How to make laundry soap

A few weeks ago, I came across a thread on a forum about making laundry soap. Then, when I visited relatives recently, my sister Cheryl said she had made some and it worked well.

This piqued my interest, so I made some too. Here is the recipe I used for a smaller batch:

1/8 bar Fels naptha soap
1/4 c. washing soda (NOT baking soda, see photo above)
1/4 c. borax
2 c. water

Grate the soap. Heat the water on the stovetop and add the soap. Stir (I used a wire whisk) until the soap dissolves. Remove from heat. Add washing soda and borax. Pour into a gallon ice cream pail. Fill the pail 1/2 way with warm water, then add three more cups of water. Stir.

Mixture will gel up overnight. Add 1/4-1/2 c. per load, depending on size of washer.

After a night of sitting, the soap will look like it does above--sort of like pudding that's been in the fridge too long. Measure out a glop and use like any other soap. It works great and costs just a penny or two per load.