Homemade Laundry Detergent

Jeremy and I decided to start making our own laundry detergent a couple of years ago because we wash A LOT of clothes for 2 people... and we were spending a lot on laundry detergent.  We also both have awful skin allergies so we wanted to start making our own to save money and help our skin.  It really is a great "recipe" and you can use it for baby clothes as well! 


Ingredients:

1. 5 gallon bucket
2. 2 1/2 cups of Arm & Hammer(or any brand) washing powder 
3. 2 gallons of warm water
4. 3 of your favorite scent bars of soap

Directions:

1. Grate your soap, using a cheese grater, into a bowl.  I use the smallest blades on the grater because it helps the soap melt quicker.  Please note... when picking your soap, I suggest picking a soap that is more solid.  What I mean is... do not use a soap that has a lot of moisturizer in it.  It makes it VERY hard to melt and can change the consistency of your detergent!
2. Once soap is grated, add it to a medium boiler and SLOWLY cover it with water.  If you cover it too fast the soap will start to bubble.
3. On low heat, melt the soap and water.  DO NOT BOIL!!!! I repeat... DO NOT BOIL!  If you let it boil, you will have a bubbly soapy MESS!
4. While the soap is melting, pour 2 gallons of water into the 5 gallon bucket. 
5. Once the soap is melted (melting could take 25 to 45 mins), add it to the 2 gallons of water, SLOWLY.
6. Add the 2 1/2 cups of washing powder.
7. Stir SLOWLY until well mixed.
8. Let sit over night and you have your detergent!

We use about a cup to cup 1/2 with each wash.  I still add bleach to my whites and towels and I also use fabric softener sheets occasionally.  

You can add borax to the mixture, but it is not needed.  Research has shown that most of the "cleaning" of the clothes actually occurs as a result of the mixing, rinsing, and spin cycle... so Borax is not needed unless you just want to add it to the mixture!

Hope you enjoy!!! :)