Laundry Soap

I think I posted my homemade laundry soap recipe a few years ago. It worked well, and I continued to use it. I did notice it didn't always work so well in the summer months when we were extra dirty and the clothes were sweaty. Well, I found the secret ingredient--thanks to my friend Heather--you can go to her site http://www.xanga.com/patenaude and click on September 2008, if you want to see a picture-recipe of how to make the soap. It's really a snap. It takes me maybe 15 minutes to make it. This time, I made 8 gallons of it. I'm going to see how long it lasts me. I do use bleach or Oxi-Clean on my whites, Oxi-Clean Spray and Wash on tough stains, and dryer sheets to help w/ static. (you can use 1 cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle...but I never catch my machine at this point:) [You can find Washing Soda, Borax, and Baking Soda in big boxes in the laundry section of the grocery store...Walmart and Meijer carry them. Fels Naptha is a bit harder to find, although I'm told Meijer does carry it. The True Value Hardware Store is another place that carry's it. I get mine over in Amishville :)]
Oh, besides it being "healthier" soap, it's also super cheap. To make 4 gallons costs next to nothing. It's a fun experiment...esp. during the winter, when we're looking for fun things to do inside. Try it!

Megan’s Laundry Soap Recipe:
Yeild: 4 gallons of Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1 c. Washing Soda
1 c. Borax
1 c. Baking Soda
4 gallons of hot water
~Mix grated soap into 1 gallon of boiling water. Simmer till soap is dissolved. Take off of heat, and stir in 1 c. of each: Washing Soda, Baking Soda, and Borax. Stir till dissolved. Pour into 5 gallon bucket, then add 3 gallons of hot water and stir. Let stand 24 hrs. to thicken. Use 1 cup (give or take) per load:)