So here's the deal! Laundry detergent is expensive! And it's one of those things you kinda need to live a non-filthy life. So a 100 oz bottle of tide it about $10. Well all the ingredients you need to buy to make homemade laundry soap add up to about $10-15 dollars and you get to make several batches from it.
- Borax Powder $4 dollars
- Washing Soda (NOT BAKING!) $3
- Fels Naptha Soap (I used to use Ivory then I switched) $1 per bar and this recipe calls for 2
- Dawn Liquid Dish Soap $2 (I bought that smallest bottle because I only use it for laundry soap)
(This stuff usually can go for about 150 loads. All depending on how much you use per load.)
So let's math this up! Drumroll please!! 11 dollars! Now this stuff will last making a couple batches. The only thing I have to buy every time is the bars of soap. I usually don't make the concentrate but 2-3 times a year because you don't need as much and I usually just use it for my husbands ACUs (fancy acronym for military uniforms) Any person who does a soldier's laundry knows how terrible they can smell! Especially after some time out in the field doing training...bleh! So this stuff kicks butt! I'd like febreeze to make a commercial and spray down some dude's military garb and tell me how it works for them (not well)
So let's start with measurements!
Here is what you need and how much
Kitchen tools you are going to need
- Cheese grater
- Mixing bowls are pretty handy
- Whisk
- Blender of some sorts. I'm using my immersion blender
- A big-ish pot
- Containers for the final product (I use mason jars cause they're so freaking cute!)
- Some good music of course....I usually go with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Hillsong United or Disney Princess Music. I regret nothing.
So first you are gonna grab yo handy dandy cheese grater and get to work on those bars of soap!
My mom has an old salad shooter from ages ago and I used to use that. But alas when you get married and move out on your own you don't always have access to your mom's super cool kitchen gadgets. So grate both bars and don't get those knuckles!
So put all that soap in your pot on the stove. Everytime I make laundry soap I desperately want to prank someone with this soap! It looks like grated up cheddar cheese and I just have to urge to toss it on someone's bowl of chilli! I mean what's the worst that could happen from someone eating soap.....oh....right
So I suppose soap pranking is out of the question. So next measure up 6 cups of warm water straight from the old tap
You're going to set the heat on the stage somewhere between the lands of low and medium. You are going to cook/melt the soap shavings but do NOT let it boil. It'll make a big old mess and give you nasty little burnt chunks of soap. After a bit it'll look like the picture below.
Keep on cooking that stuff! By now your kitchen will give off the illusioned aroma of a freshly scrubbed house! While the soap is cooking away and melting down even more I am going to measure up the powdered ingredients.
Two cups of each Borax and Washing Soda. I usually grab my whisk and break up the larger chunks so it'll dissolve smoother.
Next take your wisk to the pot and whisk it around to break up any chunks of soap and get the layer of soap off the bottom of the pot. (Random note after this your pot will be REALLY clean!)
Once all the chunks of soap are dissolved you are going to add the dry ingredients.
Whisk it all together and let it dissolve. It's really going to thicken up and it's ok if it's gritty. Just cook it down as smooth as you can.
Once it's dissolved it'll look kinda frothy.
Next pour in the dish detergent. Mix it in well.
So I have everything ready to pour into the jars. Thank goodness for the funnel!
And it all perfectly fit in three 1 liter mason jars! Make sure there is a bit of room, don't fill the jars 100% to the top.
Now you are going to let the jars set overnight or for about 8 hours. This is what it'll look like.
This is my least favorite part of the whole process. But with a little patience you can do it! My motivator is that I'm saving money and stretching a dollar out more. God provides us with means of living and I want to do my best and be frugal with what we are blessed with. So this is one area I can really save some money.
So you are going to break up the top layer of the detergent. It'll be pretty thick and hardened up. So just chisel it out with a spoon and dump the liquid on the bottom of the jar in too. I did all three jars at once.
This next step takes a bit of elbow grease. If you don't have an immersion blender a normal blender will work fine. (Side note of how cool God works! I looked at Kohl's and Wal-Mart one friday evening at immersion blenders and the cheapest I could find was $35. So I figured I would wait until maybe I found one on sale or had a coupon. Literally the next day Justin and I went yard sale-ing and I found this one with 3 different attachments for $5!! God is good even in the smallest things!)
So yes, grab ye olde immersion blender and about 1/2 - 2/3 of a cup of water. Pour the water over the mixture and start blending/mixing. Add more water as needed. It should have the consistency as frosting.
After about 10 minutes of mixing, blending up the large chunks, and adding a bit of water here and there it's all done! It's nice, smooth and fluffy.
See?? It looks like frosting! Don't try and eat it though....probably taste pretty gross!
Haha! So I feel I should keep it honest! So here is what my poor counter looked like! Pretty messy! But the wonderful thing is if you make a mess it's soap! This is probably the easiest mess you'll ever have to clean up! I ended up with some splattered all over my dress so when I was done I just tossed it in the wash! TaDAAA!
I don't like spooning it in cause I feel I make a big mess. So I just filled up a ziploc bag, snipped off the bottom corner and piped it in the jars like I was frosting a cake. I keep mentioning frosting....now I want to eat some frosting...
So alas your hard work is done! The wonderful part about this recipe is that you only need a spoonful per load. For J's uniforms I use two though...just cause they are extra stinky!
