It seems that everyone is making laundry soap and saving money. I thought I would enlighten those of you that have not quite got into the money saving mode on making laundry soap yet.
I know, you are thinking that I am totally nuts and you are probably right, but play along with me for a few minutes before you make the assessment on how nuttie I am.
There are several ideas out there and what works best for you and your family will obviously be your decision. My sister buys fragrance free laundry soap
and adds her own essential or fragrance oils and makes it a fragrance she likes. That is a great idea for those that find some fragrances obnoxious. I am one of those people. My new favorite fragrance is one part of oatmeal, milk and honey fragrance oil and two parts baby powder fragrance oil. This does not really smell like either fragrance. It is a light fragrance that smells like an old fashioned man's shaving lotion. I think both men and women will like this fragrance. Well, back to the topic at hand.
The basic 3 ingredients are: shredded bar soap, borax, and washing powder. The bar soap can be most any kind, but Fels-Naptha is what most people reach for. The bar is 5.5 ounces and it is an obnoxious smelling bar! The soap wrapper states that the bar is a heavy duty laundry bar soap. The ingredients listed are cleaners, soil and stain removers, chelating agents, colorants, and perfume. Mine usually state that I use some type of specified fats, water, lye, colorant, fragrance, etc. The washing powder is from Arm and Hammer and the Borax is the 20 Mule Team kind. All of these ingredients can be found in the cleaning isle of the local grocery or discount store. You can also add baking soda and Oxi-clean, test out the original recipe and see what works for you. The three original ingredients are used in equal amounts of one cup each. Each load of laundry only required approx. 2 tablespoons of soap. Don't expect a lot of bubbles, but it does clean.
As you have noticed, this is powdered laundry soap. Some people prefer liquid. This can be done by placing the shredded soap in water and melting it down with the use of a double boiler. Once this is done, you can add the other two ingredients until dissolved. It may take up to 24 hours for your soap to thicken and set up. A 5 gallon bucket works great for the storage of your laundry soap.
In place of the Fels-Naptha soap, I use my homemade soap. I usually have a bar or two of soap that is not pretty enough to sell or gift to anyone. Using a hand shredder is fine, but if you have a food processor that can be allocated for soap shredding only, it would be the easiest way.
Once the three fragrances are together, you can add a fragrance. You may purchase them at a hobby store in the soap making isle. Essential oil fragrances may be purchased at a health food store. If you wish, you can purchase fragrances at soap making supply stores. Most are not available to us, except on line. Some have small bottles and sample sized bottles. Experiment and have a great time.
I hope this helps you with saving money, or your quest at getting back to nature. If you have questions, or suggestions, I would be happy to hear from you. This makes a great gift. I recently used a plastic bag, tucked into a pretty fabric bag.
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| Wouldn't this make a good gift? |
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