Liquid Laundry Soap

I posted about my dry laundry soap, now for the one I started with originally.  I remember being very unsure of this when I first made it.  How could I make 5 gallons of laundry soap that would actually clean for under $5.00 when I would pay over $50.00 to buy an equal amount of "loads".  Just like the dry soap, you don't use near as much soap.  I use 1/4 cup (which is actually more than it calls for). 

***Warning, this post has picture overload***

 

So...Let's get started.

You will need (all found in the laundry detergent isle)

 1 bar of fels-Naptha soap

1 cup borax

1 cup arm and hammer washing soda

2 cups baking soda

and a 5 gallon bucket for mixing and storing

 

 

 

My Favorite Homemade Laundry Soap

 

I have been making homemade laundry soap for over 4 years now.  I should sit down and figure out how much I have saved over that time (I'm sure I would amaze even myself)!  When I started making it, it was on a "need to" basis to save money.  My husband had lost his job, and I was trying to save money everywhere I could.  My motto is, "Saving money on dumb stuff, so I can spend it on FUN stuff!"  My oldest child had suffered with eczema and the only detergent I could use was Tide.  I loved it, and loved the smell, but it was expensive.  I average 15+ loads of laundry a week so the soap goes fast!  I didn't know how this would affect Kaden, but I figured if I needed to, I would wash his clothes separate in tide.   I started out making liquid soap 5 gallons at a time for $7-$8.  (I will do a post on this later, I really like this for my darks).  I loved the soap, and it worked really well.  The one thing I really missed was the smell.  My favorite smell is "clean laundry" and it was missing that.  So I started adding part of a bottle of liquid tide to add the scent.  Then I started adding a scoop of oxi clean, and downy unstoppables to each load.  When my kids or hubby would do a load of laundry, they weren't as good at remembering to add all the extras.  So, I decided to try it out in a powder form and have it all in one mix.  (Wow that was a very long explanation on how my soap recipe came about!)

If you give a mom a muffin....{printable}

My sister just called to ask if I had any ideas for mom for Mother's Day and it may me think of the "If you give a mom a muffin" poem that I said I would do some printables for.....where did the time go?


"If You Give Mom a Muffin"

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her
she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook
("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").
The cookbook is setting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse
that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two-year-old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her
that she was going to have a cup. And chances are...If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

author Beth Brubaker