Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hello!

 I realized last night that I needed to make more laundry detergent and then thought, "Hey, I can share this on my blog!" Viola, here it is! This is a wonderful, easy way to save tons of money and avoid putting harsh chemicals on your clothes.
I actually started making my own laundry detergent for that very reason, because my hubby has very sensitive skin and gets spots all over his body if we use laundry detergent with any kind of fragrance or dye in it.  (Yikes! Not. fun.) We were using "All Free and Clear", but that stuff is kind of expensive and doesn't last very long.

Then one day I was talking to my friend, Kayci and she told me about how she makes her own laundry detergent. I had never heard of such a thing, and decided to try it, with a few modifications. (she makes liquid detergent, I decided just to do the powder because I didn't feel like cooking the liquid.)

The rest is history! I've been making it for over a year now and love it.

 It is SO much cheaper- I usually spend about $16 on supplies.  That is enough for two batches of soap. You could make it all at once or just make one batch at a time. (more on this in a minute..) The finished product of a double batch of soap lasts 8-10 months! A batch lasts about 4 months with me washing 2 or 3 loads of laundry a day.

I know.
Awesome, right?

 Do you want to know how to make your own?

Powdered Laundry Degergent

For one batch (about enough for 4 months or so) use:
1- 76 oz box of Borax
1 -55oz box of Super Washing Soda ( I can only find this at Kroger, my local grocery store. For some reason, Wal-Mart or Target doesn't carry it.)
1-4lb box Baking Soda
3 bars Ivory soap

Here's a picture so you can know what to look for :

(My store didn't have big boxes of Baking Soda for some reason, but you probably know what baking soda looks like.  The detergent works just as well with or without the baking soda. ;)

Find a big container to put it all in; I use a 5-gallon pepperchini bucket my hubby brought home from work.

Pour all three boxes of powder into the bucket. This only fills it up about 1/2 of the way, so you don't really need that big of a container. Its just what I have. :)

Get a cheese grater, grate the ivory soap into the bucket. I found that the graters with smaller holes work better, because the soap dissolves better when its in the water. Especially if you're washing with cold water to save energy, like I do. Now, grate away! Get your kids involved too, they love to help. :)

When the soap is all grated up, it kind of looks like mozzerella cheese, like this:

Now you just have to mix it up until everything is incorporated, and you're ready to go!

You only need about 2 Tablespoons per load of laundry, unless its really dirty. I just use an old coffee scoop to measure it out.

I've found that this recipe works just as well or better than most laundry detergents. It gets out just about everything except coffee stains on white clothes, which is why bleach exists. :)  And it costs so much less! It only takes a little bit of work for a whole lotta savings. Let you know if you try it and like it, or if you try it and don't . Happy laundry!




This post has been linked to Natural Mother's Network Seasonal Celebration Sunday, Wildcrafting Wednesday at Mind Body and Sole