Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

I promised a long time ago that I would tell you how I made my own laundry detergent and was reminded by a sweet friend last night that I had not kept my promise.

My friend shared this video with me and after reading the words "twenty cents a gallon" I decided to give it a try.

The first order of business was to collect containers to store ten gallons of laundry detergent in.

I saved whatever containers came up empty but after doing this once I've decided I'm not a huge fan of the milk jugs. The plastic is thin and if you pick it up and sit it back down several times the bottom may begin to leak. The milk containers work fine but if you were going to continue to do this I'd work to collect containers with a bit thicker plastic like the vinegar or bleach containers.

The thing I love about this recipe is that everything you need can be found at your local Walmart in the aisle with regular laundry detergent. No need to run all over town to find some product you've never heard of before. You need one bar of Fels-Naptha and a cheese grater,

a box of Borax laundry booster and a box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and two five gallon buckets.

We did this as a science experiment and counted it as school so I put the boys to work grating the soap.

Caution: When you're done grating you will have something that remarkably resembles shredded cheese.

Your child may walk by the counter and grab a handful for a snack resulting in tears and a mad dash to the sink. If this happens, do like all good mamas would and grab your camera but, whatever you do...don't let him hear you laughing.

Next, take your grated cheese concoction and mix it with about a quart of water in a saucepan and put it on the stove over medium-low heat and stir until all of the grates are disolved.

Put your little elves to work once again so you can check off the "science" box on your homeschool report card. After 10-15 minutes it will look like this.

Now take your five gallon bucket and fill it halfway full of hot tap water. Add your melted soap along with 1/2 a cup of washing soda and a full cup of Borax. Stir until everything is dissolved and then fill the bucket the rest of the way with hot tap water. Cover the bucket with a lid (I used plastic wrap because I didn't have a lid) until the next day.

24 hours later the mixture will have gelled up a bit and look like this.

I used a heavy duty whisk to break up the big chunks but a wooden spoon or something equivalent would work also.

Take the contents of the five gallon bucket and do the best you can to pour half of it into the other five gallon bucket. Next, take hot tap water and fill both of the buckets up to the top and stir. It may suds a bit, no biggie.

Bat your eyelashes and show a little leg so your husband will carry all of the containers and the five gallon buckets outside (b/c this part can get messy). Use a funnel to fill up your containers.

The website said this one batch lasted her family eight months, don't think it will last us quite that long but still a long time. It is all we use now and the hubby and I are both pleased. The detergent will settle when sitting so before you add it to the washer just shake it up a bit. One cup is required per load and can also be used as a pre-treater. I do not have a high efficiency washer but the website said only use 1/3 cup for HE machines.

My only complaint is that my clothes don't really smell that fresh when they come out of the dryer. With the money I am saving on detergent I bought a bottle of Downy Unstoppables In Wash Scent Booster and my clothes smell AHHH-MAZING! Bottom line, for the amount of money you save and the simplicity of the recipe, I'd say the Taylors are LOVIN' their new laundry detergent.