Doing laundry for 8 people can get overwhelming so I do about 1-2 loads each day to keep it under control. Doing laundry daily means lots of laundry detergent. I started making my own soap about a year ago because buying detergent frequently was getting annoying & frankly expensive. I talked it over with a good friend of mine and we thought it didn’t seem too difficult and we were right. I found a few recipes I thought looked manageable and ended up going with this one. It yields 10 gallons of soap because it is concentrated. It IS safe for use in high-efficiency washers and as mom of 5 boys I can also attest to its ability to get out stains.
DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent:
1 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
1 1/2 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 Bar Fels- Naptha Soap**
#1 5-Gallon Bucket with a lid (Don’t forget the lid it is VERY important!!)
The main ingredients are easily found at your local Walmart at a very reasonable price. I don’t have to buy them very often which is great. I have all of the ingredients on hand in my laundry room to make a new batch when I need it.
1. Put 4 Cups of water in a large pot on medium heat.
2. Cut up the bar of soap. You can grade it by hand but I prefer to cut it in half the long way and use an electric grader. It’s so slick!
Menne Thoughts 