Homemade Laundry Detergent

We just made our very first batch of homemade laundry detergent over the weekend and I LOVE it! To be honest, I think it even works BETTER than the Gain that we were using! Do you want to know how much it made? 5 GALLONS! Yes that's a lot of laundry detergent. How much did it cost? about $30.00. Sounds like a lot, I know, but that cost included enough ingredients ( minus the bars of soap) to make several more batches....so in the long run we are saving tons!

Now that we are a family of five, we have been spending a ridiculous amount on laundry detergent every month. I found this wonderful recipe for homemade detergent here, but I did change it up a bit. This is what I did..................

INGREDIENTS:

2 bars bath soap,GRATED (I used Dial in...White Tea and Vitamin E)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup Oxi Clean (the recipe calls for borax, but couldn't find it in the store)
Hot Water


DIRECTIONS:

Place grated soap in a pot.

Cover with water and simmer over medium heat until all soap is melted, stirring occasionally.

Pour into 5 gallon bucket.

Add washing soda and borax.

Add enough hot water to fill the bucket.

Stir (using a yardstick or something long).

Cover and let sit overnight to gel.

Use 1 cup per load.


I ordered my Arm & Hammer Washing Soda from this website that Nikki@400things.blogspot.com suggested. We picked up a large paint bucket from The Home Depot for around $2.00-$3.00. (The lid and the bucket are sold separately, so don't forget to grab both!)

So here is how ours turned out...............




I've read that the consistency will be different depending on what soap you use, but it will still work, no matter what, to get your clothes clean.

After ours set over-night I had to give it another good stir in the morning. We still had two empty Liquid Gain Detergent bottles left and we poured what we could of our Homemade Detergent into these containers. It made it easier to shake and smooth out the detergent AND it is a little more convenient to use.

Check out this recipe if you would like to know how to make your own "DRY" laundry soap that doesn't require a Five Gallon Bucket and would save some space in your laundry room.

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