Frugal Laundry Soap : Part II

Well, after my first go 'round, I'm pretty pleased. I have even taken into consideration some of my readers' comments and am excited to get even more cheap, I mean frugal, with making laundry soap.

Like most (I think) that take this journey, I started asking myself questions.

The biggest question would be 'What products did they use and why did it change?' I say they as in my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother and beyond. 20 Mule Borax, Fels-Naptha and Washing Soda, although in the supermarkets today, really are not part of my regular laundry vocabulary. These products remind me of 'back in the day' stories. Anyway...

Well, when I happened to come across Knittin' and Noodlin' s blog, I found what I was looking for. Did you hop over earlier this week? The first time I read her post I was laughing out loud and asking myself if I really want to get myself into this.

But more importantly, I found my answer and it was Convenience.

And yes, I do want to get myself into this.

I've washed four loads so far with my new found laundry soap and I'm in love. But before I go any further I want to highlight readers' comments from the original post.

None other than Knittin' and Noodlin' stopped by and offered a tip to better her experience. She says to open the bar of Fels-Naptha up and let it dry out for a week or so. It helps dissolve more quickly.

Organizing Mommy is curious about the cost. Right now, with my first batch, I figured it out to be about $0.11 per load. Now, I've learned a few other variations that may make it cheaper, but I'm gonna run the course on this first batch before making any modifications. Even at face value, it's still a lot cheaper as is than compared to Name Brand (or generic for that matter).

Now, Anne says that her family doesn't use Fels-Naptha or fabric softener and it's been working great for them for 5 years! That sounds wonderful!

No Fels-Naptha or softener?! Wow! Once I had a working recipe for detergent, I was planning to tackle the softener side of things. Well there goes my frugal, vinegar and essential oil softener, out the window!

I must confess though. Our first two loads were with the homemade soap and our usual liquid softener. And after reading Anne's comment, my next two loads I did with just the homemade soap and NO softener. The only difference that I noticed was that our clothes were not as fragrant (no biggie) and they seemed a bit stiff. Almost as if, but softer than, being hung out on the line to dry. Oh, and more importantly, I didn't notice any static cling. I'm super excited!

I've got about 15 more loads to do or so before this first batch runs out and I'll come back here to follow up with y'all.

In the mean time, back to you. What experiences do you have to share or what questions do you have?

Thank you for stopping by, until next time!