For the love of all things domestic and farm-wifey-like! Here comes a post about making your own laundry detergent!

I know, run!! But if you’re like me (lover of all things thrifty and homemade, but glamorous at the same time), you’ll love this too! Ok, so it’s not at all glamorous, but whatever!

My mom and sister-in-laws decided to try this and it really works! Really!

And it’s really cheap. Like, really cheap. And it works great on cloth diapers, which I use.

So here you go…

Liquid Laundry Soap-Family Sized Batch

Water
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
5 gallon bucket
1 cup washing soda (Arm and Hammer)
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
4 1/2 gallons water

Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket 1/2 way with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax and mix well.

Fill bucket with more HOT water. As it cools, it will thicken.
If mixture becomes too thick, add hot water to thin it to desired consistency.

May be used immediately. Mix well before each use.
Use 1/2(normal) to 1 cup per load (heavy).

Cost per load .04. Yes, you read that right. Four freaking cents per load.

(recipe & photo above from Notions on Nesting blog)

I also started making my own liquid fabric softener, which is so easy, it’s ridulous. Here’s the recipe…

Homemade Fabric Softener
2 cups hair conditioner (any kind – can be scented, which will scent the clothes)
3 cups vinegar
6 cups water

Mix well. And that’s it!! I used a cheap-o conditioner, which made this super-inexpensive to make. And it seems to be working well so far. And no extra chemicals!

Brilliant!


May 07, 2010 — Aimee Weaver