Homemade laundry detergent

My daughter was cursed with my sensitive skin. When she was a baby, washing her clothes in special detergent wasn't enough. If we didn't wash our clothes in it too, when we picked her up she would break out in a little red bumpy rash. I loved Dreft, but that stuff is insanely expensive! I tried lots of hypoallergenic, "gentle", baby friendly detergents, but I never found one that I really liked. Some still made her break out, some I felt didn't get everything really clean. Hubby's uniforms get pretty gross, with jet fuel, oil, and other messes, I needed something strong enough to handle that funk, but gentle enough for my baby's skin. I didn't want to have 2 or 3 different detergents hanging around. I wanted it all in 1 product! Apparently that was too much to ask for, so I set off to find a 'recipe' for my own. I came across so many, some were way more complicated than I was willing to commit to. I stumbled upon this one. It's amazing! I spend about $15 every 6-9 months!! And it is so simple. First gather your supplies. I found all these on the same shelf at WalMart in the laundry aisle.

You'll need:

1- 4 pound box of Borax

1-box washing soda (3 pounds)

1- 4 pound box baking soda

3- bars Fels Naptha soap

*optional*

1- 1 pound container of oxy clean

First grate up the bars. I bought a cheap cheese grater that I keep in a deprecate drawer just for non-food uses. Once it's grated, poor it into a trash bag (or bucket).

Then dump the Borax, Washing Soda, Baking Soda, and Oxyclean (if used). And mix it all together! I use a trash bag so I just close it up and carefully fold, flip, shake and roll the bag around until everything is evenly dispersed. Store in an airtight container. The oxyclean comes with a small scoop which is the perfect measurement for 1 load (approx. 3 tablespoons).

Now it doesn't suds up, so at first I was convinced I wasn't using enough, but it is! I use about a scoop and a half for a large load of hubby's gross uniforms, other than that 1 scoop is fine! Clothes come out clean and I love the smell of the Fels Naptha.

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