Betty Crocker's got nothin' on me!!

It was a cloudy day here in Southwest Florida, so we needed to find activities to amuse ourselves here in the house. We played ball, Luke showed us how he can do somersaults all my himself, we watched Disney Channel, went to the magical grocery store Publix, and after all was said and done I made laundry detergent. It was surprisingly simple, but the real test will be in the washer. The recipe is:

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

While I was mixing it in the bottle it overflowed with bubbles, so I had to put whatever I could into the smaller container. I also added a few drops of Geranium essential oil, not that it didn't smell good already but I like a little girly smell in my clothes. It took me all of 20 minutes to make. I had it on one burner while making dinner on the others, so it was truly simple. The ingredients were all simple to find at my grocery store. I think Felz Naptha, Washing Soda, and Borax can also be purchased online at Amazon.