Bringing out the Duggar in me.

Some of you know that I make my own laundry detergent.  Being a one-income large family means saving where I can.  Thought I'd show those of you who have asked me how to do it.  Of course, I forgot to take pictures along the way yesterday, when I made the detergent...sorry.

Here are the things you will need to buy to get started.

1 cup of Borax 

1 cup of Washing Soda

1 Bar of Soap (any bar of soap should work, just be sure nobody in your family has a sensitive reaction to the brand you choose).

I found the Borax and Washing Soda in the cleaning isle at Market Basket, though any grocery store, Target or WalMart should have them I think.  I use Ivory soap, because you can always save the extra bars for future detergent or you could let your kids microwave an extra bar of Ivory soap and it does that fun science experiment thing.  (Heads up though, your kitchen will smell like soap for an hour or so if they do.)  It's been a while since I bought these supplies, and the boxes are still half full.  I'm pretty sure these supplies cost less than $10, and will last you more than a year of detergent.  Yes, I'm serious about that...this is very inexpensive and works great.  I wish I had known about this a long time ago. 

Also, you will need to save two empty and rinsed gallon jugs (we use the milk ones as our kids drink so much) for easy storage.

Here's what you do:

1) Grate your bar of  soap with a regular cheese grater.  The entire thing.  Put it in your pot.  

As for your pot, it should hold 2 gallons of water.  Otherwise use 2 smaller pots and split the ingredients evenly.  That's what I have to do, making two batches at the same time.

2) Add 1 gallon of water (any temperature) and cook over the stove until the soap is fully dissolved.  

3) Add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda and still well.  

4) Allow it to boil.  Then remove it from the heat and add 1 gallon of cold water.  Stir well.

5) Allow the detergent to cool a bit and then use a funnel to transfer the mixture into the empty gallon containers.

And that's it!  So easy.  I let mine sit overnight and it actually congeals.  Then I shake the gallon containers well to break up the detergent a bit.  To use the detergent I pour just a small amount (maybe 1-2 tablespoons - really) into the washing machine right out of my milk containers.  

The other good thing about this detergent is it is far gentler on skin than store bought detergents.  They typically add unnecessary dyes and scents.  I have used this detergent on babies laundry too.  No more need to buy expensive Dreft!

OK, here is the original link.  I can't claim this as my own.  But I do love it!

http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent.html