frugally {green} ~ making the Duggars' laundry soap!

UPDATE {5/26/12}


Our first batch lasted our little family of two over 15 months in our top-load washer!  It is the BEST laundry detergent I've ever used!!  Here's what I've learned since we started making our own:

1. I'll NEVER buy detergent again.  This stuff WORKS!
2. Vinegar is a fantastic fabric softener! The clothes smell like vinegar when they come out of the wash, but the dryer makes that smell magically disappear.  I'll NEVER ever buy fabric softener again either.
3. The whites do need some extra help staying white.  The more I learn about chlorine bleach, the more I'm convinced I need to just keep it out of my house.  Luckily, using 1/4 teaspoon of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing with my whites and drying them in the sun is BETTER than bleach!  I haven't gone through my entire 8 oz bottle of Mrs. Stewart's, but I'm thinking it will last me at least a year (unless I have the privilege of washing cloth diapers every other day, which will drastically increase my usage of all my laundry supplies!)
4. I switched soaps for this new batch in anticipation of washing the cloth diapers waiting to be worn and wanting to have something "more organic" for the baby's laundry.  Buying Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap was an increase over the .97 I paid for Fels-Naptha, but the ingredients are organic and the smell is heavenly!

~Happy Washing!!!~

{Original Post: 2/16/11} 
Moving 2,600 miles is a big change. Huge. One of many changes we've been adjusting to is our new (very much reduced from what we felt was an already pretty small) Dave-Ramsey-Inspired BUDGET.

I'm a frugal girl.  I also am a practical girl.  If something costs more and the convenience outweighs the amount of effort/time that goes into saving a few pennies, then I'd rather go for the convenience.  On the other hand, I also care about keeping my family healthy, reducing the harmful chemicals I bring into our home, and trying to do my little part to take care of the earth (without being a wacko).

So, as we were throwing out all of the chemicals/liquids that we weren't allowed to put on the moving truck, I remembered reading this post by MckMama about all of her tips for natural cleaning . I love the idea of buying the Goats Milk Stuff laundry detergent, but wanted to try my hand at making my own like the Duggars do!  I researched researched researched and saw SO MANY great comments and blog posts about how well their soap recipe works and that an entire 5 gallon bucket-full costs TWO DOLLARS to make ~ and took me less than a half-hour of my time (seriously!) 

Full Disclosure:  My initial investment was about $13 (still less than the cost of the Costco stuff I used to buy) and I have most of the box of Borax, Washing Soda, and Lavender left for the next batch when I need to make it sometime in 2014.  Total cost of the actual 5 gallons of detergent (*which will yield TEN gallons) I made ~ about $2.00 ~ which should last about 180 loads in our top load washer (since our poor HE washer was destroyed in the move... so so so sad!)

Supplies I had to buy:

• Home Depot: 5 gallon bucket WITH LID (one blogger said this is super-important) + free stir stick ~ $2.57
• Publix: Borax, Washing Soda, Fels Naptha Soap, Essential Oil of Lavender ~ about $10 Total

Supplies I had on hand:

• Empty laundry detergent bottle
• Cheese grater (because I don't own a food processor)
• Big Saucepan
• Measuring cups

Here's where I got the recipe from the Duggars (check out all of their other ginormously portioned recipes!) Below, their recipe is in red and my personal comments are in green :))

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. I stirred and stirred and stirred, but it was pretty clumpy.  When I had broken up the clumps somewhat, I scooped it into a giant glass measuring cup and used a whisk to get it smooth enough to pour into the laundry detergent bottle.  Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online. Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

I'm feeling pretty darn excited about the fact that we've completely removed all of the harsh chemicals from our laundry (I'm using vinegar for fabric softener) and our clothes look / smell just fine to me!  I have seen some bloggers comment that it's hard to keep their whites looking "white" with this, so we'll see if that happens for us too.

Let me know if you dare to try it out or have any of your own frugal all-natural cleaning tips!!