Laundry Detergent!

I had to make some laundry detergent today and thought I would share how easy and wonderful it is. It really is the easiest thing in the word to do and I have been using it for a year and half now. All of our clothes come clean, even if they have been threw up on, soiled, or covered in dirt!

**I use the same recipe that the Duggar family uses, so giving props to them for sharing it.**

Powdered Detergent:
1 Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap (or you can use Ivory, but I personally like the Fels-Naptha better)
1 Cup of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax

First, chop up the soap into small pieces.

Second, place into a good food processor and run until the soap has become a powder. The magic bullet works great, so if you have one, use it!

Add all your ingredients together into some sort of container with a lid. I use an old number 10 can. For a light load, use 1 Tbsp. and for a heavy or soiled load, use 2 Tbsp. You can get about 40 loads out of one batch. 

I have used both liquid and powdered laundry soap. I have no favorite and frequently go back and forth between the two. Also, I have found this detergent (I like the liquid better for the cloth) works great for cloth diapers, so big bonus!

Liquid Detergent: (Direct Copy from the Duggar Family website)

4  Cups Hot Water
1  Bar of Fels-Naptha
1 Cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Super easy huh? If you have never used homemade detergent before, you definitely need to!