DIY Laundry Detergent

I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year and a half now and am SO in love with the results!

I googled a bunch of recipes, but ended up using this one here as a base.

She has lots of great recipies, but I choose to do a powdered one. I had to change the recipie around a bit but this is what I ended up with:

• 1/2 bar of grated Pure Sunlight bar soap

• 1/2 cup of Washing Soda

• 1/2 cup of Borax

I actually had a really hard time finding washing soda in Ontario. In fact, we had to ask my grandmother-in-law to pick up a box when they went to the States - which she did and I am SO grateful for! (I have recently made a visit to the US myself and stocked up!)

The original recipe also required fel's naptha bar soap which I also had a hard time finding. I had thought I'd seen in in a grocery store a long time ago, but do you think I could remember which store? Of course not! So I ended up buying a bar of pure sunlight soap instead which actually works great and smells fantastic!

Making the soap could not get any simpler!

Steps:

1 - Finely grate 1/2 the bar of soap (makes approximately 1 cup of soap).

2 - Add the grated 1/2 bar of soap in a medium sized bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. Mix well.

3 - Use 1/2 tbsp for normal loads, and 1 tbsp for heavier soiled loads.


And there you have it! A perfectly simple powdered laundry soap that is very easy to use and cleans great!

Yes - you can use this in front loading washing machines! Just use a little less soap (maybe 1/3 tbsp to 1/2 tbsp per load).

I had this cute wooden container that I bought at a yard sale and used to store my tea in - I cleaned it out and now store my laundry detergent in it! It's the perfect size! 

(I also printed some a label with the recipe and added it to the back of the box as well as a cute label for the front!)

I keep a half-tablespoon measuring spoon in the container to ensure we have the correct amount each time. Even the hubby can't mess this one up!

Why do I make my own soap, do you ask? For me, it's the pure cost savings of it. 

Here is the break down:

Sunlight bar x 2 = $2.00 (use half bar per recipe) = $0.50 per batch
Box of Borax $5.00 (approx. 9 cups. Use 1/2 cup per recipe) = $0.28 per batch
Washing Soda $3.00 (approx. 7 cups. Use 1/2 cup per recipe) = $0.21 per batch

Total to make this recipe (32 loads of laundry)= $0.99

32 loads of laundry = $0.03 per load load

It's the simple things in life that keep me going :)

I have recently tried a liquid soap that I am also IN LOVE with! Plus, there is no soap grating involved so it is much quicker to make. More on that recipe in a future post. :)

Have you ever made your own detergent? Willing to try? What are your thoughts?