If you've done the grand internet-tour of homesteading blogs, I'm sure that you've seen this recipe posted one million times.
Lucky for me, not all of my readers do just a thing. So I can sound innovative and frugal and smart when I bring them…
*Drum roll please*
Homemade laundry detergent.
Having been previously disappointed with my homemade recipes, I turned to my Mom's recipe (which I have found to be quite lovely and deliciously fresh) – two things I quite admire in a load of laundry.
There is nothing more that I hate than having to purchase a $10 container of “green” laundry detergent. For one, usually there is a ton of chemicals in it anyway. And for two, who wants to spend $10 on laundry stuff! I mean, I can justify spending $10 on a nice cooking oil, or an aged vinegar, or a nice loose-leaf tea…maybe even a fine bottle of wine on occasion. But laundry soap? No thank you.
Please disregard the fact that I just defined a $10 bottle of wine as a fine wine. I know my role in this life and I'm fine with that. The end.
My point being (yes, there is a point!) making your own laundry detergent takes five minutes and saves you that precious $10 so that you can spend it on something more useful and exciting. Like new knobs for your salvaged furniture. Or that organic cocoa powder you have been eyeing for months.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
You will need:
– Five gallon bucket
– Pot
– 1/2 cup borax
– 1/2 cup washing soda
– 1 bar washing soap (available in the laundry soap aisle), shredded on a cheese grater
– Essential oils of your liking (I used tea tree oil and lavender)
– Big, long spoon for stirring
Step One: In a pot on the stove, heat up 2 cups of water. Add your shredded washing soap bar. Stir, stir, stir until it's all good and dissolved in the warm water.
Step Two: Add your borax and washing soda to the mix. Stir, stir, stir to combine.
Step Three: Pour the mixture into your five gallon bucket. Add water until the bucket is three-fourths full. Stir, stir, stir (work those biceps, ladies!) At this point, feel free to add any essential oils that you would like. I put in about 10 drops of tea tree oil (antibacteria, antifungal, and smells delicious!) and about 10 drops of lavender oil.
Step Four: Allow the mixture to sit for 24 hours. It will gel into a nice blobby, gooey lookin' mixture. Yummy. Feel free to give it a couple of stirs during this time as well.
Step Five: That's all! See how fabulous and frugal you are! What a stud!
Use about 1/2 cup per load of laundry, or more for heavily soiled loads. It's important to note that this soap will not have the “suds” that your typical laundry detergent has, but honestly, does it matter? Maybe those suds are just an invention used to doop us into thinking our clothes are getting really clean! This soap does a fine job of cleaning our clothes. If you need to treat a stain, it also works to just rub some of the detergent right on the stain and then let it sit for a little while before washing the garmet.
I don't know about y'all, but I am thankful to be able to save money any way that I can. This five gallon bucket of laundry soap that cost me, I dunno, maybe $1.00 (or less) to make,helps to keep our costs down. And I'm all for that! Plus, as previously stated a thousand times, I am thankful to know all the ingredients in the products that we use. This helps to moderate the amount of chemicals and toxins that we are exposed to every day without even knowing it.
So there you have it. Laundry soap on the homestead.
I am so enthusiastic about homemade soap that I am going to go wash some poopy, stinky, smelly, urine-saturated diapers right now!
Okay, so maybe I'm not THAT enthusiastic.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, my friends.
Kimberly
Just a few things I’ve learned from doing this for a few years: you can use Ivory soap if you can’t get the FelsNaptha, and you can just grate the soap, mix the powders in and use it as a dry soap. I ran out one day (poor planning) when I really needed to do laundry and just tried it dry. Now it’s all I do. I had trouble keeping the gel uniform and didn’t have anything large enough with a lid, so this works better anyway. Plus, I just make big batches now and use them for about six months. Sorry. Hope this was ok to share. If not, delete it.
