Home made laundry soap & fabric softener

For many years I have seen recipes for homemade laundry soaps and fabric softeners. I was always very weary about trying these. I did some research , by reading blogs that others have posted. There were so many posts about it, and so many fantastic reviews! I thought what do I have to lose?

I researched the recipe for the soap and pretty much every recipe was the exact same. Which made me feel really good about trying to make the soaps. It seemed fairly easy after all it's simply adding the proper amounts of soaps, melting and stirring. And the ingredients are fairly cheap as well! I spent nearly $10.00 to make both the laundry soap and fabric softener. Which landed me with over 200 ounces of laundry soap and 111 ounces of fabric softener. If your all about saving money on things you use every day, then this is the stuff for you!

I was nearing the end of my laundry soap stock pile. All purchased with the coupons that I had collected. We had 14 bottles and I went though it like water! So when I opened my last bottle two days ago I felt really upset, because I would possibly start paying a ton of money on more soaps. If you really stop and think about it, your basically flushing your hard earned money (and time by couponing) down the drain. I hate wasting money! Thus why I am a coupon addict! A bottle of Tide laundry soap is well over $10. I think that's crazy! We only have Tide when I had a great coupon deal, or the other expensive brands. Same goes with liquid fabric softener.

Yesterday, I went to Target with my list of items I needed to make my soap and softener. I had pretty much memorized the items, since I had read several articles on how to do. I picked up a box of Borax for $2.99. I searched all over for the rest of the items, and they didn't have the washing soda or Fles-Naptha soap bars. So we went to Wal-Mart. I thought I'd have trouble finding the last two things, but it was an easy find! Both right next to each other, it's like Wal-Mart keeps the soap making items together, very cool! I grabbed a box of Arm & Hammer Super washing Soda for $2.50 and a bar of Fles-Naptha soap for .98 cents. I also saw the Borax for $2.98, but I had already gotten it. I also bought a big bottle of vinegar for $1.88 and a bottle of Sauve Refreshing Waterfalls conditioner for .98 cents. All those items including a bag of marsh mellows for my marshmallow monster Nick and a pepsi cost me $11.00. So grand total for all the supplies is less than $10.

I started making the soap and follows these directions...
What you'll need:

• 1/2 Cup: Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda {not Baking Soda}
• 1/2 Cup: Borax
• 1/3 Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap {you could also use Ivory soap, but if using Ivory… use the whole bar}
• Bucket {2 gallon size or larger}
• Empty laundry detergent containers or bucket with lid to store detergent. It makes over 200 ounces so use the biggest you have.

 What you'll do:

• Grate 1/3 bar of Fels-Naptha Soap over large pot or saucepan…

I used my hand grater. Helped me grate it up faster! I feel mighty strong now :)

After you've grated the Fles-Naptha

• Add 6 cups of Water.
• Heat over medium-high until soap dissolves and melts.

I used the grater to stir that way it melted off the soap that got caked on...It melts pretty quickly. I kept string to even the heat and prevent it from scorching.

Now....

• Add Washing Soda & Borax, and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

 Looks like this....Soapy water....

Then....

• Pour 4 cups Hot Water into bucket, then add Soap Mixture.
• Stir, then add 1 Gallon + 6 Cups of additional water.  Stir.

And finally.....

• Transfer to a bucket with a lid, or pour into empty laundry detergent containers.
• Set aside, and let it sit overnight, or up to 24 hours, to thicken and gel up.
• Consistency and color will vary depending on your soap & water ~ it may be lumpy and watery… kind of like a watery gel, but it works! great!
• Stir or shake before each use, as it will continue to gel.
• Good job…you did it!

Like I said I got A LOT! You use a 1/2 cup for each load. Maybe more depending on how dirty your load is. Remember that suds do not equal clean. The clothes are still getting clean even if there aren't a ton of suds. Which has take a lot for me to get used to. I usually see my wash basin with some foam after the wash has finished. I was able to catch a load on a rinse cycle and it does sud a little. So, that made me feel good. I've read some blogs where some have use more amounts of the ingredients, but I went with I saw the most.

Oh! I almost forgot about the fabric softener! Also SO easy! Smells very nice as well and makes towels feel fabulous! Who would have thought that vinegar makes clothing soft! I never knew that! But it's a proven fact!

What you'll need....

• 6 cups HOT water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}. I personally like the smell of the Refreshing Waterfall. 

 What you'll do....

• Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
• Add the vinegar, and mix well.
• Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc} I used an empty rinsed milk gallon. Then transferred into a economy sized empty Shout container and and empty Downy container. The gallon makes for easier prep and shaking since you'll need two containers. Unless you have a huge one!
• Pour into a downy ball… or use approx. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

Just so you know I used the entire bottle of Sauve conditioner. So I suggest spending an extra dollar or less and buy the family size. The size I bought was just under two cups of conditioner. I just added some of the mixture to the bottle and gave it a shake to get what I couldn't squeeze from the bottle. Like I said I have used this before and it does indeed work!

Anyhow that's it! I spent a little over an hour doing these. I put the boys to bed and was completely uninterrupted, which made for a very stress free time. I hope you try this and enjoy!


PS: People have asked how it smells? I think it smells nice. Plus, if your going to make fabric softener that should cover the soap smell if you don't like it.You can also use the fabric softener in the dryer! Gather some clean rags, and a spray bottle, spritz about 3-4 of the softener soultion onto the cloth and toss in the dryer. Re-wash and re-use! Also great for cleaning the TV, after they've been though the dryer of course.

I also made liquid hand soap from bared soap.
Baby wipes
and foaming baby wash!
I'll blog about those another time!

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