Tutorial: DIY Laundry Soap

Happy Wednesday!

 It's time for another chapter in "The Many Adventures of the Homemaking Intern" series.

We do a lot of laundry. A LOT. In a family of eight though -  including two very rambunctious, seemingly always muddy little boys - that's pretty much the norm. :-)

However, with the running average of about 

14-21 loads of week,

buying enough laundry soap to meet that quota 

can get expensive. 

So, we started making our own! 

Logistics: 

Average bottle of liquid laundry soap = around $5.00 per 40 loads

One batch of homemade powdered laundry soap = around $2.00 per 40 loads

Pretty awesome! 

Here's how we do it:

Get all of your ingredients together

Grab your bar of soap,

and start cutting it

into small chunks.

Drop it into your food processor,

and pulse 

until powdered. Depending on the humidity of the store the soap was bought at, the bar might have too much moisture in it to turn into a powder - instead, it will look something like this.

If this happens, you will need to press the little soap pearls through a sieve in order to get it to powder. It's a hassle of an extra step, but will be worth it in the long run. :-)

Okie dokie! 

Now, pour in your washing soda,

and your borax.

Stir until combined.

Finally, write out your label,

and you're done!!

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Top load machine (Recipe via www.duggarfamily.com) 

1   Fels-Naptha or Zote soap bar

1  Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½  Cup Borax

-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

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Linking up at Raising Homemakers!