Kimberly
Just a few things I’ve learned from doing this for a few years: you can use Ivory soap if you can’t get the FelsNaptha, and you can just grate the soap, mix the powders in and use it as a dry soap. I ran out one day (poor planning) when I really needed to do laundry and just tried it dry. Now it’s all I do. I had trouble keeping the gel uniform and didn’t have anything large enough with a lid, so this works better anyway. Plus, I just make big batches now and use them for about six months. Sorry. Hope this was ok to share. If not, delete it.
Stephanie
How much powder do you use in each load?
Lyda
Where do you get all of your ingredients?
Lyda
Where do you get all of your ingredients?
Lyda
Meaning: I love homemade recipes for everyday things, but I always want to make sure I know where to go to get everything needed so I don’t spend hours going from place to place looking if I should be buying online for example. Love this, though!
Lyda
Meaning: I love homemade recipes for everyday things, but I always want to make sure I know where to go to get everything needed so I don’t spend hours going from place to place looking if I should be buying online for example. Love this, though!
The Mrs.
Kimberly, you are funny π Of course it’s okay! I have tried the dry as well but I had a problem getting a “uniform” scoop of the grated soap and the dry powders. It was always way too much of one or the other. Do you have this problem? I like the idea of only having to do it every six months though, because that saves on time!
Lyda, let me save you about four hours of time (not that I wasted this exact amount of hours…:) ) and tell you that the washing soda is available at Stan’s. The borax and the washing soap are available at any grocery store in the laundry aisle. I got mine at Top Foods π Hope that helps!
The Mrs.
Kimberly, you are funny π Of course it’s okay! I have tried the dry as well but I had a problem getting a “uniform” scoop of the grated soap and the dry powders. It was always way too much of one or the other. Do you have this problem? I like the idea of only having to do it every six months though, because that saves on time!
Lyda, let me save you about four hours of time (not that I wasted this exact amount of hours…:) ) and tell you that the washing soda is available at Stan’s. The borax and the washing soap are available at any grocery store in the laundry aisle. I got mine at Top Foods π Hope that helps!
Jessica
I also use the powdered form. I put all the ingredients in my food processor and blend, blend, blend. I also use pink zote instead of fels naptha. Fels naptha seemed to make my whites dingy after awhile.
Jessica
I also use the powdered form. I put all the ingredients in my food processor and blend, blend, blend. I also use pink zote instead of fels naptha. Fels naptha seemed to make my whites dingy after awhile.
Kimberly
I use my food processor, too. Smoooooth.
Kimberly
I use my food processor, too. Smoooooth.
Romantic Dinner
Wow Good Job and i like that ..Very nice your all photo’s and best details shared in the post ….
The Mrs.
A food processor is a GREAT idea! That would really help the consistancy – Thanks for the advice!
The Mrs.
A food processor is a GREAT idea! That would really help the consistancy – Thanks for the advice!
Anonymous
Would this be ok to us in an HE washer?
Shaye @ The Elliott Homestead
Yes! It works in HE.
Shaye @ The Elliott Homestead
Yes! It works in HE.
Shawnee's Girl
Two things, how does this work on cloth diapers? I have never heard, and keep wondering. Two, you can buy all of this from an online (and store in mid-south east OH) called Lehman’s. They sell all the ingredients and also have a “kit” if you haven’t made it before. No, I am not a paid spokesperson, I have seen it in their catalog and thought a lot about getting it. π I have used the powdered stuff before and did like it, we only stopped because of the diapers.
Shaye @ The Elliott Homestead
Shawnee, I’m sad to say, this doesn’t work great on cloth diapers. It works fine for our not-so-dirty laundry, but cloth diapers can put up a fight π I’ve found an all natural coconut based cleaner that we use for them instead.
Dana
What product do you use on your diapers? We have baby #4 due this spring too and I need something septic safe now that we’re on a farmstead.
