Homemade Laundry Soap

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I finally hopped on the homemade laundry soap bandwagon, and I can't believe I waited so long. (And by I, I mean I did the research, but my wonderful husband did all the actual work while I watched "The West Wing" on Netflix.)

This soap cleans really well, is crazy cheap, and the prepared laundry detergent does not trigger my uber sensitivity to certain scents, especially those often found in laundry soap.*

This is how much a doubled recipe makes. That All container alone holds 172 ounces.
I used a recipe that's found on countless blogs and articles, so I definitely don't deserve credit for it, and I don't know who does. The various blogs I've seen this recipe on estimate that you're paying about a penny per load, and I believe it.

The recipe calls for:
1/3 bar of an old fashioned soap, such as Fels Naptha, Zote or Ivory
1/2 cup washing soda
1/3 cup Borax

For about $5 at Walmart (all found in the laundry aisle) I got:
1 bar of Zote soap
1 55-ounce box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 
1 76-ounce box of Borax

Here's what you do:

Grate the soap. 
 Heat the soap and 6 cups of water in a pot until the soap melts. 

Mix in the washing soda and Borax. 

 Stir until the powders are dissolved, and then remove from heat.

Add 4 cups of hot water into large bucket.**
Pour in the pot of soap mixture and stir. 

Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water. Stir. 
Pour the mixture into smaller containers. Let it sit overnight to gel.
 The final product is a chunky liquid. Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry.

A few notes: 

*The shaved bar of Zote had a strong (pleasant) odor that tickled my throat. My throat also became irritated while my hubby made the laundry soap; however, I did not react at all to the soap when doing my laundry. Normally, if someone does laundry with a fragrant detergent, I cannot be within 20 feet of the area. My freshly washed clothes smell clean, but of no particular allergy-triggering odor.

**My husband assured me that the dirty-looking bucket he choose to use was not actually dirty. He said it was just stained with paint. He had cleaned it many times. Apparently he had never tried a cleaner as powerful as this laundry soap. The laundry soap took the paint right off. Then hubby had the fun job of sifting paint out of  laundry detergent. 



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