Get Ready To Be "Washed" Away!

I have the COOLEST grandmother on earth! She found this recipe for homemade laundry soap and made some, which my brother (yes, Tony, believe it or not!) fought over. It is THAT good. You can thank me later! This stuff works great, and smells awesome! You can make powdered or liquid. I prefer the powder, it is easier to make, but I have to make the liquid for my type of washer. The best part is that this is so INEXPENSIVE. They figured 3-5 cents a load! YEAH! Way better than paying .56 a load with store bought laundry soap!

The recipe:

Powdered Laundry Detergent
2 cups grated Fels Naptha Soap- you usually find this on the top shelf somewhere in the laundry detergent aisle. They go for around $1.75 a bar. It just looks like a bar of soap. 1 bar I think equals 2 cups.


1 cup Washing Soda- you can also find this in the laundry detergent aisle, the brand name is most likely Arm and Hammer.


1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax-usually found right next to the washing soda.


Mix and store in an airtight container or bag. For light loads use
1 tablespoon. For normal loads use 2 tablespoons, and for heavy loads use 3 tablespoons.


**If you have a big family like me, I would buy more than one bar of the Fels Naptha soap, because you can get more than 3 batches out of the washing soda and borax boxes.

Liquid Laundry Detergent-

5 gallon bucket
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
4.5 gallons HOT water

Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill 5 gal. bucket with 4.5 gallons of HOT water, and add the dissolved soap. Stir to combine.Add 1 cup Washing Soda, and 1 cup Borax and mix as well. As it cools, it will thicken, if it becomes too thick you can add more hot water to desired consistancy. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2 cup for a normal load, and 1 cup for a heavy load.

**The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so dont be alarmed. Fels Naptha soap is poure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as traditional washers. You will also notice the need to either redulce your laundry softener or in most cases even eliminate the use of your softener completely.