So I've always been curious about making my own laundry detergent--I go through a big bottle of that stuff in no time, and I hate to keep forking out the money for it. I was talking to a friend the other day who makes her own, and her recipe only calls for 3 ingredients, plus water. Sounded simple enough--thought I'd give it a try, and I actually think I'm going to like it. The recipe I used is posted online
here--The Duggars on the TLC show use it and seem to be super thrifty, yet clean. I figure that if anyone knows how to make laundry soap, that mama probably knows better! (She's going on her 19th child, so I hear!) I used the recipe for the liquid detergent--she says it's the best deal, so I believed her! So, it took me all of maybe 5 minutes to melt the grated bar of soap in water and mix it all up. I then let it set up overnight--made a congealed, strange texture which looked a little strange, truthfully, but it smells nice and clean. I stirred it up and poured it into a used laundry soap bottle that I had, and tried it out this morning. My clothes look and smell clean enough for me, so I'm happy! Best part--I didn't do the math, but I read that this stuff costs 2-3 cents per load. I seriously think if might even be less--it made sooo much detergent! I'm going to be using this batch alone for probably a year! If you're interested in making your own, I couldn't find the Fels-Naptha bar or the Washing Soda at Walmart--had to go to Dillons to get them, but these are cheap ingredients--under 10 dollars for lots of months worth of detergent. Oh--and if you're looking for a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, I've heard Walmart has them to give away in the bakery dep't--they get their icing in the buckets and like to get rid of them after it's used up.