Homemade Laundry Soap
½ cup borax
1 cup washing soda
5-6 oz. soap, grated
3 gallons water
5-gallon bucket with a lid
Instructions:
1. Measure out the borax and washing soda. I would recommend storing these items in a glass or otherwise air-tight container, because in a humid area it might cake up, dry out and be impossible to measure.
2. Grate the soap. A lot of recipes call for the use of Fels-Naptha, which is a wonderful soap. However, Hubs and I don't need stain-removing power in our laundry soap (I just use a spray-on stain remover when necessary), and $3 per bar makes it less frugal than just using regular soap. In the picture below, I used free hotel soap and some homemade soap chunks. I used a Kitchen Aid grating attachment to grate the soap. This is a LOT easier than making soap shavings by hand, and a lot faster, too.
7. Let the soap sit overnight before using. The next morning, it should have a gel-like consistency. Mine usually turns out a little watery (probably because I use normal soap, and/or add more water), but still works great. I keep a normal laundry detergent cap in the bucket for measuring. For large loads I use two caps-full, and for small loads I only use one cap-full.
Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!
-Bethany