I am always looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality. I got this laundry detergent recipe from the book Be CentsAble: How to Cut Your Household Budget in Half by Chrissy Pate and Kristin McKee - which by the way, is a great book. Here is how to make homemade laundry detergent using just three main ingredients plus lots of water.
Laundry Detergent
Ingredients:
About 3 oz of bar soap, grated. Any bar of soap will do, even all-natural bar soaps.
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
Directions:
On the stove, in a large pot, combine 6 cups of water with grated soap and heat on medium until the soap is melted. Stir in borax and washing soda until everything is dissolved.
In a large bucket, place 4 cups of hot water and then add your soap mix. Stir well and then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water. Stir again and then let sit overnight. The detergent will be a watery gel that might look cloudy. Use one-half cup per load.
That's it! Pretty easy, right? They say this laundry detergent is better than many store bought brands. Also it ends up costing around 1 cent per load. Once I find all the ingredients in Germany, or decide to buy them online, I plan on making some and trying it.