Well..we are out of laundry soap again. The good news is I don't have to wait for the next annoying trip to the store (hate shopping) where i get to lug 2 or 3 large gallon containers. Instead, I just go under the sink and pull out a trusty bar of Fels Naptha. It is getting to the point where making laundry soap is only taking me about 15-20 minutes and most of that is just waiting for the soap to melt.
For those who haven't seen the recipe it is easy as pie and literally so cheap.
1 bar Fels naptha
2 Cups of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda ( not Baking soda!!)
2 Cups of Borax
All you do is chop the soap into small pieces. I used to be very fancy with this and use a cheese grater and even my food processor one time, but really I am lazy now and just use a steak knife. I find if you just shave the bar into pieces it is just as effective and the knife is easy to clean.
You add the soap pieces to hot/boiling water on the stove. I just use maybe a half a gallon in a large saucepan. The amount doesn't matter just leave head room in the pot as it will boil over if you boil the water to hard. Stir the hot soapy water on occasion and once melted pour the mixture into the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket (with a lid..drowning hazard for little ones). Add the Washing Soda and Borax. The fill the bucket quantity sufficient to within an inch or so of the top of the bucket. Stir the mix well. About every few hours I take my hand to the bottom of the bucket to mix up the solids that like to settle out. Once it starts to cool it will start to gel, this can take up to 24 hours, but i find using the extra dry ingredients (original recipe was for 1 cup and 1 cup) it seems to set up faster and have a better consistency.
I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup in our top loader and my mom uses no more then 1/4 cup in a front loading high efficiency. It costs pennies a load! and works great.
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