Homemade Laundry Detergent

About a week and a half ago, the kids and I were reading a couple of chapters from the book American Pioneers and Patriots as part of our History/Geography lesson.  It has been a wonderful book so far. 

We were studying the English Pioneers and learning how everything they have was homemade.  My older girls were just amazed and fascinated with how the young girls and their mothers had to make their own soap.  I had been meaning to try out the Homemade Laundry Detergent recipe that my friend, Tracy Grooms, gave me.  When a couple of us got together recently, she demonstrated how easy it was, so I thought it would be a great Homeschool project for Buhl Academy, especially since it fit right in with what we were learning!  I took some pictures so we could share it with you.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha bar soap
1cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (found at Kroger...not baking soda or Arm and Hammer detergent: must be sodium carbonate!)
1/2 cup Borax
5 gallon bucket with lid

Step 1:  Grate bar of soap.

 Step 2:  Fill saucepan with 4 cups hot tap water:

Step 3:  Add soap shavings to saucepan.

Step 4:  Stir continually over med/low heat until all soap shavings have melted.

Step 5:  Fill a 5-gallon bucket half full with hot tap water.

Step 6:  Add melted soap, washing soda, and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved.

Step 7:  Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover, and let sit overnight to thicken.

Step 8:  Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry detergent dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake bottle before each use.
*This stuff gets really jelly like. Stir it in the 5-gallon bucket before you add it to your manageable dispenser and make sure you shake the bottle before each use.

**Option: you can add 10-15 drops of essential oil, like lavender, rosemary, etc. per 2 gallons. Add oil only once soap has cooled next day.

For Top Load machines: use 5/8 cup per load (approx. 180 loads)

For HE and Front load machines: use 1/4 cup per load (approx. 640 loads)

Hope you enjoy!

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10