I made my own laundry detergent

I do a lot of laundry.  It is a constant thing in my house.  And at the end of the day I sometimes want to cry a little when I see Peter's socks and shirt from the day laying in my previously empty laundry basket and realize that you are never, ever, fully caught up.  Anyway.  I'm always trying to find ways to save our family money and since the extreme couponing thing is kinda crazy and a bit too time consuming, I thought I'd try another tactic.....take a hint from the Duggar's and make my own laundry soap.

Once I realized how simple it was, I was sold and decided to try it out.  The cast of characters to make your own is super easy:
*  Borax
*  Washing Soda
*  soap bar
*  hot water
*  5 gallon tub

The Borax and Washing Soda is found in your Wal-Mart laundry section and is pretty cheap, you can also find the bar of soap there (I used Fels-Naptha like the recipe calls for, but I think you can also use Ivory)  The 5 gallon bucket was 50 cents at a local resale store, but you could also buy new at Home Depot/Lowes.

You can find the Duggar family recipe HERE, it's the one I used.

 you grate the soap (used a cheese grater) and melt it on the stove with warm tap water

 measure out and add the washing soda & borax

 combine all ingredients thoroughly in your bucket

 cover & let sit overnight.  The next day stir it well because it will have "gelled" somewhat

I used a funnel and filled an old, empty laundry detergent dispenser with my new homemade detergent.  This makes it super easy to use....just make sure you shake it a bit before each use

I used the laundry detergent today and so far, so good.  The clothes are nice and clean, and smell good.  And the recipe makes a ton of detergent so I'm set for awhile.  And I still have tons of leftover washing soda & borax for the next batch.  I'll just have to buy another bar of soap (I think it was $1?) 

If you do a lot of laundry or just want to try to find a way to stretch your household budget, you should give this a try.  Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it.  Thanks Duggars for sharing your recipe, it was fun to make and I sure do love saving a buck!