Laundry Soap

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap. A great money saver, estimates range from 1-2 cents per load. I've been using it for about 4 months, and it works well for me.

Supplies:
4 cups hot tap water
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap grated (Or soap of your choosing)
1 1/2 cups Super Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
5 gallon bucket with lid
1 long paint stirring stick

Directions:
-In a saucepan combine hot water and grated soap. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill bucket half full of hot tap water. Add soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved.
-Add in soap and water mixture.
-Fill bucket to top with hot water. Stir, cover and let sit 24 hours to thicken.
-After 24 hours, stir well. (Mine had the consistency of a thick custard on top before stirring, but stirred into a nice liquid-gel after a few minutes. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I had to stay at it until it was smooth.)
-If desired, fill a washed, used detergent bottle for easy dispensing. Shake/stir before each use as detergent has a tendency to separate.
-Use 1/4 - 1/2 cup per load for top loading or approx. half as much for front loaders.
-Optional: You can add 25-40 drops essential oil per batch. Add once soap has cooled. Or, I've never tried this myself, but I'm told that adding a bottle of Febreze (or equivalent) works well to add a fresh scent.

Notes
-Make sure you use Washing Soda from the laundry isle (Arm & Hammer is the only brand I've found).
-If you feel it's too harsh, you can decrease both soda and borax by 1/2 cup. I found that for some of the more heavily soiled articles the formula listed worked better.
-Fels Naptha is found in the laundry isle as well. Other popular soaps include Zoot and Ivory. Different soaps with produce different consistencies.
-I got my bucket/lid from Home Depot for around $3. And I just went to the paint counter and asked for the long stirring stick and they just gave it to me.