A Year's Worth of Laundry Soap for Under $20

A while back a Facebook friend posted a picture of her homemade powdered laundry soap. I was a user of liquid Tide Cold Water and had never considered making my own soap because I didn't like the idea of cooking up (literally) a batch and having to shake the liquid every time I wanted to use it. I thought her powdered version looked great so I gave it a try. I have revised the recipes that I found online to come up with my own special blend that I would like to share with you. First of all I use Zote Soap instead of Fels-Naptha. Fels-Naptha is easier to find because Wal-Mart sells it but I don't like its smell.  I love the fragrance of Zote.

This stuff is going to last a very long time. I put what I'm currently using in a wide mouthed, quart sized, mason jar. The rest is put in a 5 gallon bucket with a snap top lid. This recipe fills the bucket half full. You only use 2 Tablespoons (or 1/8th a cup) per load. That's right- you use so little!  I use a regular washer but I've read of many people who use a recipe similar in their front loading or high efficiency washers. I wash everything in cold water and have not had a problem. I start the water, throw in my soap and then throw in my clothing.

So here we go- homemade laundry soap

Ingredients:
5 bars of Zote Soap (I get mine at the Wood's in Sedalia, Isle 12, it comes in white and pink. It is $1.35 a bar for a total of $6.75)
1 box of Borax (priced at $3.38 at my local Wal-Mart)
1 box of Washing Soda ($3.24 at Wal-Mart)
1- 4 pound box of Baking Soda (A box this big is found in the soap isle not the cooking isle of Wal-Mart for $2.16)
3 containers of knock-off OxyClean from the Dollar Tree ($3)

Total Price: $18.53!!!

So yes, I have to go to three different stores to get my supplies but it is worth it to not have to buy soap for about a year.

Save the little scoops from the OxyClean because they are 1/8th a cup which is how much soap you put in each load. (Handy huh)

Directions:
1.  Grate the Zote in your food processor with the shred blade.
2.  Grate the shredded Zote in your food processor with the chop blade.  This time I used pink Zote. Here is a picture:

3.  Mix all the ingredients together. It is easiest to do this by adding a little of each ingredient into your bucket and then stirring as you go.
4.  Stir, stir stir until it is all mixed up.

And there you go. Now you have an amazing amount of laundry soap.

If you think this is too much soap to make before you try it let me know. I'll gladly give you some for the price of the jar and ring.

Here is a picture of my pretty soap in a mason jar and a scoop I bought at Dollar Tree before realizing that the OxyClean scoops are the same size.