Make Your Own Liquid Laundry Detergent and Save!!

I have been making my own laundry detergent for several months and really LOVE it! It gets the clothes really clean and is easy to make - and, of course, really CHEAP!

Here is the recipe I have been using, but I am also giving you this page that has 10 slightly different recipes for making laundry detergent (liquid and dry), so you can try and see what works best for you.

1 bar of soap (I like to use Fels-Naptha)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda)
1/2 cup Borax

Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.

Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water into the five gallon bucket (fill up three gallon milk jugs). Then mix the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.

And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used. One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry – and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent.

This will NOT suds - the suds don't clean the clothes, the other ingredients do. So don't fret!

Try it out and see if you like it - it will definitely save you money!

Make Your Own SAFE & CHEAP Cleaning Products!

These are my most requested recipes - homemade cleaning products. I used to make and use these when we lived in Myrtle Beach, SC, but I got away from it when we moved to Mexico. Then last summer I realized how silly it was to be struggling financially and buying all those expensive cleaning products when I like the homemade ones better. So I went out at bought three things: Borax, baking soda and white vinegar. Yep, that's it! Three ingredients for most all of these recipes. Tomorrow I will tell you about making laundry detergent, and that requires two other ingredients: Washing Soda and Fels Naptha Soap.

Here are the recipes:

Window/Glass Cleaner
1/2 white vinegar
1/2 water
Mix equal parts to fill your spray container.

All Purpose Cleaner (like 409)
1 quart warm or hot water
1 tsp. Borax
squeeze of lemon juice or splash of vinegar
Mix together and pour into spray container.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Sprinkle baking soda around the toilet bowl, wait for a few minutes, scrub with toilet bowl brush and flush.

Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Borax
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup salt
Mix together and store in a container (I like to use old Gatorade or powdered drink mix containers). Use 1 Tablespoon per wash load. For spot-free dishes, put white vinegar in rinse compartment. Also, if you have a problem with getting a film on your dishes, put a couple of drops of liquid dish detergent (like Dawn) in with the dishwasher detergent.

Enjoy a clean and healthy home!