Homemade Laundry Detergent

I know....a bit over the top? Oh well. I've been wanting to give this a try for a while. I've been doing some research on this and I've read that not only does it save you tons of money, it supposedly is better for you and your clothes. We'll see. I found this recipe for homemade laundry detergent off here: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm.

It was super easy and if her calculations were correct comes out to .01 per load!! It was supposed to sit for 24 hours, so I haven't been able to use it yet. I'll do a load this evening and let you know how it goes.

Step One: Buy all the ingredients. Total spent...approx. $8

Step 2: Grate 1/2 bar of soap

Step 3: Heat over a stove until soap melts

Step 4: Add washing soda and Borax

Step 5: Add mixture to bucket with LOTS of water

Extra Step: You don't have to add any fragrance, but I wanted to.

Lilac was a great choice!

You are supposed to let it sit for 24 hours so it can "gell" up. The directions say you only need to use 1/2 cup per load. I'm excited to see if we like it or not. The author of the website already had some calculations completed. She came up with roughly .71 per 2 gallons of laundry detergent. What a savings!! We'll see if this works. I'm picky about my detergent as it obviously has to do 2 things....1-get clothes clean, and 2-leave my clothes smelling fresh and clean.

(which is obviously the point....duh Amy!)

We'll see if this works!