How to Make Your Own Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Times are tough and we need to cut corners any and every way we possibly can.

I recently got turned on to the idea of making my own laundry detergent. At first, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, I have been relying on commercial laundry soap for years to get my laundry clean. Surely I could not trust myself to create soap that would work as well as the stuff I paid for in the store!

The truth was, it could be done. I sat on the fence for awhile but then I finally just gathered up all the things I needed and just made a batch. I had a lot of misconceptions about making my own soap. How much time was it going to take? Was it going to be complicated? What kinds of ingredients were required, and where would I get them? Would it be expensive to buy? And most importantly, would it actually get the clothes clean?

The recipe I'm about to share with you took me about 15 minutes of total work, not too shabby! The ingredients were surprisingly easy to find and really cheap.

You'll need:
4 cups of really hot water
1 laundry soap bar
1 cup of Arm & Hammer brand Super Washing Soda (must be this kind)
and 1/2 a cup of Borax (found in laundry soap aisle)
1- 5 gal bucket (clean) with lid

What you need to do:
-Put the water in a medium saucepan and heat on med-low heat.
-While the water is heating, grate the entire soap bar and add to the heated water.
-Stir the mixture continually until all the soap has melted (about 8-10 min)
-Fill your 5 gal bucket halfway with hot water.
-add your hot soap mixture to the water in your bucket.
-Add the Borax and the Washing Soda and stir well until everything is blended.
-Fill your bucket to to the top with more hot water, stir well.
-Let the mixture cool before putting the bucket lid on.
-Let the bucket and mixture sit overnight, it will gel.

The next morning, fill desired soap container HALFWAY full with your soap mixture (be sure to stir it up before putting in the container). Fill your container the rest of the way with regular tap water. Shake it up well. You will find that your soap transforms into a wonderful soapy consistency, and is then ready to use! Use the same amount of your new soap as you would your store bought soap when washing laundry.

Keep your bucket of soap covered and stored in a safe place (out of reach of children and pets) while not in use. This recipe yields 10 gallons, enough to share with friends, or get you through a few months of washing! I made this recipe back in June, and I gave away two milk jugs (filled halfway) of the soap to friends, and have just now gotten to the bottom of the bucket! I wash at least 1-2 loads of laundry per day, and if I had kept all the soap that I had made, I estimated it would have lasted me 4 months at least.

I bought the Fels Naptha soap bars online for very cheap, and the borax and washing soda totaled $4 at walmart. I spent a total of $7 to make 10 gallons of my own soap, that's remarkable! You don't even get a gallons worth of soap at walmart (they just don't come packaged in that quantity!). I am impressed. The soap DOES work, all of our clothes come out clean and smelling terrific. It is mild for my babies' clothing, yet tough on stains. I will never buy store-bought laundry detergent again! Enjoy!