Amanda
I love your picture tutorials with the recipe; very helpful. One comment though- from the research I’ve done I’d recommend a different brand of bar soap. Fels-Naptha still has a number of toxins present. I use Kirk’s Castile (available at Cracker Barrel and Meijer) but some others I know use Grandma’s Lye.
Also, do you mind sharing the name of the coconut based cleaner you use?
Amanda
I love your picture tutorials with the recipe; very helpful. One comment though- from the research I’ve done I’d recommend a different brand of bar soap. Fels-Naptha still has a number of toxins present. I use Kirk’s Castile (available at Cracker Barrel and Meijer) but some others I know use Grandma’s Lye.
Also, do you mind sharing the name of the coconut based cleaner you use?
Hollie
I have read how bad Fels-Naptha is too……I have used the same recipe with castile soap and it works ok. Some of the smells dotn’tcome out.
Erin Erickson
I’m getting ready to try this out for the first time! But I was curious…what brand of store-bought laundry detergent do you use for cloth diapers?
Shaye Elliott
A dye and fragrance free one called Ecos. I buy it at Sam’s club in a giant container. I’ve also had great luck with 7th Generation products.
Brittany
Molly Suds is also a really good place to get laundry soap for cloth diapers!
Colleen Hogan Zimmerman
I have been making this kind of laundry soap for 3 years now. I love it! I do tend to double up on the washing soda and borax just for a bit more cleaning power. I like the idea of the essential oils!
Colleen Hogan Zimmerman
I have been making this kind of laundry soap for 3 years now. I love it! I do tend to double up on the washing soda and borax just for a bit more cleaning power. I like the idea of the essential oils!
Samantha
So I found this on pinterest(I know, i’m an addict) and I’m really into doing things myself and saving money. Who isn’t! But I was wondering if anyone knows if this is good on sensitive skin? Both my fiance and I have to be careful on what we use and I don’t want to fix up 5 gallons of something we can’t even use. I’d really appreciate the feedback π
Alexandra
My husband and I both also have very sensitive skin, and we washed our sheets with this to test it–neither of us had any bad reaction!
Jen
This is a really dumb question, but how do you store it? Just leave in bucket uncovered? Anyone who has tried this, please feel free to answer! Thank you!!
Hollie
When I have made a variation of this I just pour it into an old store bought soap container and leave the bucket covered in the laundry room and use it out of the other container. I bought a bucket with a lid for this. I don’t want any little ones playing in it or falling in anddrowning in it.
shanon
Another variation is to make a concentrate. Shred 2bars fels naptha and dump in a 12quart dishpan (I got
mine at walmart for $1.97). Add 5quarts hotwater, 2cups borax, 2cups washing soda. Now fill the dishpan to within a few inches of the top. Stir well and let sit at least 24 hrs. Stir again and fill 12 quart jars with it. To use dump a jar of concentrate into an empty detergent bottle ( a canning funnel helps here) then add 2bottles of hot water. Shake well. Use the top to measure or use about 1/2 cup per load. This takes up less room store. I put the dish pan on the shelf, then fill it with jars, the remaining jars are put next to it. When I pull the last jar out of the dishpan I know it’s time to make more!
kim
Hey,Shaye – I have this same recipe, but it calls for 1 Tablespoon per load as the concentrations are a little different. I like the smaller amount for storing in my home π Can’t wait to try it. I was buying Shaklee for a long time, but I am switching.
Love your blog!
Laura Renner
I just read today (on another blog) that you can just use organic soap nuts and it works well with cloth diapers! π You can buy them on amazon and if I remember correctly you place them in a little pouch made from an old t-shirt and rubber band and just toss it in! I am definitely going to try it!
Charlene
Does anyone know if this laundry soap is okay to use in HE washing machines?
Kristal
I have just made my first batch today we shall see how it turns out tomorrow. I am wondering do you use any kind of softener or dryer sheets? Looking forward to your reply. Thanks
DesertHiker
What differentiates washing soda from baking soda?