Home-made laundry detergent

I first read about making laundry detergent on my friend Kelli's blog. One of the subs at school said she makes her own and it works well, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It does work and I bought some scented oil so it smells good too. (It really doesn't have a smell without it.)

Here is the "recipe":
4 cups hot tap water
1 bar soap
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda!!)
1/2 cup Borax

1. Cut up the soap and put it in the hot water over medium heat. Stir until the soap is completely dissolved.

2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 with hot tap water. Add the melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir until the powder is dissolved and let sit overnight. The mixture will be gel-like and runny. (I was afraid I did something wrong until I read online that is how it's supposed to look.)

3. After the mixture has set overnight, fill up an empty detergent container 1/2 way, add water to fill it up the rest of the way and shake well before using.


*Optional* You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons once soap has cooled.

Top Load Washer: Use 5/8 cup per load (180 loads)
Front Load Washer: Use 1/4 cup per load (640 loads)