tammysrecipes.com is where I got this recipe from. There's some great pictures to illustrate there.
I hope to get started with pictures, too, at some point, but I think that will wait until we've moved- I have too much to think about right now.
I have been using the Sunlight bar soap that you can buy in the laundry aisle at Superstore, but you can use other versions of bar soap, too.
I've found that it works quite well, and I enjoy the fact that not only is this easy on the environment and better for us, but that I'm saving loads of money on making my own detergent. It's fun, and will make using cloth diapers some day so much more economical!
Becki has told me that she makes this dry- the same ingredients, but doesn't dissolve it down with water. I suspect that this might be a bit more difficult to dissolve when washing, but I'm not sure.
Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap or one whole bar of Ivory or homemade soap (I used Ivory)
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup borax powder
water
2+ gallon bucket, for storing
Grate the soap and place in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap melts.
Add the washing soda and borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket. Add the soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.
Store your laundry detergent in the bucket, covered. Use 1/2 cup per load of clothes.
This can tend to become a bit lumpy/gelatainous, so keep a stirring utensil of sorts to mix it before you use it.
This looks interesting, Gloria. Have you liked the results? Abigail passed on a similar recipe from a friend, except it had twice the amount of water (and you use twice as much per load), because she said that it was easier to pour that way. My mom likes the fresh fragrance of the detergent we use now - I wonder if you can add an extract to this?
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