So with that being said..I have had NO desire to coupon once so ever. Yes. There I said it. No desire for couponing! :) My laundry detergent stockpile has depleted. I have not been able to catch a good sale on laundry detergent since my "morning sickness" episode has stopped.. So I came up with another solution... Homemade Laundry Detergent! :)
So heres what you are going to need.
- Borax
- Washing Soda
- Pure Baking Soda
- Any brand of cheap soap.. for me it was Olay. I have a mass stock of Olay bar soap so this is the perfect chance for me to get rid of a couple of bars! :)
- Gallon jug (I used a milk jug)
- 5 gallon bucket with a lid (You can get these at Lowes for around 4 bucks!)
- Cheese Grater or old food processor. (I used an old cheese grater that Ive had since the beginning of time!)
- An old Stock pot or sauce pan--something that you will never need to use again for any food purposes
- Spoon or SOME type of tool to stir with! :)
The Borax..Super Washing Soda and Pure Baking soda can be found all in certain Wal-Marts! I purchased this stuff all at the same Wal-Mart right off Fort Jackson in Columbia so I know its possible to find them all in the same place! If not.. the Piggly Wiggly in Lamar does carry Borax and baking soda! :)
So the first thing you need to do is start boiling 4 cups of water. Then you will need to do is grate your soap. The recipe I used called for 1 bar of soap, but I used 1 and a half.
After you have grated the soap.. take the shavings and place them in the 4 cups of boiling water. Turn heat down to low-medium and melt the shavings completely in the water.
After the shavings have melted SLOWLY add 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washer soda, and 1 cup of baking soda.
Stir the mixture while simmering on low. If the mixture doesnt dissolved into the water.. add another cup of water.
Make sure you STIR and put the heat on LOW. You will end up with a mess like this...
You are not supposed to bring it to a boil. If you do, you will hear a loud "POOF" and then stuff spilling all over your stove. Yeah. Hard lesson learned. But I made another batch... and everything was okay. On a brighter note.. I do have a VERY clean stove. Its pretty amazing how clean this stuff makes your stove..and floor.. and countertops...;)
Anyway! After everything has dissolved and you have a thick solution in your pot.. its time to move it to the big 5 gallon bucket! :)
You are going to need the gallon jug also. Fill it up with hot water from your faucet... dump it in the bucket. Repeat this 2 more times.
Then take the mixture from the stove and SLOWLY.. SLOWLY pour it into the water in the 5 gallon bucket!
Stir until completed.
Put the lid on the bucket and let the mixture sit for 24 hours.
Use 1 cup of the mixture per laundry load.
Notice the little white spots on the floor.. that was from the "explosion" that happened to the previous batch. This is not my finished product. I still have to wait a few more hours before opening the bucket. I will let you know how this turns out! :)
**This mixture may NOT gel up...and if it doesnt thats OKAY. Its not about what the stuff looks like its more so about if it works to clean laundry.**
