If you Google it you can find a hundred different sites with recipes for homemade laundry detergent. Some are simple, some are complex, and most are variations of another.
About 2 years ago, maybe even 2 1/2 years now, my friend decided to try making her own laundry soap. I was a little skeptical at first, but she was making it by the vat (no joke, she used a 15 gallon tub!) and it was free so I decided to give it a try. I was impressed. It worked. My clothes smelt fresh and were free of all the junk in commercial laundry detergents. At that point I was still a “green” household cleaner newbie. but decided to venture into the “green clean” on my own. I borrowed my friend’s recipe and gave it go. The first batch took me what seemed forever, but turned out fine. The rest is history. I’ve been making our own laundry detergent for close to 2 years.
Originally I started with a liquid detergent. I found it worked well in my standard washing machine, but noticed it’s effectiveness decreased when we upgraded to our front loader. I recently made the switch to a powder detergent, and it’s fabulous. I find I get better results in my front loader high-efficiency washer with the powder than the liquid. Plenty of other sites have said it shouldn’t make a difference, but for me it did.
So enough with the blah, blah, blah. I’m sure you want to know HOW to make it yourself! Here’s what you need:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2-3/4 Bar of Soap (Fels Naptha, Zote, Ivory, Castile my preference)
Here’s how you make it:
Grate bar of soap and combine all ingredients. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup per load.
The powder method isn’t as cheap as the liquid, but it’s still cheaper than the store-bought stuff. And for pennies a load, I know I am exposing my children to fewer environmental toxins.
I will also be posting the liquid version soon. Like everything else, I think it is an experimental process and you may have to try one or two different soaps/ recipes before you find what works for you!
Please let a comment if you have any questions or experience making your own homemade laundry soap!
Simply Finding Thyme 
You were reading my mind. Making some powdered soap is on my to do list. Why not put it in an oversized glass cookie jar from Target. They are inexpensive and make the laundry room attractive. I keep it on the dryer and used felt sticky tabs on the lid (kind to stop things from scratching) so it doesn’t rattle.
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Where do you get the castille soap? Can it be lavendar soap by Tom’s?
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I have used Dr Bronner’s peppermint and lavender Castile soap… The peppermint only because that is all Trader Joes’s carries! I found the lavender, and other scents, at Whole Foods and Target. I imagine the Tom’s brand would work as well. I recommend using 3/4 to 1 whole bar if using Castile soap. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
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i’ve been using the liquid version of this recipe for about two years now. i get a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap for about 15 minutes work and two dollars of materials…far better than paying the price of tide or some other skin eating product.
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“far better than paying the price of tide or some other skin eating product” AGREED! Do you dissolve bar soap or just use liquid soap into your detergent?
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i dissolve the bar soap(naptha) in hot water, after it melts i mix in the washing powder and borax. let sit for 24 hours, stir and pour into cleaned out old gallon milk jugs, it gets a little clumpy but just shake it up before putting in the washing machine. you can add some essence oils for scent if you like but i haven’t had much luck with my portions on that yet.
i use plain old vinegar as a fabric softener. works great.
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my recipe
grate 1/3 bar of soap and melt with 6 cups of water
stir in 1/2c each of borax and powder
pour into bucket with 4 cups of hot water stir until smoothish
add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water
oh important note…when adding borax and washing powder to melted soap make sure you have removed pan from heat source…unless of course your stove top is really dirty and you want to spend a couple of hours cleaning;)
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