For those of you who haven’t tried it…making your own laundry soap may sound difficult, messy, or just too complex to mess around with to make it worth the money you save. I promise you, it’s really not that hard. And you don’t need a lot of hard to find ingredients. 🙂
All you need is a bar of hard soap (remember whatever scent your soap is will be the scent of your detergent), 1 box of baking soda (that’s right…baking soda!), and (optional) 1 cup Borax powder.
You will also need a grater and a medium saucepan. Or you could use my sister’s method, which involves wrapping the soap in a towel and pounding it with a hammer. I prefer the grater because the soap flakes end up more uniform in size.
Here’s my soap all grated.
Put just enough water over the soap flakes to cover them. Melt the soap over medium heat, stirring frequently.
Fill a large stockpot or bucket with about 2 gallons of hot water. Pour melted soap into the hot water and stir well.
Stir entire box of baking soda into soapy water and stir.
If you want, you can stir about a cup of Borax in.
This will just about fill three large laundry soap containers. Be sure to shake it before using…the contents will gel a bit after settling.
The benefits?
First of all cost:
I bought a 3 pack of hypoallergenic Dial from the Dollar tree. I only used one bar of soap so it cost about .33 cents.
Baking soda cost about .60 cents (you can use generic which is cheaper…about .40 cents)
One cup Borax approx. .70 cents (that’s figuring high)
Total cost $1.63 for approximately 168 loads of laundry!
Another benefit is that it is hypoallergenic. If you have family members with soap allergies, this is the perfect, thrifty solution.
The soap may look different than the store bought brands, but it cleans very well You can use it in standard and HE washers as it doesn’t make a lot of suds.
This soap is more eco-friendly because it does not contain the harmful toxins that store bought soaps usually have.
I hope this makes the idea of making your own detergent less complicated, and hopefully answered some of your questions. If you have any more questions about making your own laundry soap feel free to ask! 🙂
Linking up here:
Happy Hodgepodge Home 
Variation: Julie and I use arm & hammer Laundry Soda (comes in a big box) and borax, and we make 5 gallons (more water).
Thanks Kendalyn! I completely forgot to mention the other variations. Your version would also save more money, too! I only stick with the version I use because sometimes the laundry soda sells out quick here (they never stock enough) and I’m guaranteed to get the baking soda. 🙂
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed my visit to your sweet blog I am a new linky follower. Hugs and wishes for a beautiful week ahead.
Thank you! And thank you for following! 🙂 I hope that you have a great week, too! 🙂
Hi! Would I use the same amount of this laundry detergent as I would a store bought brand, per cycle?
Hi Kerry! I use about the same amount as the store bought brands…and in the same way. For example, use a little more with very soiled laundry and a little less for lightly soiled clothing. I also wash all but the occasional heavily soiled laundry in cold water and it works very well. Thanks for stopping by! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask…I’ll do my best to answer! 🙂
Thanks Michelle! I’m looking forward to trying your homemade laundry detergent and saving some money! 🙂
You’re welcome, Kerry! I hope it works out well for you! 🙂