Whether living in times of financial prosperity or in times of financial woe, making your own laundry detergent is a sensible thing to do. Not only will this detergent save you money and effectively clean your clothes, but the natural ingredients are environmentally friendly.

There are only 3 ingredients you need to make your own detergent – Fels Naptha Laundry Soap, 20 Mule Team Borax, and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.

First you need 1 cup of grated Fels Naptha Laundry Soap. Combine this with 1 cup of Washing Soda and 1 cup of Borax. The powdered detergent is now ready to use. For large loads, use 3 tablespoons. For medium loads, use 2 tablespoons. For small loads, use just 1 tablespoon. Fels Naptha is a pure soap, so don't expect to see any suds in your water.

A liquid version of this detergent can also be made. Grate 1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha Soap. Place 6 cups of hot water in a saucepan on low heat. Mix the grated soap into the water and stir until it is dissolved. Add ½-cup Washing Soda and ½-cup Borax to this mixture. Stir until mixture thickens, then remove it from heat. Put 4-cups of hot water in a 2-gallon bucket, add the soap mixture and stir well. Add more hot water to the bucket until it is completely full. The mixture will thicken over the next 24 hours. If it becomes too thick, add more hot water.

The mixture is ready to use once it has thickened. Use ¼-cup for a small or medium load. Use ½-cup for a large load.

Fels Naptha Soap is a natural softener. If you want something to soften your clothes even more, ½-cup of vinegar added to the final rinse cycle will leave your clothes soft and smelling fresh.

If you have stains on your clothing, wet a bar of Fels Naptha Soap and rub it on the stain. There is always an extra bar on top of my washer just for this purpose.

When I first began washing our clothes with this detergent, my son came running into the kitchen one day. “Mom!” he yelled, “what did you use to wash my pants?”

Afraid the detergent had done something bad to his pants, though I had no idea what that could be, I said, “The laundry detergent I made.”

“That stuff is awesome,” he answered. “It took stains out of my pants that had been there for months. Nothing I tried would take them out. Thanks, Mom.”

I admit I was surprised. I had not done anything to his clothes except throw them in the wash, add the detergent, and turn the washer on. That convinced me, though, to continue making my own laundry detergent.

Dial Corp. 04303 Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap