Homemade Laundry Detergent, always my favorite!

My Aunt Suzie passed me a recipe from a good friend of hers that was fed up with paying so much money for laundry detergent. I honestly must say, my first reaction was there is no way any homemade detergent would do as good as a store bought one. Well, I have been using this for over two years now, and I don't see myself going back. It cleans so good!

A common question with homemade detergent is, "Can I use it in a high efficiency machine?" The answer is yes. Here is my lesson learned on using it in a He washer...I put my detergent directly into the drum and not in the detergent shoot/door on top. Sometimes the texture is a little thick and it could possibly clog up your detergent shoot. Also, I suggest that you use half as much as you normally would (I use approx. 1/4 cup per load).

Materials:

3-5 gallon bucket with lid
1 bar of Zote soap or Fels Naptha (I prefer the Zote it melts faster and smells better)
1 1/4 cup of Borax
1 1/4 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA)
2 gallons and 10 cups of water

Directions:

Put 6 cups of water in a large sauce pan. Grate bar of soap and add grated soap to water in large sauce pot. Turn on heat to mixture to medium low heat. Stir until FULLY dissolved. This should take approximately 30 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. When the bar soap is fully dissolved add the Borax and Washing Soda to the mixture. Stir until fully dissolved. Get your 3-5 gallon bucket and add 4 cups of hot water to it. Bring heated mixture over to bucket and pour in. Then add 2 gallons of tap water to the bucket and let it set up. It will immediately start to thicken (texture of Jello). Put lid on bucket and store away in your laundry room. Voila!