To make homemade laundry soap, you need 1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha soap or 1 whole bar of Ivory soap, grated. I have used both, depending on what I had on hand. You also need 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (NOT baking soda), and 1/2 cup Borax. I found all my ingredients at Woodman's. You also need a container to hold your soap in. This recipe makes about a gallon. I keep mine in a 5 quart ice cream bucket. It's best to keep it in a fairly open container as this recipe turns into a pretty solid gel and you will need to be able to scoop it.
I use a cheese grater to grate my soap. It's amazing to me how soft soap really is!
It grates very quickly and easily!
Grate your soap - 1 full bar of Ivory soap or 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha.
Put the grated soap into a pot. Add 6 cups of water and heat until soap is melted.
Add the 1/2 c of washing soda and 1/2 c of borax. Stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Pour 4 cups of water into a bucket. Add the soap mixture and stir.
Add another 6 cups of water and stir again.
Your laundry soap will look like a very runny gel.
Let this sit about 24 hours, stirring every so often. It will end up being a very thick gel, almost solid.
Use 1/4 cup of soap per load of laundry.
I've read that you can add 1/2 to 1 ounce of essential oils to your soap if you want it to have a scent. I haven't tried it yet. I love how clean and fresh it smells as it is.
I love this recipe of laundry soap! I didn't have time to make more last time I ran out and had to buy a bottle of Tide. I can't tell a difference in the cleanliness of our clothes. This recipe cost less than $1 per batch to make!!!