A year's worth of homemade laundry soap for $17.00.  Has to be too good to be true, right? WRONG!

I don't enjoy doing laundry and I especially do not enjoy spending a ton of money on detergents and stain removers.  There are about a gazillions different products out there to choose from and I don't trust any one of them.  I have a problem with all the chemicals that are added and more of a problem with ingredients that I can't pronounce.   The act of doing laundry itself is not bothersome, it is just the stain removal and the folding that I detest. I actually love throwing it in and letting my washer do all the work.  Now, if I could only find a washer with a fold button, I'd be in business. 

Anyway, I made my own laundry soap!  I know, crafty right?!  Actually, I searched the internet and found various recipes.  Then, I tailored it to my own needs.  All in all, I am very pleased with the result.

Here's how I did it. 

I purchased all of the ingredients all at my local Wal-Mart. 

2 bars of Fels Naptha or Zote soap (laundry isle)
4 cups washing soda (laundry isle)
NOTE: washing soda is different than Baking Soda and regular laundry soap powder.
4 cups baking Soda (any brand)
6 cups Borax
Grate 2 bars of Fels Naptha soap, add 4 cups washing soda, 4 cups baking soda and 6 cups of Borax in a large bowl.  Mix carefully because all of the powdery ingredients will fly all over and create a big mess.  Not to mention, make it hard to breathe.  I then poured the whole bowl into a large plastic cereal container.  You can use any container that you may already have on hand, just make sure that it is air tight.  I add 2 tablespoons to each load of laundry.  Keep in mind, this is low sudsing.  I panicked the first time I used the soap.  I was so nervous that I only used it on a load of towels, then a load of older clothes, but it far exceeded my expectations! 

Here is my finished product.  I had to make it pretty.  So, I put some in an old mason jar, added a ribbon and a label. 

The only thing that I will do differently next time, is add fabric softener crystals.  Then, I can cut out using fabric sheets and save a little more money.  I also think that I am going to double my batch.  It isn't very time consuming to make, but why not make more and not have to think about it for a while. The batch that I made cost less than $6.00 to make.  If I doubled the batch and added fabric softener crystals, it would be approximately $17.00.  Doubling the recipe will last about one year, doing 2-3 loads of laundry a week.  Amazing!!! 

I am so excited about this and I have been telling everyone that I know.  It is less expensive and works great.  Have fun!!!
Others notes that I wanted to add:  I came across a recipe for laundry soap that included all of the above ingredients with the addition of OxiClean.  At first, I thought that it may be a good idea, but after doing some research, I was stunned.  It turns out that one of OxiClean's main ingredients is  washing soda. No wonder my clothes have looked cleaner and brighter!  Score!

Fels-Naptha is a washing bar, but is great if used as a stain stick (and much cheaper)!