Homemade Laundry Soap

3 Basic ingredients-All of them can be found int he laundry aisle at Macey's

Soap: Use Fels Naptha, Zote, Ivory, or your own homemade soap. If you use Ivory or homemade soap, use the whole bar instead of 1/3 bar.

Washing Soda: Sodium carbonate, look fro Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. This is different than baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate.

Borax: Look for 20 Mule Team brand. A naturally occurring mineral that whitens and deodorizes.

Recipe:

1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap or other type of soap.
3/4 c. washing soda
3/4 c. Borax
2 gallon bucket

Grate the soap. I usually cut the soap with a large knife, then chop it into very small pieces. Put the grated soap into a large sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat until soap has melted. Add the washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into 2 gallon bucket. Now add soap mixture and stir. Add more water tot he 2 gallon bucket until it fills up, leaving about 2 inches from top or bucket (or if you want to measure it - add 1 gallon blus 6 cups water). Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. use 1/2 c. per medium size load, and 3/4 c. -1 cup for large load.

The finished soap is a watery gel, with a consistency similar to egg noodle soup. It is a low sudsing soap. You don't get many bubbles, but it does do a good job of cleaning. You can add a few drops of essential oil to the soap like lavender or citrus.

For about 3-4 dollars, you can make detergent to was 100 large loads, or 200 medium sized loads.