Cheap! Cheap! Homemade Laundry Detergent

My favorite green blog, Nature Mom, posted this wonderful recipe on her blog yesterday.  I wanted to try it out, so I am reposting for you.

• 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap
• 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda {not baking soda}
• ½ cup of Borax
• Essential oils {whatever scent you like}
• 5-gallon bucket

First you’ll need to grate the bar of soap and add it to a saucepan with 4 cups of water. Stir continually over medium-high heat until all the soap is melted. Second fill one 5-gallon bucket up half way with hot water then add your melted soap, washing soda, and borax to it. Stir well!  Finally fill that bucket the rest of the way up with water. Stir, cover, and let it sit overnight to thicken.

The next morning you’ll need to take a used, clean laundry detergent dispenser and fill it half full of your soap and then fill it the rest of the way with water. Now if you want it scented, you’ll want to put 10-15 drops of an essential oil in for every 2 gallons.

Viola! There you have it. Homemade, all-natural laundry detergent. Remember to shake it before each use because it will gel. This recipe yields approximately 10-gallons of detergent. For a top-load machine use 5/8 cup per load {approx. 180 loads}, and for a front-load machine use ¼ cup per load {approx. 640 loads}. So, you get all of this detergent and it only costs about $2.00 to make it! I don’t know of anything cheaper than that!

*Posted directly from Nature Mom.*