Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe that Cost us LESS than $20 a Year!

We save so much money with our laundry detergent recipe. This is a cost effective option that works really well for our family. We have been using this same recipe for years and will never go back to store bought detergents.

Recipe:

2 Cups of Borax
2 Cups of Washing Soda
4 cups of Vinegar (optional)
1/2 a bar of Zote OR 1 full bar of Fels-Naptha
5 gallon bucket
Yard stick or something to stir soap
Large pot
Water

Directions:

Shred the soap and add to your pot. Fill the pot with water until there is about 2-4 inches to the top of the pot. Put on the stove and simmer on medium heat for about 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. In your bucket, add the Borax, Washing Soda, and Vinegar (if you are using). Set aside until the soap/water has cooked. Once the soap mixture has cooked and the soap and water are fully incorporated, CAREFULLY pour into the bucket with the powder mixture. Stir throughly. Once fully mixed, start adding water to the bucket, stirring after each pour until the bucket is full.

Let the bucket sit for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. After 24 hours, add to your containers or keep in your bucket. You are now ready to do some laundry.

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The Canny Couple is a small homestead family in rural Southwest Virginia. We work everyday on being more self-reliant, working through our many failures while celebrating our successes. We started our homestead journey in 2016, but fully embraced our homesteading lifestyle in 2020. We work towards being self-reliant by preserving our own food and building options for self reliance on our homestead. We are a first generation homestead, focusing on building strong family values and building a future that is closer to what our great grandparents experienced. We hope you will join us as we continue to build our homestead, where we work hard, live simple and enjoy life.

[coleenhuff]

I had absolutely no problem hearing or understanding you. Thanks for the great video.

[iammeganmk]

Glad you showed how when it sets up the gelatinous set up and how to deal with it . I was shocked when I found that the next morning .. I definitely recommend doing this when you are not scheduled to be away from home so you can stir it frequently!

[DeepSouthBamaGRITS]

I made my laundry detergent, too. One thing that I do that makes the blending/stirring a LOT easier is to get a small paint mixing rod that has the round stirring device on the end. It is used to stir paint in 5-gallon buckets. I found mine at a Habitat for Humanity RESTORE for less than $3. They had a rack of different sizes and keep them in stock all the time. It is usually found in the paint section at most Restores. It is attached to either a corded or cordless drill. It takes minutes to mix the detergent and gets out ALL the lumps. This way you can ensure that all ingredients are mixed thoroughly & evenly so each jug you use will have the same cleaning power by being mixed well.

I know you can't use a lot of extra additives in your laundry detergent because of your sensitive skin. I have found that using some of the scented laundry beads makes my laundry smell HEAVENLY and lasts even after you put your clean laundry away. Yes, it does add to the cost of the laundry detergent but some people that I know, including myself like my clothes to smell really fresh. I usually add a lid full of the scented laundry beads to my grated/flaked ZOTE that is heated on the stove. This ensures that they are fully dissolved to add to the rest of the ingredients for final mixing. It is just another option for people to have a good-smelling detergent and to encourage them to make their own, especially if they think this detergent doesn't smell good or has little to no smell. I've also heard of people adding essential oils to their detergent but I don't know anything about those since I don't use them.

I don't mean to be critical of your video but I found it hard to understand what you were saying. Not sure if it is the mic you are using or your soft voice, or that you were talking a bit fast, or all of the above but I had to rewind it several times to try to understand the words you were saying as your words were running together. I could understand your husband well when he spoke. Just trying to help you out in making a more clear & audible vid.
I'm sure this video will help people out more to make their own laundry detergent. Overall, a great video.

[annettehhhomestead]

I think you guys did a good job on this video. We’ve been making this soap for decades. We don’t use vinegar but we use both zote and felsnaptha. We have a large paint mixer that goes into our screw gun to mix. It makes it so easy to get everything super smooth and mixed. 😊

[iammeganmk]

The reason I decided to make my own is because the prices have become ridiculous. Even the lower priced brands or store label are the same as the higher end detergents . And we all know that the store brand does not clean as well as Tide or Gain

[lm]

I had no problem understanding, I already use this to wash my clothes, saves a ton of money! And better on my washer also!

[danagantt]

I use the feltznapta because the zote really irritated my sinuses and I can't handle strong smell but I love my homemade detergent. My daughter loves to squeeze the soap and we'll play with it but it works.

[devekut]

Folks should be aware that this mixture (and other soap-based mixes) will, over time, clog the systems of HE-style washing machines and void their warranties. This should only be used in older-style agitation machines. Also, because this is soap-based, it won't completely remove dirt from fibers like a detergent would, and you may eventually notice fabrics becoming dingy (especially whites).

[hrhtreeoflife]

Q
Now Borax has gone up more recently.
All those products are more expensive in California.
Q ❤️

[jobo]

Home made clothes detergent is great but be warned it can void your machines warranty.

[marthajones]

Thank you so much I'm going to try it as soon as I can

[marisoldiaz]

It make bubbles when you are washing clothes in the washing machine?

[Dragonalynn]

I think I'd consider investing in a 5 gallon paint mixer on a drill to mix that stuff up.

[bigbuds]

It cost me more than $20 for just the borax. I get the Fels Naptha at Walmart for a dollar. But I never saw that other brand. I never heard of cooking the detergent.

[simpleme]

I do this, but I'm changing up some things.

[lynnettawilliams]

Feths naphtha is best on stains too but I love the smell of zote zotes good for stains too or both are good for hand washing I keep both in the home

[hrhtreeoflife]

I recommend finding coupons and buying real detergent.

[vanessabuskey]

I’m the recipe it calls for 4 cups vinegar. You did not use 4 cups . So how much vinegar should you use? And what is the purpose of the vinegar

[vginnmusa]

Is it safe for septic tanks, do you know?

[kk]

I love the recipe but the Zote is full of chemicals so I use a natural soap. Just for future reference Zote is pronounced with the "o" sound not "ou" sound. Just wanted your video to be as perfect as I can. Thank you for sharing! <3