Laundry Soap

Here is the recipe Susan C. was telling us about in Relief Society on Sunday.

Laundry Recipe at 2 cents a load!

Ingredients

 

1 bar Ivory or favorite bar soap grated*

1 cup Borax 

1 cup Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)**

4 cups water

  

Dissolve grated bar soap into 4 cups of boiling water in a sauce pan on medium heat. Keep windows open; the smell is very strong. Remove pan from stove, add the borax and washing soda; stir till dissolved. Pour pan into a 5 gallon bucket and then add hot water till it reaches the 3 1/2 gallon line. Let mixture sit over night or 24 hours and stir very well each time before using. It will not be a normal liquid; it will thicken as it cools. It will be thick like clam chowder soup. I use about 3/4 cup of this per load, or 1 cup if washing socks.

NOTES:

The borax and washing soda can be found in the laundry aisle. The cost of the bucket is $5 at Smiths, plus it has a nice handle and measuring lines. You will also need a long spoon to stir the bucket. If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice.  Orange essential oil is very nice. I made a spead sheet with all the details. Happy Washing!

 * Ivory soap is the cheapest and Dove is the best for sensitive skin. Another option is 1/2 bar Fels Naptha soap but some people have said that it irritates their lungs and has a possible link to cancer.

 **Washing soda is sodium carbonate, and is made by Arm and Hammer. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and is not as strong as sodium carbonate.

Detail	Items	Cost	Location			Makes	cost per bucket
76 oz	Borax	$4.49	Smiths Market Place	10 cups			0.44
55 oz	Washing Soda	$3.19	Dan's			7 cups	0.45
10 pack	Ivory Soap	$4.14	Smiths Market Place	10 buckets			0.41
Agree w/ lid,comfort handle	Bucket with lid	$4.99	Smiths Market Place
Wood	Long  Spoon	$1.00	Dollar Store off 3300 S				Total per bucket
	Total	$17.81					$1.30
56 cups per bucket
$1.30 divided by 56 equals 2 cents per load!
not counting the bucket or spoon