Make your own laundry detergent

Don't you love the smell of clean clothes. I am so weird, I know. I even smell each and every fluffy item that comes out of the dryer (or off the line in the summer) just to make sure it smells extra yummy. That being said, it can cost a lot to make your clothes smell good. And if you are cloth diapering, you know that those diapers can get rather stinky and then those good smelling detergents just smell like pee and flowers. Yuck! Anyways, in order to save money, I finally decided to make my own laundry detergent. I have been using it now for 4 months and I love it. Before making it, I searched and search for the right "recipe". The two things it had to do were, 1) smell good and 2)clean my clothes well. It does both of these, in fact I would say my clothes are cleaner now. We are saving mega money on laundry detergent now because you make so much at once and the products you put in it are super cheap. So I thought I would share it all with you...

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap such as Ivory

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder

1/2 oz essential oil (optional)

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. If you want to add and essential oil, put a 1/2 oz in. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. I store mine in old detergent bottles and juice bottles. You use ½ cup per load.

It doesn't look pretty, it's clumpy but works and smells great. It is safe to use with your cloth diapers and is great for those with sensitive skin. This can be used in he washers as well because it is a low sudsing soap.

Enjoy...