Yesterday a friend and I made our own laundry soap! I don’t have a picture yet but it’s coming. I got the idea and recipe from my friend Hilary. It was super easy and extremely inexpensive (ok, I think we can say it’s CHEAP) and only took 3 ingredients (well 4 if you include water). Here’s the recipe:
Liquid Laundry Detergent

6 cups of water
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup washing soda (Arm & Hammer)
1/2 cup Borax
enough hot water to fill a 2 gallon bucket
[optional: you can add 1/2 to 1 oz of essential or fragrance oil.]
Mix grated soap in a saucepan with 6 cups of water. Heat on low until dissolved. Add washing soda and Borax. Stir until thickened and remove from heat. Add 4 cups of water to a 2 gallon bucket. Add the soap mixture and mix well. Fill the bucket with hot water (at least another gallon ( or 16 cups) and then some) and stir well. Set aside for 24 hours or until mixture thickens somewhat. Stir (or shake if you transfer it to a bottle.) before each use. *Use 1/2 cup per load*

I didn’t add a fragrance to it. I really like the smell just as it is. Very clean. So today I did my first loads with it and love it.

I haven’t tried the laundry rinse yet but I know vinegar works wonders in the washer. (along with many other uses)

Laundry Rinse (instead of fabric softener)
1 gal white vinegar 25-30 drops essential oil – optional (Straight vinegar works just fine though.) Use 1/4 c in the rinse cycle. I promise your clothes won’t smell like vinegar. The vinegar clears the last bit of soap remaining on all your clothes and reduces static.