About 6 months ago I started making my own Laundry Soap. I was very sceptical. I have two toddlers who stain everything. Well, I searched for recipes and eventually took a few things from different ones.
Here is what I came up with:
Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with HOT water. Grate 1 bar Ivory or Dove soap bar and half of a Tom's of Main soap bar into sauce pan with 4 cups of water and heat until dissolved. Add soap/water mixture to the half full 5 gallon bucket. Add to the bucket 1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing soda (not baking soda...washing soda can be found in the laundry section in most major stores) and 1/2 cup Borax. Stir well to completely combine ingredients and fill the bucket to the top with more hot water. Stir again and let sit for 24-48 hours to do it's "thing". After that you can add some essential oils to the mixture if desired. I like to use lavender, orange, lemongrass...ect...about 20 drops.
You can either leave the mixture in the bucket and scoop out 1 cup per load (1/2 cup for front loaders) or funnel it into pourable containers like recycled laundry bottles, milk jugs or even pitchers.
The liquid will be sort of "goopy" but it you pour it into the flow of water when you turn your washer on it will dissolve right away. Other wise, like for a front loader you could add a bit of water to it before adding to the wash.
For fabric softener, well...to be honest usually I just don't need it. Our clothes and linens come out really soft and clean. For the days when I just really want to ensure super softness (like my sheet washing day) I will get out my Downy ball, fill to the line with vinegar and add it to the wash. It will not make your clothes smell like vinegar at all. The clothes will come out soft, smelling great and clean! This also helps with any residue or hard water build up in your machine.
My daughter has really sensitive skin so I don't use dryer sheets or anything like that. You could add an herb sachel to the dryer if you just need that extra pretty smell in the house! I may do a tutorial on those soon!
Another method is to grate and process your soaps and add them to the Borax and Washing soda. Use 1 tbs per load of dry ingredients. You can also use essential oils in this mixture as well. Just add and stir well. I keep my dry mixture in little recycled jam jars.
Happy Washing!:-)
Here is the recipe on the Duggars website: http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
I don't use Fels Naptha soap because there are harsh chemicals in the soap and while it takes out stains well I don't want to use it in something that sits on my babies skin all day!
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