I did it, I joined the homemade laundry soap craze. And I love it. LOVE it! Not only is it super cheap and gives me a sense of accomplishment, but it works just as well as the other stuff I was using. Sold. Oh, and when I tell people that I make my own laundry soap they are impressed. If only they knew how easy it was, they would probably be less impressed.
SO, on to the method I used. I searched the internet for several days to find the recipe and method that I wanted to use, and in the end I just used a couple of them as a guide. Most of the recipes are very very similar, so here is what I did and you can certainly change it to your liking. Here are the two I followed: The Family Homestead and The Simple Dollar.
I may be the only weird one, but I have dedicated everything under the "Supplies" list for ONLY soap making. Yes, soap is clean. Yes, I would normally wash all of these things with...soap...to clean them off. Yes I still feel weird about using the cheese grater I use for soap with cheese. Gross.
You can buy the cheese grater, funnel, measuring cups and wooden spoon at the dollar store. Make sure to get a box cheese grater to make your life that much easier.
Hypothetically you can find a big pot at your local thrift store but we checked several with no luck. We decided to save time and gas money and purchase the cheapest possible we could find on Amazon.com (love it) and call it an investment into our future money saving ventures. I think I paid $10.
You can go to a local grocery store and ask their bakery department for extra frosting buckets to get your 5 gallon bucket. Most will give them to you for free or $1. My favorite place to get them is Harris Teeter. They give them to me for free, they seal very well, they are high quality, and I don't have to wrestle with the lid to get it off. I also use Harris Teeter buckets to store my wheat, flour, and food storage items. Oh, and word from the wise, you will need to wash them out yourself. Unless you like frosting-flavored soap.
DON'T use the type of container picture below with the "all" brand. It is really hard to shake and just frustrating. Maybe if you filled it half full it would work, but probably still annoying to shake.
You can add some essential oil to your laundry soap if you want it to smell lovely. The recipe as stated smells like soap and your laundry comes out smelling just like clothes, no wonderful, synthetic Tide or Downy smell. I am eventually going to get some essential oil but so far I have been too lazy. A friend told me you can find little bottles at Whole Foods so you don't have to spend a fortune all at once.
I found all of the ingredients right next to each other on the laundry shelf at Walmart. I have since seen Fels Naptha soap in at least one other store, so I know it's out there. They were not by the laundry soap, they were actually all by the dryer sheets. Random but that's where I found them.
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| My homemade soap in reused containers. As noted do NOT use the style picture with the "all" brand logo |
Homemade Laundry Soap
Ingredients:
1/2 bar Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 cup Borax -20 Mule Team Brand
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda -Arm & Hammer Brand
2 gallons plus 4 cups water (36 cups)
Supplies:
5 gallon bucket
Big pot (mine is 8 quart, no smaller than that)
Cheese grater (not the tiny tiny holed one)
Wooden Spoon to stir
1/2 cup measuring cup
Old camping plate or paper plate
Funnel
Empty laundry soap containers or milk jugs
--about 3-6 depending on the size you use, you will ultimately need to hold 2.5 gallons of soap
(when not in use store all of the above -your pot may not fit- inside your 5 gallon bucket in the garage.)
Start by filling your bucket up with about 2 gallons of water. In case you are doing this without empty milk jugs (which is waaaay easier than measuring it out) that's 32 cups.
Now put 4 cups of water in your pot on the stove top on med-high. While you are waiting for that to get hot grate your 1/2 bar of soap. Do it on a paper plate, old camping plate, or any plate you feel comfortable washing and using to eat on. Once your water is almost boiling throw your soap in and stir it with your wooden spoon. You want to be frequently to constantly stirring it.
You don't really want it to boil, just get hot enough to melt the soap. If it boils no big deal, this is not a science. The main reason not to boil it is that you don't want it to boil over the top of your pot and get all over your stove. That would be one hot mess!
Once the soap has melted (10 minutes maybe? I didn't time it) and your entire house smells like SOAP throw the borax and the super washing soda in and stir to dissolve. This should take like 1 minute or less. If you want to add a few drops of essential oil now would be the time.
Carefully pick up your pot and pour the contents into your pre-filled bucket of water. Stir, stir, stir. Stir again until you feel like it is a smooth mixture. It will be thin. And probably a weirdish color, mine was. Oh well.
Now call your spouse, older child or friend into the room. Set out your cleaned milk jugs or empty laundry soap containers and fit a funnel into the top of one. One of you hold the funnel and jug while the other picks up the bucket and slowly dispenses the liquid into the funnel. Repeat until your bucket is empty.
If you are alone and it is 10 o' clock at night and you are too impatient to wait for your husband to get home and the only child you have is asleep and 2 years old (like ME) use a big glass measuring cup or other scoop you have and scoop it from the bucket into the funnel tediously and carefully.
Put the lids on the containers and wait 24 hours. After 24 hours give them a good shaking and use about 1/2 cup per load. Or if you are using empty laundry soap containers just use the lid, about the same amount you would if it was store bought soap.
You will probably need to shake it every time you use it unless you do laundry every day, and then probably just twice a week. It is kind of a weird, slimy, slightly clumpy mess when it comes out. That's FINE, it goes into a washer machine that agitates like crazy so it doesn't have to be perfectly shaken beforehand.
You're done! Go watch some TV or eat a bowl of ice cream as a reward for your hard work.
My next project? Homemade fabric softener using hair conditioner. I will report back!
With Love,
Lindsey
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