Frugal Friday
Yep, you got it - another Meme. I'm going with "Frugal Friday" this time. I know, not very original - but I never claimed to be either. I figure this would be a good way to share some of the cheap - er - frugal ideas we've tried and liked!
And so today I'll tell you about our laundry soap idea. Last fall I decided to try the recipe for liquid laundry soap that I found while reading the book, The Duggars: 20 and Counting. We made our first batch in October and he lasted until this week! 10 gallons of laundry soap (that works REALLY, REALLY well) and costs approx. $2.oo TOTAL. Yup, .20 cents a gallon and the great thing is that you use only 5/8 cup at a time! I gotta tell ya I was skeptical, but figured since it didn't require much in the way of investment, it was worth a try. Boy am I glad I did.
Here's the recipe from their book:
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (we couldn't find any locally so ordered them online)
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
-Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (as it congeals) Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
We find it easier to get 5 one-gallon empty water jugs (with a twist on lid) and fill them up as soon as they are cool (15 minutes or so) and then let them gel overnite. It's stores easier, and you don't have so try and fill the bottles AFTER they've congealed - which is somewhat messy.
Remember, you've not got 5 gallons of concentrated soap, but it yields 10 gallons since you add equal amounts of water before using. What I do is fill an old laundry detergent bottle like the one in the picture above 1/2 full with the concentrate then fill the bottle with water. I lucked out and got one with a cap that was exactly 5/8 cup so it makes for easy measuring!
***TOTAL TIME TO PREPARE and CLEAN UP is less than an hour.***
***Remember to SHAKE WELL before each use.***
*** NOTE: This detergent is VERY low sudsing - just cuz you can't see the suds doesn't mean you need more! ***
½ Cup Borax
-Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (as it congeals) Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
We find it easier to get 5 one-gallon empty water jugs (with a twist on lid) and fill them up as soon as they are cool (15 minutes or so) and then let them gel overnite. It's stores easier, and you don't have so try and fill the bottles AFTER they've congealed - which is somewhat messy.
Remember, you've not got 5 gallons of concentrated soap, but it yields 10 gallons since you add equal amounts of water before using. What I do is fill an old laundry detergent bottle like the one in the picture above 1/2 full with the concentrate then fill the bottle with water. I lucked out and got one with a cap that was exactly 5/8 cup so it makes for easy measuring!
***TOTAL TIME TO PREPARE and CLEAN UP is less than an hour.***
***Remember to SHAKE WELL before each use.***
*** NOTE: This detergent is VERY low sudsing - just cuz you can't see the suds doesn't mean you need more! ***
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