The Housewife--Stretch a Buck Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

I started making my own laundry detergents last October. My powdered recipe is here. I'm loving the money savings and it works great. I made a 2 1/2 gallon bucket of liquid laundry detergent November 12. I'm just now making another bucket because I only have a few more loads left. It's lasted a long time and costs only three cents a load!

I'm amazed at how well this recipe works. It takes about five minutes to mix up and needs to stand for 24 hours to gel, but that's more than worth it when it comes to savings. A big plus, as well, is that it's a very environmentally friendly detergent, made from simple ingredients and pure soap. And, because I've been reusing the same bucket repeatedly, I'm using less plastic for packaging.

Lovely Liquid Laundry Detergent

You aren't out much, except a few minutes and a very small amount of cash, by just giving it a try! The ingredients are extremely inexpensive. You can find washing soda, borax, and Fels Naptha soap in your grocery store laundry aisle.

3 Pints Water
1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer, NOT baking soda!!)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2 Gallon bucket to mix it in
1 Quart hot water Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket completely with additional hot water, and mix well-- do not skip this step or it will become a solid! You must add a lot more water--just fill the bucket. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. You may add additional HOT water if the mixture becomes too thick. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. Makes 64 loads.