Cheap Laundry Detergent

A post from Laura! :D

The other day some of the people at the hospital were talking about making The Dugger Family laundry detergent. I decided to see if I could make it. I bought all of the ingredients at Walmart, plus a five gallon bucket for $12.61. This is about the price of store bought laundry detergent, but the ingredients will make multiple recipes. There are only four ingredients:
1 cup of water

1/4 bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1/4 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

6 teaspoons of Borax

Grate the 1/4 bar of soap and add to saucepan with 1/4 cup of water.
Stir this continuously over medium heat until all of the soap has melted.
Fill a five gallon bucket with 1 1/4 gallons of hot tap water. Add the melted soap, washing soda, and Borax. Stir until all the powder is dissolved. There will be bubbles on top (don't worry, this is normal)
Fill the five gallon bucket with water halfway up (making a total of 2.5 gallons of liquid).
Let this sit overnight to thicken. Be sure to shake before each use.

This recipe makes 2.5 gallons. The original recipe makes 10 gallons, but I cut it in fourths so it would be reasonable for our two person family :)

For top load machines use 5/8 cup per load
For front load machines use 1/4 cup per load

I just made this and can't wait to try it!