Friends, the day I learned of this recipe was the day my life was changed forever. I’ve always heard of making your own laundry detergent, but was born a skeptic and needed proof. Some friends of mine found this recipe and tried it. They told me about it and one of them, being an even bigger skeptic than me sang its praises. So I tried it, and was very pleased with the results. So pleased in fact, that I’ve been using it now for three years and wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking. You’re brand loyal and that’s fine. Some of you might also be thinking that you buy “green” or “eco” detergent, and that’s fine, too. But here’s my pitch: What if I told you that you could make a totally biodegradable soap for pennies, and it works great! Any takers? How about I give you the recipe to try for yourself, and you can thank me later.
Ingredients:
- 1 bar of soap grated (2 cups at least)
- 1 cup Borax
Now, when I say 1 bar of soap, essentially it can be any soap. A popular one to use that is biodegradable is Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap. You could use Dial if you wanted to. I use Fels Naptha, a laundry soap with a whole host of other uses.
Steps:
- Melt the soap in one quart of water on the stove.
- When melted, add it to a 2 gallon container. That’s right, this makes two gallons of soap!
- Add one cup of Borax and washing soda, mix, then fill with more water to make two gallons.
You only use 1/4 cup per load of laundry, so the two gallons lasts forever! One thing I should mention: it separates, so shake it each time before you use it. Let me know what you think! You can check out more fun homestead-y things on my blog.