Do it Yourself Liquid Laundry Detergent

As a mommy and wife, it seems as if my entire world REVOLVES around laundry.  No matter HOW HARD I try, there are ALWAYS dirty clothes in my hamper!  While watching "Nineteen Kids and Counting"  I discovered that the Duggars make their own laundry soap!  Right away I knew I had to make it too.  I made a small batch of powdered soap and it was fine.  But I love my liquid detergent!  got this recipe from http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm. 

Before anything else, I went to the Dollar Tree and bought an "Iced Tea" jug to keep my soap in.  You do not have to do this at all.  It was just something I chose to do.  Because this recipe will create TWO GALLONS of soap, you will need enough containers to store it in as well as a pot big enough to make it in.  For my extra gallon of soap, I used an empty water gallon jug that I made SURE to mark clearly because the soap IS clear.  I don't really think anyone could mistake a gel liquid for water, but better safe than sorry :)  I had bought a "soap grater" (which is actually just a cheese grater that I ONLY use for soap) at the dollar store a while back when I was making my soap balls.  I also have a wooden spoon that I bought at the Dollar Tree as well to use JUST for soap.

You will need:

1/3 bar of Zote Laundry Soap (or any other laundry soap your store may carry)

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder 

Cheese Grater

Spoon

Funnel (Optional)

Pot big enough to hold two gallons OR a bucket big enough to mix two gallons in

Containers to keep your new Laundry Soap in! 

 

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use ½ cup per load. 

Note:

~The finished soap will not be a solid gel.  It will be more of a watery gel.

 

~The soap is a low sudsing soap.  So if you don’t see suds, that is ok.  Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.

Optional: If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice. 

Total cost: SEVENTY ONE CENTS for 64 loads of laundry!!!