Homemade Laundry Soap on a Dime!

I have always tried to become thrifty, especially after the birth of my son when I became a stay at home mom, and our income drastically shrank. I tried coupons, crazy menu plans, all kinds of things I could think of to lower our bottom line- but I never stuck to them because they just didn't fit my personality or our family's habits. I was, however, curious when I started seeing recipes for The Duggar Family's laundry detergent. These are people I have seen on TV (well, briefly, because I can't say I have ever watched their show..) and they seem to look pretty clean.

Why not give it a shot? The ingredients themselves are pretty darn inexpensive... (ok, they are less than just ONE bottle of my favorite laundry soap... and I mean the SMALL bottle) and it seemed really easy. So how did it do?

As for the detergent? It was really easy to make (the hardest part is grating soap... simple!) and from a few loads, I am definitely happy with the results.

Here's how to whip up your own batch, courtesy the Duggar Family Blog :

-5 Gallon Bucket

-4  Cups - hot tap water

-1  Fels-Naptha soap bar * I read around a few sites that tried out this soap, and opted to use Ivory soap instead of Fels Naptha because our baby boy has pretty bad excema on his legs, and the ivory is supposed to help that (I'll have to update later after I have had enough time to see if that works).

-1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

-½ Cup Borax

-Bottles and dispensers of other laundry detergent (I hung onto a large one we got at Sam's Club. Those work perfectly!)

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

 

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- ⅝ Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

 

All that for $7? And you'll have enough left over for multiple batches! You can also use borax mixed with water as a paste to pre-treat stains, clean your sink, clean countertops, refrigerators, and other areas you'd prefer to not use harsh chemicals. Fabulous!

What are your favorite money saving household tips? Please leave me a comment with them, or a link to them on the Sweet C's facebook page!