Homemade Laundry Soap

So I know I'm a little late posting this to my blog. I know that a zillion bloggers have done this before me, but I just want to post my version, based on all those other versions. 

Can I just reiterate again how incredibly cheap this is compared to buying store bought detergent? On some things, you will sacrifice something to save $30-$40 dollars. On this, you sacrifice nothing. This cleans clothes incredibly well, has a pleasant "clean" smell you can fancy up with essential oils if you want to, and literally costs pennies a load. And it's very, very simple to make. I will take you through it.

 This is all you need. A 2 1/2 gallon (10 quart) bucket, a bar of Fels Naptha, Washing Soda (not to be confused with baking soda,) borax, a grater, and a small saucepan. You're going to cook you up some soap.

 Grate 1/3 of the bar of Fels Naptha (You can find these ingredients pretty much anywhere, although Walmart sometimes has them out of stock.) into the saucepan. I just grate to the "e." And I make a mess, too. Deal with it.

Add some water. Set the control anywhere between 1-4. If I'm standing right there stirring it I'll set it at a 4 sometimes, but if you're doing other things set it on low and stir often. Takes about 10 minutes.

 This is what it will look like. It makes me insane that those little bits never seem to melt, but I've never managed to get them all to melt and still the soap does it's job.

 Fill up your bucket with HOT water. I don't know exactly why it's so important that it's hot, but I've never dared to try it with lukewarm or cold water. So make sure it's very, very HOT.

 1/2 cup of washing soda.

 1/2 cup of borax. If you want to go through and break apart all the little stuck-together parts be my guest. I'm on the same box of borax I bought a year and a half ago when I started making this, so it's had time to sit around and get stuck together. I accept this.

 Mix it all together with the melted soap and stir for a couple minutes.

Cover it with plastic wrap and set it back out of the way.

Look what time it is. Your soap will be ready in 24 hours. When it's ready, stir it up very well and grab a funnel along with a couple big, empty liquid laundry detergent containers (how's that for excessive use of adjectives?) I have to stand on a kitchen chair and pour the soap into the funnel very slowly because I am both short and mess-prone. You may use your own judgement.

If you're of a mind to do so, add 25-50 drops essential oil to your containers. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. Works just as well either way. Also - stick a couple marbles in your containers, and shake VERY WELL every time you use it, even if you already shook it for the previous 500 loads you did that day. It gels very quickly. I shake up and down a few times, then side to side.

And there you have it. 1/4 cup of detergent for HE washers, 1/2 for regular. Enjoy your extra $40. Go out to dinner or something. On me.