Did you know?

Did you know that we make our own laundry detergent? I know. Shock of all shocks. I have a fridge stocked with fresh produce, I Zumba, and now this. Before you all start going "impressed" on me, you must also know that I have an entire bowl of chocolate in the fridge that I snack on from 9am - 9pm, my underwear is stretched out and faded, and I don't really like kissing. So there. :P ANYWAY, we started making laundry detergent about 9 months ago and we use the Duggar's recipe. You can find it on their website, but I'll give it to you here as well. A 5 gallon bucket (which is what the recipe makes) has lasted us for months and months. And it has cost approximately, um, well, maybe $2????? Go ahead. You can be impressed now. :)

Start out with a bar of Fels-Naptha soap. I think we buy it at Giant. You can probably find it at any grocery store. You have to grate the entire bar of soap up. It'll look like cheese. Don't get confused. :)

I have the cutest 5 gallon bucket they make. Thank you, Walmart! The recipe also calls for 1 cup of Super Washing Soda (not to be confused with baking soda!), and 1/2 cup of Borax.

Place the grated cheese, I mean soap, in a pot with 4 cups of hot tap water. Stir continuously until all of the soap is melted.

Then pour this melted soap and water mixture into your super cute 5 gallon bucket along with the Super Washing Soda and Borax. Stir really, really good. Then fill the bucket the rest of the way up with water.

Stir some more, cover the bucket, and let it sit overnight to thicken. The next day, get out an old, empty laundry detergent container and fill it 1/2 full with your new homemade detergent. Then fill the container the rest of the way with water. Shake it well before each use. I use about 3/4 cup for each large load of laundry. I've used it for ALL of our dirty laundry for months now, and have never had a complaint. Let me know if you try it! Or if you think we're crazy for doing it ourselves. :)