Although this is primarily a blog about thrifty finds I couldn't resist posting one of my favorite thrifty recipes. Normally this kind of thing falls out of range of my blogging, mostly because the most obvious way of being thrifty is to not buy stuff, and that is rather boring to blog about. In fact that pretty much sums up any blog you want to write on the subject of thrifty living - don't buy stuff you don't need. Well no one wants to hear that (it is America after all) so I have instead focused on finding cool stuff that you don't need cheap or free. That, at least, is moderately thrifty. Anyway, one of my favorite things I started doing was making my own laundry detergent. Basically this started because I wanted to buy natural and non-toxic laundry soap. When I looked at the ingredients in Seventh Generation soap I learned that basically that is made up of water, borax and lavender essential oil. Since I happen to stock all three of those things regularly it seemed like I could make it myself. Well after some searching this is the laundry soap recipe I now use to make my own soap. It works great and is good for my sensitive skin, which always tends to act up with other soaps. I use it on all our clothes including my baby's cloth diapers so its safe to say it should get out any stains. Plus it is non-toxic, kid and pet safe, and works out to be less then 1 cent per load.

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap (can be found in laundry aisle)
½ cup washing soda (can be found in laundry aisle)
½ cup borax powder
Essential oil (optional)
You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. You can add any essential oils you want at this point. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.