Home Made Laundry Detergent

The first time I ever made laundry detergent, I made liquid detergent, and after all the messy melting, boiling, stirring and pouring, I knew I'd never do that again.

So I tried the powdered version next. I don't remember where I found the original recipe (most likely Pinterest ;) but I have since adjusted and tweaked it so it's perfect for us!

There are 5 of us (3 males, so stuff gets dirty!) and we use an HE front loader washer.

What you need:

• Cheese grater or food processor
• 1 bar of castile soap  (about $2.50)
• 2 cups of Borax (about 95c)
• 2 cups of washing soda (about $1.25)
• 10 drops of preferred essential oil - I enjoy lemon or other citrus scent (optional)
• Container (preferably with a seal to keep moisture out)

What to do:

1. Grate your bar soap using a cheese grater or a food processor, which is what I use when I'm in a rush (i.e. most of the time). 
2. Add all ingredients to your container (including your essential oil if you have chosen one) and shake/mix well. If your container is large, or hard to shake, use a zip lock bag to do the shaking and then transfer the mix to your laundry detergent container.
3. Use 1 tablespoon for a regular load, 2 tablespoons for an extra dirty load.

Things to note:

• Using a cheese grater allows you to grate the cheese more finely, which makes it blend nicely even though it does take a bit longer.
• No, grating the soap in the food processor has not ruined it, nor is there flying soap or mess ;)
• Essential oil is useful for more than just scent - if you need to disinfect, add lavender or tea tree to your load - 3 or so drops should do.  If you are washing bedding, add chamomile and lavender to aid sleep.
• Your whole batch should do about 32-64 loads depending on how much you use, costing you 7c a load (versus Tide, at about 26c for powdered detergent and 29c for liquid - about a $35 savings a year)
• THE BENEFITS: The benefits for me are not mainly about the savings, although every little bit adds up. The main benefits to me are:
  1)  My product is natural, without any added chemicals. Some of the ingredients found in Tide include:
  
  • Sodium Carbonate
  • Sodium Aluminosilicate
  • Sodium Sulfate
  • Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate
  • Alkyl Sulfate
  • Sodium Percarbonate
  • Sodium Polyacrylate
  • Silicate
  • Nonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate
  • Ethoxylate
  • Polyethylene Glycol 4000
  • Fragrance
  • DTPA
  • Disodium Diaminostilbene Disulfonate
  • Palmitic Acid
  • Protease
  • Silicone
  • Cellulase
  2) It is suds-free/low suds which is good for the septic system!