Homey Soapy

A few weeks ago I was visiting a friends house and I noticed a unique scent in her laundry room. It was the homemade laundry soap she had in there. She told me about how cheap it was to make and how much she saved in cost. So this week I gave it a try. She was right, it was easy to make and to use. It works great and now my house has the same scent. The clothes are clean and I am happy. No more expensive laundry soap for me.

The main ingredient 1/2 a bar of Fels-Naptha soap.

Makes 5 gallons of laundry soap.

Melting down the soap bar, smells great. The final mix cools and gels slightly overnight. I use about 1/2 a cup of the new soap in my wash. Life is good.

The Recipe:

1/2 a bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1 cup of Borax

1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

5 cups of water then 3 gallons of hot water

Big 5 gallon Bucket, clean

Long spoon or stick to mix inside the 5 gallon bucket

1.Grate the 1/2 bar of soap with a cheese grater. Put the shavings into a pot filled with 5 cups of water. Boil and stir until all the soap shavings have all melted. Turn off the heat.

2. Put 3 gallons of hot water into your 5 gallon bucket. I used a clean empty 1 gallon milk container to pour the correct amount. Pour your melted soap mix into your 5 gallon hot water bucket. Then stir with a long stick or spoon. Add 1/2 cup of washing soda then 1 cup of Borax, stir until all is dissolved in your 5 gallon bucket. You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil into the bucket if you like a scent. I like the Fels-Naptha scent it already has.

3. Cover the bucket overnight. It will cool and gel up. You can then put your homemade soap in containers or leave it in the bucket. You can get 110 loads out of your new detergent. I keep a plastic 1/2 cup scoop to dole out my soap. Happy Laundry Day!