Homesteading is more than just gardening and raising animals. It is about learning new skills to be more self sufficient as one can and sharing those ideas with others. One of those ideas is how to make your own laundry soap which is very simple to make and won't break the bank.
There are many recipes online for homemade laundry soap. I prefer this one because it is a liquid and it is gentle on our skin. It also makes a lot so it lasts awhile for large families. I started making this soap about a year and half ago and it lasted me almost 8 -9 months. It makes 10 gallons of detergent. Here are the supplies you will need, 5 gallons of hot water, empty gallon jug(vinegar, old laundry detergent container), 5 gallon clean bucket, funnel, one large bar of zote or felz naptha soap (found in the laundry section), 5 gallon paint stick to stir or something similar and borax. Zote is now about 3$-4$ as it has gone up and borax is about 6$ now. Now that we went over the supplies, let's get onto the steps to make your laundry detergent.
Step one is to grate your soap bar into the 5 gallon bucket. I use my food processor to do this as it speeds up the process but you can use a hand cheese grater and do it that way. I did that my first time and it does take awhile. Since then, I use my food processor and it takes less than a minute to do. Once you are done grating your soap and it is in the bucket, now you are ready to add water. Dump 2 gallons of hot water into the bucket. The hot water will melt the soap chips. Stir this very well, about 2 minutes. Next, add 1 more gallon of hot water and stir. Then add 1 cup of borax and stir well. Make sure to stir the borax well and get all the borax crystals off the bottom. Here is where you will add any scented oils to your detergent if you want. I often add lavender to mine but the choice is yours. You can experiment with that. You can also leave out the borax but I find it works better with it in. Stir this well especially if adding a fragrance here. Lastly add 2 more hot gallons of water and stir. Now you have a finished product. Put a lid on it and leave it set for 24 hours. It will be runny but the next day it will thicken up. This is concentrated. After it has sat for 24 hours you will need to get a gallon container like a vinegar jug or one of your detergent containers and fill half with detergent and half with water. ( you may want to use a funnel to help fill the jug) Put the lid on and shake. It is now ready to use. You can fill 10 containers or fill as you need. Always shake before use. That is it. In less than 10 minutes or so , you have made 10 gallons of detergent and it costs you under 10$.
Let me know how you like the detergent. If you want to try a gallon, let me know too. I will sell a gallon to anyone who follows our page. I unfortunately still use a stain remover but I have recently come across a recipe using ivy as a stain removing option. I am looking into that. If I find it works, I will share it with our followers. God Bless and stay safe out there.