Home made Detergent

4 cups Hot Tap Water
1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar (I found this on the top shelf above laounry soup, etc.)
1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar of soap, it needs to be grated to dissolve faster. Add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket 3/4 from top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

The next morning add more hot water and stir, you will find it went like a gel overnight.

To make it easy to use, pour into an old laundry detergent container. As you use it you will need to roll or shake the container once in a while.

Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Some ideas are lavender, rosemary, tee tree oil. I like the way it smells just the way it is.

Yields: 5 gallon

Top loading washer: 1/4 cup (320 loads)
Front loading washer: 1/8 cup (640 loads)

A great idea is to purchase the ingredients and put them in your food storage. They all fit into one regular grocery bag and will give more than 1,200 loads from under $20.00. that turns out to be uinder $.03 per load. (I am not sure if those figures are for the top loading or front loading machines, but either way it is still quite a bit cheaper and I hear it cleans very well.)