Well, I've joined the ranks of making my own laundry soap. Honestly I was concerned that just a few tablespoons of homemade soap couldn’t possibly get our clothes clean. My husband comes home with steel dust and other nasty stuff on his clothes from work. I never figured there was any way his clothes would come clean!
How wrong I was!
I admit my main reason for making my own is cost. For about $14, I can make the equivalent of 8 small boxes (or more) of Gain detergent. Even if I bought the Gain on a great sale and had a good coupon, I’m still $10+ ahead!
I make one huge batch and have it for a couple of months! It only takes a few minutes to make.
Admittedly, the hardest thing about it is grating the soap. I use a hand grater and it doesn’t take long.
I found all the items at Wal-Mart.
1 - 4 lb. 12 oz. box Borax
2 - 3 lb. 7 oz. boxes Washing Soda
2 ½ bars Fels Naptha laundry soap, grated on small holes of cheese grater
Mix all together. (I usually pour two cups each of Borax and Washing Soda then 1 cup Fels Naptha into my container, stir, repeat).
Use 2-4 tablespoons per load, depending on size and how dirty the clothes are (for my husband’s clothes, I use 3 heaping tablespoons).
If you want to try it out without making a big batch (this is what I did at first), stir together 2 parts borax and washing soda and 1 part grated laundry soap.
