Homemade Laundry Detergent

I had pondered for a long time whether or not I should make my own laundry soap.  I had seen it made on "19 Kids & Counting" in liquid form, however making two 5 gallon buckets of the stuff did not interest me, especially since my laundry room gets quite chilly in the winter here in Maine, and I didn't want the stuff to freeze.  So, I went searching online and on Pinterest until I came up with this recipe.  It combines a few of the recipes that I have seen and makes the best use of my local resources and my family's preference.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

1 bar Fels-Naptha soap

1 bar Zote Pink soap

2 cups Borax

2 cups Washing Soda

large bowl

micro grater

Just a few easy ingredients.  Total time is only about 30 minutes from beginning to end.

Grate the Fels-Naptha soap with the micro-grater.  The bar is hard so it is fairly easy to work with.

Use your hands to break down the shavings even farther.  Soap will turn into a rough powder.

Grate the Zote Pink bar with micro-grater.  This is a big more challenging as Zote Pink is waxy and not hard unless you leave it sitting for a while in a cupboard.  Someone also suggested freezing the bar first, although I haven't tried this due to the condensation that could form and ruin the powders in the batch.

Work with the Zote - Fels-Naptha mixture until it is as combined as you can get it.  Try to break the Zote shavings down as much as you can, it will be easier for it to dissolve in your washer.  

After it is combined, add Borax and Washing Soda.

Combine with hands, grinding the mixture between palms to combine and use powders to further break down the Zote Pink Shavings.

This is the finished product.  It is a wonderful smelling powder that can be used in any washer.  I use 1 tbsp for small loads and 2 tbsp for large loads.

Store in airtight container to help keep out contaminants.

My family absolutely loves this laundry detergent!  It is inexpensive and works great.  I am a bit sad however that my local Family Dollar store informed me that they are not going to be carrying the Zote Pink bars anymore.  So, if this happens to you and you cannot find Zote anymore, just eliminate it and add in a second bar of Fels-Naptha.  I loved using Zote because of the smell and the pretty florescent pink color.  You can also half the recipe and do 1 bar of soap, 1 cup borax, & 1 cup washing soda.  Happy Washing!!!