Prayers

Feb 26, 2014

Bi-Annual Laundry Soap Making

It be time to make the laundry soap again!!

I made my first batch at the end of September of last year (2013) and have just now run out of it.  I love this stuff.  It does not suds up much but everything gets very clean and my washer always smells fresh.

This is a pinterest project for me and here is the link where I got it.


Ingredients: 
(1) 3 lb. 7 oz. box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda $3.24
(1) 4 lb. box Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda                     2.24
(1) 4 lb. 12 oz. box 20 Mule Team Borax                                3.97
(1) 3 lb. box Oxi Clean                                                             7.52
(3) bars Zote Soap ( or Fels Naptha) grated                               .97
Total for 5 months of laundry soap (your use may vary)     $17.94

You can also add any kind of the good smelling stuff if you want.

Before I tried making my own, I would buy the cheapest I could get away with, which was usually a brand called Extra.  It's very cheap and very good, but not this cheap.  Even buying that I went through at least $30 in 5 months.  You should really try this.  The hardest part is grating the soap, assuming you have access to a 5 gallon bucket.

All you do is grate up the bar soap and mix it all up.  I use a trash bag inside a 5 gallon bucket for storage and fill up one of the little Oxi Clean containers for daily use on my laundry counter.  The little scoop in the Oxi Clean works well as a measure for putting it in.  All you need is about 2 tablespoons per load.

With the boy's clothes I sometimes use more, but only for a really dirty or smelly load.

I am very pleased to announce that basketball season is over for this year.  Hallelujah!!  Our lives can now get back to their regular schedule, and the laundry should be less complicated too!  I practically break out in hives if I have to leave the house for fear that someone with good intentions will put the basketball stuff in the dryer.  I have guarded that stuff with my life!  I'm happily turning it all back in and looking forward to no more late night (for me--but I am ready for bed by 9 most nights) trips out in freezing weather to wait for a bus!  No more practices!  Life is good, and spring is coming, despite the polar plunge we have been enduring lately.

I highly, highly recommend you give this a try.  I don't think you will be disappointed or I wouldn't give you such a big recipe.  There are smaller amount recipe's you can find if you just want to try it.  Or ask me, I have plenty and am willing to share.  The only other thing that might be hard about this is if you don't have a grater.  If you do not have a grater, go to a second hand store and buy one.  It will probably cost no more than a dollar or two, and if you are not grating your own cheese, well..............you should be.  But that's another blog post.  

PS  Don't feel bad about using your cheese grater to grate up laundry soap.  It's soap!