homemade laundry soap

For quite a while now, we've been using homemade laundry soap.  It has been a HUGE money saver since I was kind of a Tide snob. I would only buy it on sale with a coupon but still, it gets pricey.  When you are doing laundry for a family of five, plus all the farm clothes and Chad's work clothes, it adds up.

Anywho, I came across the Duggar family recipe for laundry soap.  I had actually found it years ago but it wasn't until I saw a how-to video on YouTube that I tried it.  Her recipe halves the duggars, so instead of 5 gallons of concentrated soap, it only makes 2 1/2 gallons.  I never had a place to store five gallons of soap, but half was doable.

I don't know if the people that read this blog are really going to want to try this, but I figure I'll post the recipe just in case!  Now keep in mind, this makes 2 1/2 gallons of concentrated soap so it will yield 5 gallons of actual laundry soap.

(She's kind of rambly in the beginning--skip to 2:37 to see the process)

2 cups water

1/2 bar Fells Naptha soap-grated

1/2 cup Super Washing Soda

1/4 cup Borax
2 gallons and 1/2 gallon hot water

Boil 2 cups water. Add grated Fells Naptha soap slowly. Stir until melted.  Fill bucket with 2 gallons hot water and add the melted soap.  Add the Washing Soda and Borax and mix until dissolved.  Add 1/2 gallon hot water.  Add essential oil (optional).  Cover and let sit for 24 hours.  Fill your laundry soap container half full of the soap and the rest of the way with water.  Shake before each use.

*A couple of tips: Fells Naptha can be found in your grocery store or in WalMart by the fabric softeners. Grate the soap as fine as you can.  Add in slowly to boiling water or it will clump up and take longer to melt.  I have never used any essential oils.  If you use as-is, your laundry won't have a smell which is fine.  Chad just so happened to have a 2 1/2 gallon jug with a lid, so that's where I store my concentrated soap.  I use a 2 Quart Rubbermaid container as my soap jug which works great for measuring half soap, half water to fill.  You could also use an empty Tide container or whatever you use.

I have found washing my clothes in warm water works best with this soap.  I tried using cold, but I don't think the soap works as good.  My clothes were coming out dingy.  I also use OxyClean in every load.

I love it and it has saved us a ton of money on laundry soap.  With me not earning a paycheck, I have to make our money stretch.