Making Laundry Detergent

It's super-easy to make laundry soap at home and you can get all the supplies at the grocery store. I got everything at Raley's and it works out to 10 cents a load. It would be even cheaper at a different store with coupons!

The players:


1 bar Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
Essential oil (optional, not pictured. I recommend Mountain Rose Herbs for essential oils!)

The first step is to grate the soap. I ran it through the food processor and wound up with pieces that were too big to dissolve easily in the washer.


Then I used the chopping blade to make a finer powder.


Next, I put the soap into a bowl and add the washing soda and borax.


I added 10 drops of orange essential oil, and mixed everything up carefully. Citrus is great for cutting grease, which is why lemon and grapefruit are often used in dishwasher soap.


Finally, it goes into a recycled container for storage. Like it? I had been keeping fruit in it, but Brown Thumb Papa said that putting fruit in an ice cream container was false advertising.


Here's what the laundry soap was up against.


It only takes 2 tablespoons to wash a full load and everything came out fresh and clean. If it can beat Jackjack dirt, it can beat anything!