Homemade Laundry Detergent!!!

I have been experimenting with home made cleaning products recently to stretch our budget a little bit.  So far, what I have found has been promising.  I made a 5 gallon batch of liquid laundry detergent in October and used it.  It seemed to work just as well as the store bought stuff and cost probably about $1.00 to make.


Here's the recipe. Try it and see what you think!

1 bar of soap (I used Ivory but you can use anything but a "beauty bar")
1/2 cup of Borax
1/2 cup of Washing Soda (I bought the Borax and this at Hannaford)
Tap Water

Grate the bar of soap and add 3 quarts of water to it in a sauce pan.  Heat and make a solution.  When the soap is melted add the Borax and Washing Soda and stir until completely mixed.  Let sit and cool for a while.
Fill a clean, 5 gallon bucket with hot tap water.  Take two cups of the hot water and pour into the solution.  Mix and add solution to the bucket of hot water. Let sit for 24 hours.  You can store it in the bucket (I do, and I keep a lid from an old detergent bottle to add detergent to the wash) or pour into empty, smaller containers.  You will need to shake or stir the mixture before you add it to the wash.

If you want scented detergent you can add 60 drops of lavender extract to the mixture before letting it sit.  I still use store bought fabric softener so I didn't add any scent but I have heard that you can use vinegar as fabric softener and toss a balled up piece of tin foil into your dryer to get rid of the static.  Has anyone tried that?

Good Luck!