Found a new website ...Hillbilly House Wife.......recipe for homemade laundry soap. Just wondering if anyone here has tried this. If it is as good as they say, I'd have more $ for quilting! Also recipe for homemade fabric softener!

Sounds interesting but don't use it in a front-load!! :D

Have never heard of it! Will give it a look! Thanks for sharing!!!

My daughter is a frugal queen. No kidding, she pinches her pennies so much she has a blog called the Screaming Penny. She has used the Hillbilly Housewife site for years. I've also used some of the ideas there.

I love the Hillbilly House Wife website!!!! I am trying to get back to being REALLY frugal now too, as I just work a minimum wage job now.......the pennies will HHHHAAAAVVVEEEE to strtch, lol!

What is the URL?

I have used the Hillbilly Housewives detergent in my front loader for years. Haven't had a problem. I do use tide for my whites though!

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

I'm just wondering where you can buy Fels Naptha soap? I looked for it at our local Walmart and couldn't find it!

Oh, and one reason to not use the homemade detergent in a front loader is that it may void the warranty on the machine.

Almost any hardware store or even grocery stores have Fels Naptha....Never seen it at a big chain store, though.

I read that website, it is quite interesting.

I have been making my own laundry soap for years. It works just fine. I rarely use Fels-naptha soap. I have been using Zote soap. It is similar to Fels-naptha. My mom uses ivory soap with no issues at all.

The only problem I have had was Fels-naptha didn't keep the whites really white. This was a combination of our hard water and the Fels-naptha. The Zote soap has been better for the whites. I also use about 1/4 cup of baking soda in the washing machine along with the soap when I wash whites. The baking soda helps soften the water and keep the whites whiter.

I also use the recipe for the small bucket but use twice the water and fill the big 5 gallon bucket and it still works fine.

I've been doing some research on "plain living"- more earth friendly living and healthier food. this will fit right in. Thanks!

I have used homemade laundry for several years. I do use it in my front load washer. There just isnt any smell unless you add smell to it. I was even making my own fabric softner but didn't like that. So, now I buy fabric softner but make my soap. You should all try it.
Judy in Ohio

This is not for me, I love up to date stuff. We save money by not eating out and eating good for us food at home instead.

For the people who REALLY want to save money, look for a book called the TIGHTWAD Gazette, the complete book. Its real good, funny, and I learned so much, BUT some of you will say she is "too extreme", but she is really good!

Thanks for the URL :)

I've used some of the tips in this book and I think I've saved money. I like the homemade stain spray with Whisk, vinegar, ammonia and water. I use it for cleaning anything greasy, even the hood above the stove. It works great cleaning the metal filters on my furnace too.

I found Fels Naptha and castile soap at our IGA grocery store.Also found the washing soda there too. Walmart (here) didn't have any of the things I went after. My next stop was going to be Rural King they seem to carry a lot of the older name products.

I use Castille soap in my homemade laundry soap - 4 cups grated Castille (or Zotes), 2 cups borax and 2 cups Oxy-clean. Been using 1 - 2 T in each load for over two years and have spent MAYBE $20 for the ingredients!!

I've used Ivory or whatever is on sale, and it works fine. You can also save soap scraps, but it takes a while to save that much.

http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/category_s/40.htm

You can also use Ivory or Zote soap.

I use this soap in my front loader with no problems at all. It's very low suds.

Going to have to check that out! I started home canning and I just got a food dehydrator. I'm worried about the economy too and working in the mortgage industry, I don't feel very secure in my job right now. I have also a year's worth of food stocked in my pantry just in case.

I think I saw Fels Naptha soap at the Dollar Store :?:

I have really sensitive skin, so I don't mess with using different detergents. I always buy a giant jug of the Purex with no scent/no nothin' kind. Or Sun detergent. I'm glad other companies have detergents that don't add that stuff... I used to have to use Dreft (the kind for babies) and that was expensive!
I also can't use fabric softeners.

On the topic of frugal living, tho, I have always tried to be as frugal as I can be. My husband and I have low-paying, low-stress jobs that we love, so we don't need to keep up with the Jones. He has accused me of being a "money hoarder" and jokes that I'm the little old man who buries jars of coins in the yard (I don't, but I have enough savings accounts that it confuses him!!). The hardest thing for me is to realize that I can't "D.I.Y." everything, so I do what I can. I do buy detergent, but I wonder if it costs more than home-made? I don't garden, because the times I've tried, it was too expensive, too stressful and not plentiful! I do fix things around the house myself but I also know when a repair person needs to be called!

Oh, and you can use Ivory Soup instead of Fels Naptha.