GRANNY'S KITCHEN: More Laundry Soap

I was out of laundry soap again, and decided to try a different recipe this time. I made a batch that used my whole Fel's Naptha bar rather than just 1/3 of it. This recipe makes 5 gallons, which you dilute 1:1 with water (fill empty jugs 1/2 full of the soap, then finish filling the jugs with water). Then use 1/4 cup for front loading machine (or 5/8 cup for top loading.)
So, now I the equivalent of 10 gallons of laundry soap made up from things I already had stored. :)

Here's what to do:
Grate a bar of Fels Naptha soap into a large pot about 1/4 full of water (4 cups or so). Then bring to a boil. As it melts add: 1 cup Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax. Stir till melted.

I filled my 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full of hot water then stirred in the soap mixture. When it was mixed well, I finished filling the bucket. Then let it set overnight to 'gel'.
Remember you can add scent by putting in a few drops of essential oils (I like Jasmine or Orange) to each jug.  I have rose scent that I use sometimes for my lingerie, but find I don't like that for all my laundry.
When this large batch is gone, I am going to make a batch using my Castille soap.  So far, of the Fels Naptha and the Ivory, I don't have a favorite.

GRANNY'S KITCHEN: Homemade Laundry Soap

Out of laundry soap again! Luckily I have all the ingredients on hand to MAKE my own laundry soap!

I usually use FelsNaptha soap, but this time I used a bar of Ivory soap, because my mother had found an OLD one in her cupboard that was turning brown.  I put it on the sink, but noone wanted to use it.  I therefore decided that it could be used in my next batch of laundry soap.  My recipe calls for 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha, but states that you can use a full bar of Ivory instead, which is what I did.
  I took out my big pot so that it would hold the whole batch.  Some people do this in a smaller pot and then transfer to a bucket -- I like to skip that step.  I grated the whole bar of Ivory soap into my big stock pot then added 6 cups of water. I kept it on medium and stirred with a plastic spoon (don't want a soapy taste to get in my wooden ones!!).  Once it was all melted, I added 1/2 cup each of washing soda and borax powder and heated until they were both dissolved.  Once dissolved, I added 26 cups of water and stirred.  I put the lid on it and carried to my laundry room to set overnight. In the morning this will look like egg drop soup.
I will stir in pour up into soap and juice containers that I have saved for this purpose (These are plastic juice containers that have the handle on them).  Once in the smaller bottles, I have a variety of essential oils on hand to add scent (although I often do NOT add scent, as I like the clean, fresh smell of just the soap -- and I think the Ivory will be one I may not add scent to).  BUT, if you wish, I bought some at the $1 shop and some at the health food store.  My scents of choice are lemon, Jasmine, and ocean breeze.  I also have rose oil which smells lovely, but I've decided my whole laundry doesn't need that!  I will put some of that in a smaller bottle of laundry soap to use when washing my lingerie.
When using this, you only need about 1/2 cup (or a little less for front loading machines).  This means that I now have enough laundry soap for at least 64 loads of laundry!!
*I paid NOTHING for the Ivory soap since this was some my mom gave me, but I have found it for .50 and with a coupon, I have paid as little as .25 for Ivory soap. If using Fels Naptha, it runs about $1.30 (and since you need only 1/3 bar of it, you spend about .43 per batch.
*The Borax and Washing Soda cost less than $4/box.. and you only need 1/2 cup. I believe there would be enough for about 16 batches in each box. If that's the case, and IF you had to spend $4/box, that would be about .25 each.
*I paid only $1 for some of my oils (paid more for the Jasmine), and you only need a few drops. If a bottle lasted for only 16 batches, the cost of the scent would be .06
THEREFORE, I just made enough laundry soap for 64 loads of laundry and it only cost me an estimated .56! That's less than .01/load! WOW!! How's that for a thrifty granny?!!