Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Homemade Laundry Soap

This post was on my idea list, so when I saw someone else blogged about it, it reminded me to post the recipe for homemade laundry soap. I have been making homemade laundry soap for almost a year. First I started with the dry mix, and then got brave enough to try the liquid, which is so much better. The liquid mixture will last you months. It will make enough detergent to fill 10 1 gallon bottles, and the ingredients cost about $5. The second time it will cost you only $1 for the Fels Naptha bar because you will still have borax and washing powder from your first time. All of the ingredients can be found at Shoprite in the laundry isle. To the right is a picture of the ingredients I found on the Internet. If you are anything like me, you will have no clue what in the world Fels Naptha is, much less what it looks like.

Some helpful tips:
  • Found my 5 gallon bucket with at Wal-Mart in the hardware section near paint supplies.
  • I use an old 1 gallon laundry bottle. Using a funnel and a fill line I marked on the bottle, I fill it half way with the solution and the rest with water. Then I shake well before each use.
  • Add FEW drops of tea tree essential oil (Trader Joe's). I use this in my rinse cycle for cloth diapers and it gets ride of any smell and is a wonderful cleaning agent.
  • It is not only clean, but also green! (as in environmentally friendly)
  • I use a thin cut cheese grater shredding the bar, which I only use for granting soap.
  • This is just so easy and is hands down the best homemade money saver.

5 comments:

  1. Never would've thought of that! Does it smell good? I'm a sucker for yummy smelling laundry soap. I guess I could always light a laundry scented candle. :)

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  2. I like the smell. You can also add 10 to 12 drops of essential oil to each bottle, like lavender essential oil. Essential oils are great for a green clean. You can google "homemade laundry soap" for different recipes.

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  3. Here is an update on Jen's post:
    http://happilyhomemade03.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-laundry-soap-finished-product.html

    She explains it from start to finish and has pictures, so you can see what it should look like when it is done.

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  4. The link didn't work. Can you repost?

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  5. Sorry, I still through she had a blog. I fixed the links to both posts and changed it to the recipe I have always used which is from the Duggars,which is who I got the idea to make my own laundry soap from.

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