3 Ingredients = Great Savings on Laundry

Making my own laundry soap has been something I have done for quite a few years now. Even before I lived on our homestead I realized how important is was to keep our family costs down. It may seem time consuming or weird to whip up your own batch of laundry soap, but this small effort has proven its worth to me. Here is how I do it and the cost effectiveness.

The 3 Simple ingredients are:

1. Zote Soap = $1.70 (for this batch I used 1/2 of Zote and 1/2 of one of my homemade soaps). I found Zote Soap at Family Dollar for $1.00 but you can also order it online or I have seen it at Home Depot. You could also use Fels Naptha
2. Super Washing Soda = 3.49( you only need 1 cup per batch so = $0.44)

3. Borax (4lb. box) = 3.99 ( 1 cup per batch = $0.50)

A grater and a large pot to
be used only for soap.

5 Gallon Bucket
that can that the heat.

Some other things you need are a 5 gallon bucket, an old pot and a cheese grater. It also helps to have a long stick to stir the soap. One batch gives me 5 gallons of laundry soap.

Grated bar soap.

Grate your soap into your pot.

Add water

Step One: Grate your bar soap into pot. Add water and stir on medium heat until dissolved.

Medium heat and stir
until grated soap is dissolved.

Add 1 cup of washing soda.

 Step Two: Add 1 cup of Washing soda. Add more hot water. (I just use hot tap water, but some people like to keep another pot of water heated.)Stir until disssolved.

Add more water.
Stir until washing soda is dissolved.

Add borax.
Add more water.

Step Three: Add 1 cup of borax. Add more hot water. Stir until dissolved.








Step Four: Continue adding hot water and stirring until your pot is full.

Pouring hot detergent into bucket.

Step Five: Pour your mixture into your 5 gallon bucket. Continue adding hot water and stirring until your bucket is full. At this time you may want to add your own scents or essential oils.

Optional Step: Get a gorgeous man to help you stir.

After detergent is cooled
I transfer liquid to individual containers.

Step Six: Let the soap sit in the bucket until it is cool. Then transfer the soap into containers of your choice. It could be recycled laundry soap containers, or juice or vinegar jugs. Just be sure to use containers that will be easy to shake and pour.















Step Seven: Let it set in containers overnight  - it should turn into a thin gel. 


The only down side to this soap is sometimes it separates and you have to shake it before pouring it into your washing machine. It is fine to use in a High-efficiency machine (that's what we have). And it is a much more natural detergent. So for $2.64 you can make 5 gallons of laundry soap. One gallon of laundry soap can range from 10.00 - 20.00 (brand variation). You have to admit that is a huge savings. 

Is this method too time consuming? No, 5 gallons last our 6 person household at least 4-5 months. So basically, I only have to make a batch 2-3 times a year. The savings is well worth that small amount of time. 

I hope you found this post to be helpful. 
If you have any comments or questions please feel free to contact me.