I have kids with very sensitive skin. So For the last 5 years I have been making my own liquid or dry detergent. The last batch of detergent I made was dry, but I have decided that I really like the liquid detergent the best, so today I am sharing with all of you just how I make that happen. So first things first the ingredients. Your going to need Borax, Arm & Hammer super washing soda, Baking Soda, and any type of stain remover I happen to like Oxy Clean, and a 400gram bar of Zote soap. I like the Pink Zote! Also you will need two 5 Gallon buckets with lids or one 5 Gallon bucket and ten-twelve 1 Gallon jugs. Old milk or water jugs work great for this, however for storage purposes I prefer to keep my soap in the two 5 Gallon buckets. 
Now get yourself a fairly deep pot and fill it about three inches from the top. And set it to Just warm enough to get the water steamy, but not so hot that it begins to boil. I usually set my burner to medium, but every stove is different. Once the water is nice and hot your going to want to add your shredded Zote soap. You can also use FelsNaptha or other Zote colors. This is just my preference and what works best for my family. Get yourself a grader and shred up the entire 400 Grams of Zote soap.(yes I make my husband do it, your arms get sore after awhile lol) and Add it to your steamy pot of water. Stir constantly until all your soap has melted in the pot.
Once all of you Zote soap is melted in the pot of water its time to add the Borax. I add 2 3/4 cups of Borax to the pot for my recipe. The Borax will immediately get thick like a big clump in the pot. You will just stir it and break it up until its all nice and smooth and worked in. Your liquid will now be a little thicker, sorta the consistency of slime and once it reaches that point you can leave it alone and it time to fill your buckets with the hottest tap water you can get. If your tap water doesn't get very hot you can also warm some water up on the stove.
Once you have one of your 5 Gallon buckets half full with water you will pour your mixture from the stove top into the bucket and give it a good stir with a paint stick or a long piece of wood or even one of those spinner things you can hook onto a drill I think its like a paint stirrer just saves you the arm work. Once that is fairly mixed you will add in 2 3/4 cups of the Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. Stir that all in tell its nice and mixed up. After that you will grab your Baking soda and add in 1 cup to your mix. Then add in one cup of your stain remover I use Oxy Clean, however I have heard good things about the Totally Awesome Oxygen Cleaner that you can get at the Dollar Tree. I buy all my ingredients in bulk so that I can make more then one batch. Overall I save a ton of money on laundry soap. 
In the morning you should have a product that looks like this. If it doesn't and it more liquefied then mine DO NOT PANIC! Your laundry soap is still good and still effective to clean your clothes. The chemical reaction just didn't have as much of an effect and yes altitude can play a role in the making of this laundry soap.
After your product has had the time to set in and congeal, you will give it a good ole stir. You can either use your stirrer at this point or you can use your hands. Heck even let the little ones get in there with their hands and have them mix it up and make it fun for everyone. It feels very weird. Make sure you break up all the clumps and mix it as best you can. Once that's complete I take my measuring cup and I begin to scoop the product out into the second 5 Gallon bucket that I have. Yes this recipe makes 10 GALLONS!! For a sliver of what it would cost me to purchase chemical ridden products for my family. Once you have each bucket filled half way with the product you will then fill each bucket with hot tap water again about 2 inches from the top. One last stir to mix it all up and gently carry your product to wherever it is you intend to keep it. 
At this point I gently seal the bucket that I will not be diving into first making sure I don't push down and pressurize the bucket. However for save measure and can always just gently set the lid on if you would feel more comfortable. I then carry my buckets to my laundry room upstairs and BAM I am done! I have a traditional laundry from an old laundry detergent jug and I just give it a quick stir before I take a scoop and pour I in my machine and let it do its job. My clothes always come out clean and fresh each time! 10 Gallons lasts my family of four for at least a year. And with both my husband and I in the Army and two daughters who change every five minutes I run through 10 loads a week easy. So if you like to know what is going into your families skin and LOVE to save money like I do give this a try. I also know how to make this product in a dry format, so if that's something you all would be interested in let me know. Later down the road I will put a few more posts up as to how I make my own stain pre-treater as well as my own dryer sheets! Lots more good money saving DIY tips coming your way, so stay tuned and click that follow button for more tips, tricks, and DIY ideas. If Yall have any suggestion for DIY activities you would like a tutorial on let me know and I will try to get that up. From one crafty person to another have a great day!!
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