Homemade Laundry Soap

**UPDATE 10-19-12: I am just now finishing my 2nd batch of this stuff! Yes, 2 batches has lasted me an entire year {doing about 3-4 loads of laundry per week}. It is still wonderful. One change I have made is I omitted the purex crystals completely. You can still use them, but they don't make that big of a difference. Please note that my clothes do NOT have much fragrance. They smell clean and this stuff gets out some icky things {baby spit up, food and recently a few spots of blood} but if you're into the flowery scented clothes, this is not it.

First of all, I want to say THANK you to all of you who left your sweet comments & sent me encouraging emails regarding my infertility post. I was so scared to mention it but the response was so uplifting during the days when I really needed it. You all are amazing.

Now on to this super easy recipe. My mom & I teamed up to make homemade laundry soap the other day. The recipe is an altered version of the ones from the Duggars {i absolutely love the duggars}! I was a little hesitant because I normally use liquid detergent... but this saves so much money, is super easy and makes our clothes soft & yummy smelling.

All you need is:

 Ingredients: 

1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar {found in the laundry aisle} 

1 cup Washing Soda {found in the laundry or cleaning aisle}

1/2 cup Borax {found in the laundry aisle}

1/2 cup Purex FABRIC SOFTENER Crystals {optional} - found w/the fabric softener. look closely, cause the purex washing crystals look very similar.

*Make sure to get WASHING soda, not baking soda*

First, grate your fels-naptha with a cheese grater. We used a cheapo one and it worked just fine. 

Using a food processor or blender, pour in the 1/2 cup of purex crystals and blend until fine. You do not have to use this to get your clothes clean, but it will make them softer & add fragrance so I like to use it! Once that's done, add in your grated soap until fine.

Pour your soap/softener mix into a large bowl & mix by hand the borax & washing soda. And I'd definitely recommend not getting too chatty during this part or {like me} you will be tasting soap for a while... definitely not the best when feeling nauseous already! 

And finished! We made a quadruple batch and it filled up 2 of these 74 oz. Ikea canisters. You only need to use 1 Tbsp per load of laundry if you have a top loader & 1/2 Tbsp. if you have a front loader. I haven't made much of a dent in it, but this jar should last about 160 loads in my front loader. 

 I still use dryer sheets because I just LOVE the scent.... and I already had them :) 

 I'm not sure on the exact cost, but we spent under $12 and made a quadruple batch. We also have a lot left over and will be able to make another quadruple batch, only having to buy more of the fels-naptha soap. So I would estimate around $4.50 for this 160 load jar. 

This was my first try at homemade soap and so far it's working great! We may try a liquid soap next time, but it seems a lot more time consuming {although even cheaper}.

Next on my list, I want to make homemade wipes to clean off my puppies feet after we go out. That way I can cut up the paper towels into little tiny bits and not waste any! If you have any good soap recipes I'd love to hear them! Email me at joyisathome {at} hotmail {dot} com. 

Linking here this week:

Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime, Think Pink Sundays @ Flamingo Toes