Ages ago I bought some *AWESOME* homemade, all natural laundry detergent from a shop on Etsy. I ordered some in my favorite scent, lavender, and it lasted forever. I loved it!
Now that Scentsy has come out with our new laundry care collection, I wanted some unscented detergent and really wanted to make my own. So, I found this recipe from DIY Natural's website and went to town. Oh, and if you are one of the lucky ones with HE laundry machines, this stuff is super low suds and works perfectly for you guys too.
First things first, you'll need:
1 Box of Borax
1 Box of Washing Soda
1 Bar of Laundry Soap such as Ivory, Zote, or Fels-Naptha
Next, you'll need to grate your bar of laundry soap with a hand grater. I used both the small holes and the large. I don't think it matters much.
This is your end result after grating the entire bar.
Next, you'll measure out 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda and combine them with the grated bar of soap. Stir it on up and you're left with your detergent...
You only need 1 tablespoon per wash (2 tb for heavily soiled loads) and this recipe obviously yields a little more than 2 cups. Not to mention you have TONS of Borax and Soda left for additional batches. This stuff will cost you 5 cents a load and get you anywhere from 32-64 loads depending on how much you use. AMAZING! Check out how much Tide costs you...
($0.22/oz)
I'm not normally a powder detergent girl, but when it comes to natural, I am. There is a way to make liquid at home, but it requires a little more effort. Check out this blogger if you're curious how to make liquid.
And while you're at it, check out Scentsy's awesome new Washer Whiffs to add an extra special smell of Coconut Lemongrass or Quiver to your laundry :)
Very cool! I'm slowly making little changes to how we live and this seems pretty easy. Tell me more! Do your clothes get just as clean? Smell good? What about getting out stains?
ReplyDeleteI haven't used this recipe I made yet, but the homemade stuff I bought on eBay did wonders. I loved it and this is the same thing. The Fels Naptha is known for getting out ridiculously hard stains, so I can imagine it does great also. Once I do some laundry I will update and let you know :)
DeleteI've been making my own laundry detergent. I've made both powder & liquid. I much prefer the powder. I know recipes call for Fels Naptha, but a lot of people have reactions to it. I use castile soap and it works great! The homemade works just as well (I think better actually) than store bought. When I made my batch in November it cost $21, I'm still on that same batch, so currently it's costing about $4.20 scents a month for detergent. I also make my own dishwasher soap. If you're interested!
ReplyDeleteHey Manda! I agree that the homemade works better. I really, really love it. I've seen the recipes for dishwasher soap. Once I move out and am back on my own I will surely be making that too.
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