Saving Money in a Recession- Part I

I've had a lot of people ask me recently about my homemade laundry detergent, so I figured I'd post the recipe here in case others are interested...

I made my first batch a few weeks ago, and it was really easy to make and sort of fun as well. (As a side bonus, I got a refreshing steam facial during the process.) I can attest to the fact that the stuff works just as well as any store-bought detergent, doesn't use any harsh chemicals, and is totally cheap! Try it out...


Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:
3.1 oz bar of Ivory soap
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
½ cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
3 gallons + 5 cups of Water

Shave the soap into small strips and place in a pot with 5 cups of water. Bring the water up to just shy of a boil and stir until soap is completely melted.

Pour 3 gallons of hot water into a 5-gallon bucket. Once the soapy mixture is completely melted, pour that into the bucket with the other hot water. Stir. Add washing soda and stir until dissolved. Add Borax and stir until dissolved.

Cover the container and let it sit overnight. It will turn into a gel. It may be lumpy and watery, but it works.

Use ½ cup per load of laundry. May need to stir before adding to laundry so as to mix ingredients together. This recipe should yield enough detergent for 110 loads of laundry.


**I had some difficulty finding the washing soda, since they don't seem to carry it at Target. I finally found it at Fry's grocery store, and I imagine they have it at other grocery stores too.**