Saturday, August 14, 2010

Not weird enough...

I'm a little weird. Okay. Maybe a lot.

I know this isn't news to many of you, but I'm still getting used to the idea myself.

I could blame it on my parents for raising me up in the jungles of Brazil. Or I could blame it on my husband for influencing me with a do-it-yourself mentality. But the truth is, I kind of like doing things differently (most of the time). Thankfully, I'm surrounded by friends that are weird like me & talk me into trying crazy things...like home-made laundry soap.

This "recipe" actually came from the Duggar family. Yep. That's the one. I guess someone with that many dirty clothes would know a thing or two about laundry soap! :) It's really simple to make (once you collect all of the ingredients) & has saved us about $2o/month on soap. Every little bit helps, right?




You only need these 4 supplies:

  • Fels Naptha soap
  • 1 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
  • 1/2 c. Borax
  • 5 gal. bucket w/ lid

(The Fels Naptha I found @ Ace Hardware. Wal-Mart carries the Borax in their laundry aisle. Our local grocery store carried the Washing soda. And you can find the 5 gal. bucket @ Lowe's.)

Grate the bar of soap in about 4 c. water. Stir on medium-low heat until soap is melted. Fill 5 gal. bucket 1/2 way with warm water. Add melted soap, washing soda, & borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved & fill the rest of the way with warm water. Cover & let sit overnight. Soap will thicken. Fill a clean laundry soap container with equal parts of soap & water. Shake before each use. Pour about 1/2 c. diluted soap into each load of laundry. (I tend to use a little extra on stinky, sweaty summer stuff!)

I usually buy several bars of the Fels Naptha @ a time, as the Borax & washing soda go very far (I bought them last summer). It costs about $2 to make 10 gallons of soap.

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