Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

Ingredients:

1 bar Fels-Naptha soap
Water
Washing Soda (be careful with this.  It will irritate skin.  Once it is mixed with the water and stuff, it is fine to get on your skin.  Just not plain!)
Borax
cheese grater
5-gallon bucket
large wooden spoon or five gallon paint stirrer from Lowes or Home Depot 

Grate Fels-Naptha into a fine powder using cheese grater.  I used a box grater.  If you unwrap the soap and let it set in a dry place for a couple of weeks grating is easier, but this is not necessary.

Combine grated soap and 6 cups of water in a large pan over medium heat.  Stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until soap is dissolved.

Add 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax.  Stir until dissolved, then bring to a boil and heat for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Add 1 quart of hot water to 5 gallon bucket and then add detergent mixture. Fill bucket 1/2 the way full with  hot water.  Stir until combined.  

Place bucket where you will be using it and fill to two inches of the top with hot water.  Stir again.

The soap will thicken over the next 24 hours.  Just keep stirring before you use it the first three or four times.

Use 1/2 cup per load (the caps from the liquid tide happen to be 1/2 cup!)



I have been using this and I think it works great!  You can use some essential oils to add a scent if you want.

This soap costs about a penny per load vs. tide at about $0.20 per load.

My hair is now bun ready and my denim skirt is ironed.  I even have two (2) denim jumpers!