Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:
1 bar of Ivory Bar Soap
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Optional: You can add essential oils such as lavender,
rosemary, etc. if you want it to have a scent.
*I also save containers that I would normally
 throw away to store my detergent in.

Grate the bar soap and add
to a large saucepan with hot water.

This is very easy to do but making your own laundry detergent is a discipline and is not for everyone, but it definitely saves money–just pennies a load!

Stir over medium-low heat until
 soap dissolves and is melted.

I always make this in my basement bathroom tub.
This literally takes 15 minutes of your time.

Fill a 10 gallon pail half full of hot water.
Add the melted soap, Borax and
 Washing soda,
stir well until all powder is dissolved.


Sometimes I use a 5 gallon bucket and half the recipe
 unless I have extra containers to store my detergent in.
 

Top the pail up with more hot water.
Use 1 cup per load stirring before each use. (will gel)
Store in containers or a covered bucket.
Marlene left this comment that I thought you might want to know.
"I've used this recipe many times and it works great. You can also leave the water out - just stir up the dry ingredients including the soap and use a tablespoon or two in your laundry. It takes up less space dry."
Thanks Marlene!
******************
Snippets From My Heart
When my children were small I was a stay at home Mom.
We sacrificed a lot for me to be home with my babies.
I would not take anything for that time I had with my children.
That is when I first learned to make my own detergent along with many other homemade luxuries.  Back then it was a necessity.  Now it is a choice. 

Today I am thankful for..........choices.

17 comments:

Mrs. Stam said...

I've been making my own laundry soap for about 3 years using the same recipe and love it, and yes cost practically nothing (especially when doing 6 loads of laundry each day)!!!!And the homemade soap does a great job on cloth diapers, am very please with it :-)

Rhonda said...

I am glad you have choices too. Like you, when my children were growing up, I did so many unusual things to stretch our income.

the news tonight said that almost everything is going to increase in price because of the Austrailan floods, Russion drought, something in China, bad winter in the US -
if that story is right, we may all, no matter what our income, be doing more things to stretch our income.

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

I made this same recipe for a long time. I know I blogged about it in 2008. However, I had to buy a new washer last year.

I soon found my clothes weren't coming clean. It's one of those HE washers. So after reading the book that acame with it, you have to use a special laundry detergent.

The High Energy washers take very little detergent, about 1 tablespoon per load.

I recently won some Charlie's Soap, which came as a powder. It too only takes a spoon full for a big load. And works on HE washers.

I miss my homemade soap. Had I know that when I bought the washer, I might have bought the old fashion washer.

Dora, the Quilter said...

Val, I'm wondering how this works in hard water. Do you have any experience with that?

Carole Burant said...

I've always wondered how one makes laundry detergent so thank you so much for enlightening me:-) I'm going to print this out and one day will try to make it. Everything is getting so expensive that it's no wonder so many people are going back to making their own when they can!! xoxo

Sunny Simple Life said...

Lovely blog. I have been making my own soap for years.

Allie said...

I've had this on my list for a long time to try - I just can't find washing soda anywhere!

Pokey said...

We are going to be doing this, too, a friend just made a batch for my home. How neat to have the testimony you do. It's good for us all ~
:-}pokey

Libby said...

Thanks!! I am going to try that! Any suggestions on storing it? We dont have much storage space but I have become so disappointed with regular detergent, I am willing to try it!
I love being a stay-at-home Mom. It hasnt always been easy. and I am so thankful for my hard working husband for making it work!!

Becky Garrison said...

I love that you are doing this - such a 'farmgirl' thing that you are doing! I don't think it's for me, though, mostly because I don't have anywhere to store it -my laundry 'room' is a closet and there's no storage space to keep a bucket of detergent. Great idea, though! Blessings, Becky

Needled Mom said...

Do you think you can use it in the newer HE washers? I know they have to have special low suds soaps. It is a great idea.

Patty Sumner said...

Val...you are to good! I think I just might give this a try. I appreciate you wonderful spirit. Choices....we all have them...I just pray I have made and continue to make the right ones. Thanks and blessings!

StitchinByTheLake said...

I've used this recipe many times and it works great. You can also leave the water out - just stir up the dry ingredients including the soap and use a tablespoon or two in your laundry. It takes up less space dry. blessings, marlene

Heidi said...

I made a similar recipe before but used Pink Zote soap instead of ivory. Pink Zote is a fantastic whitener/brightener. I learned this when my son played Tball and I mentioned to another Mom at a game "how on earth do some moms keep their kids baseball pants so white!?" She said they pretreat with pink zote. I buy it at the dollar stores.

Thanks for reminding me about making my own soap! I'm going to do this again. But like that other comment - I keep it in dry form.

Kina said...

I am so excited to try this. I've never made my own detergent but I am all about saving money!!! Thanks for the post!

Love Bears All Things said...

They had a segment on our evening news yesterday about homemade laundry soap. I think we will all be doing this soon as the cost of living is rising as fast as the morning sun.
Mama Bear

Unknown said...

This is soo cool! I was just wondering yesterday how people make their own detergent. This is getting bookmarked for sure!!!