homemade laundry detergent

I made liquid laundry detergent several months ago, and I really liked it (the recipe for the liquid laundry detergent is at the bottom of this post).  A woman I know was making her own powdered detergent and after she said how great it was I decided to make my own too.  After I had used up all the liquid detergent, I bought all the stuff to make the powdered.  All you need is Fels Naptha soap, washing soda, and Borax.  I found all three in the laundry aisle at Walmart! 

Oh my...I love it.  It's super easy, all you have to do is blend everything in your food processor!  And it's cheap!  There is nothing better than that!!!

I bought this really cute jar at Target and put some letters on it with my mom's Cricut and....viola!

You can make as much as you want, this time I made 6 batches.  I'm hooked.

The Recipe:

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

From the kitchen of:  Lindsey



Makes:

Ingredients:

1 bar Fels Naptha laundry soap

1 cup Borax

1 cup washing soda

Recipe Instructions:

1.  Combine 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda in a food processor.  Then using the grating attachment, grate or shred the bar of soap into the borax mixture.  Pulse until the soap is in fine tiny pebbles and the mixture is well combined.  Pour into the container of your choice.  (You can make as many batches of this as you wish.)

2.  Use 1 tablespoon for regular loads of laundry.  Use 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled loads.

Reposted from 9-17-11

So you might find a recipe for laundry detergent to be out of place here.  But...it's not.  I have a recipe for making your own laundry detergent and since it's a recipe and since I've hunted it down, I think that hits both of the points for the purpose of this blog!


I've been thinking of making my own for some time now and finally last night happened to be the night.  Isn't it funny how all of a sudden you can get an urge to do something and so you just...do it?!  I found everything I needed while I was grocery shopping.  You can also find it all at Target and probably Walmart.  The things I needed to get me started cost around $10.00.  I can make 3 batches or 192 loads just from what I came home with last night!  Then, when I buy more soap I can make 6 more batches or 384 loads, before I have to go buy more Borax and washing soda!


Now...unless something tragic happens like all my clothes disintegrate or my washing machine explodes...I see laundry detergent making becoming a part of my everyday life.


You can add essential oils to the soap to give it a pretty scent.  I only have peppermint oil and I'm not entirely sure I want to use that.  I'd really prefer to use lavender oil so I may go out and buy some this week.


Also, the next time I need to buy more soap, I think I will try to find something scented like lavender or vanilla to use.


I know it sounds scary...making your own laundry detergent.  But trust me, it's not.  Thirty minutes in the kitchen and the thing was done.  Now...I'm just waiting until tomorrow to use it!  I can't wait!

The Recipe:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
From the Kitchen of:  Pennywise Women
Makes:

Ingredients:
1 bar of soap (any kind you choose)
1/2 cup washing soda
1 cup Borax
4 cups water plus 24 cups hot water

Recipe Instructions:

1.  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  While the water comes to a boil, grate the bar of soap using a cheese grater.

2.  Add handfuls of the grated soap, stirring until dissolved.

3.  Add the washing soda and Borax and stir until dissolved.

4.  Pour the remaining 24 cups of hot water into a storage container.  Add the soap mixture and stir well.

5.  Cover the soap mixture and let sit for 24 hours before using. Yields 64 loads.

6.  You can add a few drops of essential oils to give it a great scent.

7.  Use 1/2 cup of the laundry detergent for each load of laundry.