Homemade Laundry Soap

I like the idea of reducing my monthly living costs and my footprint on our planet. One thing I started doing was looking at the items I buy at the grocery store and analyzing what was costing me the most each month. One area that I found most expensive was related to cleaning supplies, and laundry soap. 

Borax, Washing Soda, Lye Soap, and Baking Soda

Homemade laundry soap is easy and inexpensive to make.  There are a lot of recipes on the Internet and this one was simple and quick. You only need a few items, and most of them can be found at Walmart. I haven't sat down with a calculator but the cost seems to be just pennies a load. 

Homemade Laundry Soap

You will need these items to begin;
1)   A large bucket with a lid ($5 at the local tractor supply)*
2)   1 cup grated lye soap (Cracker Barrell offers them)
3)   1/4 cup borax
4)   1/4 cup baking soda 
5)   1/4 cup washing soda 
6)   1-2 gallons of water - if making liquid soap

Using a cheese grater grate the lye soap. Then spread the lye on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to dry overnight. Mix all the ingredients together. If you want want to use the laundry soap in the dry form use 1-2 tablespoons per load.
*You won't need the large bucket if your making dry laundry soap. 

If you want to make a liquid laundry soap place ingredients and a gallon of water into a large pot. While stiring, warm up the batch until all items have blended together. Pour into the large bucket and add another gallon of warm water. Stir well. You could add a few drops of essential oil if you wanted scented soap. 

Note: About once or twice per month you may want to add a cup a vinegar to your wash. I know it is very good for your blankets, sheets, and cleans your machine, and it does not make your laundry smell like vinegar.

I recycled my empty liquid laundry soap dispenser. I refill it as needed.