DIY Laundry Detergent

I've recently set out on a new endeavor, I decided I was DONE! Done paying those high prices for laundry detergent, with a family of 5 the amount of laundry I do is enormous. It seems as though every day I can do a load of laundry, as soon as I've done my load I turn around only to find that my hamper has been filled again. Okay, okay that might be a small exaggeration but seriously that is the way it feels. I thought I would try something different. Most recipes for making laundry detergent doesn't really call for anything fragrant, and because I just can't let that go I decided to add a few scoops ofdowny unstopables   to my detergent, therefor giving it a wonderful smell. And hey if I have some laundry that I feel needs and extra boost of fragrance I just add a bit more. 

-You will need-

1 LARGE pot

1 long spoon

A grater

A measuring cup

A container to put your detergent in (I used gallon jugs)

-Recipe-

1 bar if soap (any kind)

1 cup of borax

1 cup of washing soda

2 gallons of water

2 tablespoons of downy unstopabbles

 

You will notice I don't have the washing soda, my store was out of the washing soda and instead of driving to another store and lugging my three children with me, I just decided to make my own washing soda. You can do this easily by baking your baking soda at 400 degrees for 1 hour, and just stir it around every now and then. You will know when it's changed because the washing soda looks more course than regular baking soda.

 Now grate your soap in your BIG pot, this really doesn't take long at all. My detergent came out quite thick so you might want to use only half of the bar of soap. That will help out a bit with the consistency.

Fill your gallon jug up and pour that water into your pot, turn the heat on and let the soap melt. There will be a few suds but not enough to worry about.

After your soap is melted, add 1 cup of borax, and 1 cup of washing soda mix well.

Add 2 tablespoons of unstopabbles and stir

Those turned my detergent a slight green color. Add one more gallon of COLD water.

Now put your detergent in your containers, the consistency will still be thin like water. Let it sit over night and it thickens up quite a bit. It's a really weird consistency but it still works :) for extra dirty or smelly laundry you can add some extra Borax, and or unstopables.

While it cost me a whopping  $13.50 plus tax, I can make an immense amount of laundry detergent from this simple ingredients. So when you do the math, I'm saving a HUGE amount of money. 

Congratulations, you have now made your very first batch of laundry detergent. Enjoy and please comment below to let me know how yours turned out.