Duggar Inspired....

A few years ago when I watched one of the first episodes of the Duggars, they talked about how they save money. One of their big things is that they buy used and save the difference. Another thing is that they made some of their own clothes and soaps, etc. So in an effort to save money, I decided to try making my own laundry detergent.

Here is the recipe that the Duggars use:
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Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!
TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can often be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.
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I used a Dove Soap Bar for Sensitive Skin. Bonham and the kids all have very sensitive skin, so to reduce skin issues in our house, we have been using All Free & Clear Detergent, which runs $10-12 (depending on sales or coupons) for a Large Container and will do about 96 loads of laundry. I figured that it was worth a shot to try this recipe. The first few loads of laundry that I did weren't really 'dirty clothes', they were the ones that you would wear and you just put them in the hamper because, well, you wore them, so they aren't 'clean'. The third load was the real TEST. Jayna had spilled some chocolate milk on her shirt and shorts. So I washed them with my new laundry soap and they came out clean!!! I'm sold on it! I know its only $10 a month (we do a lot of laundry), but that $120 a year and over the next 18 years, that's over $2,000 that we could put towards something else... maybe something that pays us interest. You have to start somewhere, right?

Here is what I used (minus the water, because you know what that looks like!)

I cooked it on my stove top....
I mixed it in this 5 gallon bucket
(which was the most expensive part of the whole thing - $4 for the bucket)
The end result that night:

put the lid on it....Get someone a little stronger to get the lid on there securely.... =)

And I don't have any pictures of the end result, because it didn't look much different over the next few days. I haven't put mine into a laundry dispenser. I put a little bit in a water bottle-like container so that its easily accessible. I considered counting the loads that I have done, but I haven't.... I have probably done 10+ loads and no complaints yet!