Laundry Soap

I have posted before about my Homemade Castile Laundry Soap. Although it worked well, I found myself trying out different methods and recipes to try to find the perfect homemade laundry soap. For the past few times I've used a variation of this recipe and I like it very much! Hopefully you will too :)

Ingredients:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 bar Fels Naptha
1/2 cup baking soda (not pictured, sorry!)
hot water

Method:

 Using a cheese shredder, grate your entire bar of Fels Naptha. You might be tempted to eat it. Don't. Aislyn can testify that it tastes bad ;) hehe.

Add the grated cheese to 3 pints (6 cups) of hot water in a large pot. Heat over medium-low heat until the soap dissolves.

After the soap is fully dissolved, add 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Super Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup baking soda. Stir until dissolved and the mixture slightly thickens to about the consistency of honey.

 Creamy looking laundry soap:

Add 2 cups of hot water to a bucket that is 3 gallons or more (I used an old 5 gal paint bucket). Then add your soap mixture and mix well. 

At this point, you can add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil. I added lavender:

You can also add homemade fabric softener and stain remover at this point, but I usually don't. Fill your bucket with about 2.5 gallons of hot water, stir and let sit for about 24 hours or until set. You can use it right away, it just won't have set up yet. After 24 hours, it will become a jelly-like consistency. At that point, you can transfer it to a different container or keep it in the bucket. If I transfer it, I use recycled drink jugs.

Use 1/2 cup of the detergent (top loader) or 1TBSP (HE front loader) for an average load, more if the clothes are heavily soiled. It does not have a strong odor, but the clothes do smell light and clean. 

The best part?? It costs about 3-4 CENTS per load! Woohoo!
Now go wash your smelly clothes :)
Kaitlin