Homemade Laundry Detergent

In my quest to live as inexpensively as possible I have experimented with different homemade cleaners. There is some money to be saved here! Vinegar, water, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda make up the bulk of my cleaning supplies.  When it comes to the laundry, I like to make this too!  Let me show you why!

In my house of 6 I will easily do 10-12 loads in a week.  At Sam's Club I can buy 146 loads of Tide Original for $25.48.  That translates to $0.17 per load or $8.16 each month.  With my homemade variety I can make a batch (48 loads) for about $3.00 which equals $0.06 per load or $3.00 each month!
Now this homemade detergent - it is no miracle detergent or anything-- but for the bulk of my laundry, it does just fine. My clothes come out clean- smelling and looking great! For the mud, blood, grass, or food stains, I spray it with a pre-treat or smear a little baking soda or washing soda paste first. And sometimes I like to have a scent to my wash so I might add some Washer Whiffs by Scentsy or some essential oils that I use in my cleaners.


Here is my recipe;
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
4 oz any bar soap



Here is how I did it:

I grabbed the goods from my seriously dusty basement (still in the remodeling process- just finished drywall!!)

• Borax
• Washing Soda
• Bar Soap ( I got these samples from a dermatology clinic- they gave me the whole box!)

I shredded my bar soap with my food processor.

I then mix all ingredients together and put it back through the food processor. This makes it into a nice powder.  Without this step- I ended up with larger pieces of soap that wouldn't always dissolve in my cold water loads (ending up as white pieces on my dark clothes).

I love to add some smelly stuff some of my loads since it is otherwise fragrance free.  Scentsy makes a great add in... And I might know someone who sells it...uh hem... Me... Or you can use some essential oils. Both work great!

Once you have it made- make a trip to the dollar store and get a glass jar that is air tight! (This has been on my to-do list for weeks! ...and mine is starting to get clumpy from not being covered...shame). 

This whole process takes me about 30 minutes start to finish (because as it goes in my house of crazy I inevitably have to wipe two bottoms, clean up some spilled water my 2-year-old helped himself to, and watch the next "cool trick" my little superheros came up with ) but I think a home with less crazy could do it in 15-20 minutes.

For a large load- I use one tablespoon.  If the load is extra dirty (we have been doing home renovation) I add a little more and spot treat stains with a paste of baking soda or washing soda...which ever is closest.   

 

At A Glance

Tide           vs.    Homemade

$.17/load            $.06/load

Recipe

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

4 oz. bar soap any variety- grated

Container(s)

1. Shred soap

2. Add borax, washing soda and shredded soap into a pourable bowl

3. Put it back through the food processor 

4. Store in air tight container

Directions for use:

1 T. for a large load

Heaping Tablespoon for heavily soiled loads( spot treat stains)

I have found Borax and Washing Soda on Amazon in a bundle for about $20.  Or support your local store and get to making some Homemade Laundry Detergent!!  If you gave this recipe a try or have a recipe for homemade detergent that you love- let me hear about it!

A little less crazy,

Beth