

To start off you will need a 5 gallon bucket, a heavy duty grater, 1 Fels-Naptha bar of soap, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, Borax, and scented oil (optional).

I have used the scent one time, but haven't found it to be strong enough to actually scent my clothes. I don't bother now. The clothes come out clean, and that's all that really matters to me.

For a five to six month supply: (for my family of five)
4 cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ cup Borax
First you grate your Fels-Naptha bar of soap. On stove, over medium to low heat, add soap and 4 cups of HOT tap water. You need to stir continuously until your soap melts completely.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket about halfway full of HOT tap water. Add your melted soap, the Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and the Borax. Stir well. Once all the soap is dissolved fill the bucket to the top with HOT tap water. Stir again.

Cover and let it sit overnight to thicken.

This part is the most fun! You dilute your 5 gallon bucket with a ratio of 50:50, HOT tap water to soap. I drove around town with my daughter and collected old laundry soap containers at various recycling bins. I didn't want to need to dilute my soap every month or so, I wanted to do it all at once. I love that I have a huge supply of soap at my fingertips with no more work needed.

The easiest way I have found to fill my containers is by using a funnel, a ladle, and a measuring cup that has ounces listed on it. Remember the ratio is 50:50 of HOT tap water to soap. Your bucket of soap will have gelled completely overnight, so you will need to stir it again before adding it to your containers.

Before each use, you will want to shake the container well. It will gel again as it sits. I use 1 cup of laundry detergent for each load. I have a top loading machine.

This homemade laundry detergent has been such a blessing to my family. I love saving money!