Small Batch- Laundry Detergent

Greetings all!

Per request (kinda) I have made and taken pictures of me making laundry detergent.

I've been using this little recipe for several months with no problems. If you have dirty children or are a bit on the dirty side yourself you may have to increase the amounts of ingredients. No biggie. I'm sure you'll figure it out. :-)

Now. On with the show!

First thing first: Ingredients.

This is a pretty easy list:
Borax, Super Washing Soda and a bar soap (I use Dr. Bronner's in liquid form, cause I can)

Seriously, though, I use liquid form so  I don't have to deal with shaving the bar soap down. ICK!

The Borax and Washing Soda can be found in the detergent isle and shouldn't run you more than a few bucks each.

Dr. Bronner's is a bit more expensive, but worth it and lasts FOREVER. If yer into saving the dough, just grab a bar soap (I'd stick with a castile  version though).

Next: Utensils.... Very sexy.... wait. What? Nevermind.... going on.

I use that square bucket with a lid to keep from splashing all over the place. I've learned that this project is much easier with tall sides. You could also do this directly on the stove in a TALL pot. To each their own :-)

Oh, also you'll need a tablespoon, a spatula and a container to hold your homemade laundry soap in.

I've been using a  small TIDE container. This makes about 15 loads or so. I end up making this often, but that way I don't forget how. :-)

Oops! You may want an extra bowl at this step :-)

Measure 3 Tablespoons of Washing Soda and Borax.
Make sure there are no lumpies. This will just cause you problems later.
Set that aside for a second.

Okie dokie!!!


Step One:

Measure 3 Tablespoons of your liquid (or painstakingly shaved) soap into your container.
You may have noticed that all ingredients are in equal parts....Brava!

Carrying on...

Step Two:

Add about 1/2 cup of boiling water. I use this handy tea maker thingy maboob from Toastmasters.You could also just do this on the stove, keeping the heat very, very low.

Stir. Stir. Stir. Especially if you're dissolving bar soap.

Step Three:

Grab that blue (or whatever color) bowl of Borax and Soda... Go on... Throw it in there.

Now. Mix. Mix. Stir. Smash. Whatever you gotta do. This will take some elbow grease. It does help the hotter the water is.

Once you feel you have gotten rid of all (most all) of the little dots, you will have a pretty thick gel-like substance, which clearly you cannot see in the above photo. :-)

Now add about a cup of boiling water.

Stir I tell you! STIR! Like you have never stirred before!
*This may be a good place to put the lid on and stick your hand inside to run amuck.

Excellent. Bubbles. Just what we want. And lots of 'em. That way you know you've been stirring.

Now walk away for awhile. Time to let the bubbles become one with the gel.

Here it is starting to gel at the bottom:

And... Here it is about 20 minutes later, ready for the next step:

At this point the soap is GEL. Really. It's pretty thick (if you've been successful). I pour a little bit more boiling water in, just to make it easier to pour.

Step Last:

Pour into your container of choice and fill with hot water. Put the lid on ;-) and shake.

I use a lid (about 1/2 cup) per load, extra if there's something particularly dirty going in.

Always give it a good shake before using. This can gel up when just sitting around.

Be proud of your thriftiness!