DIY Cheap Laundry Detergent

I don't consider myself a tree hugger, but I do consider myself cheap. Sure, I care about the environment so I recycle and I do the whole paperless billing thing, but if we're going to be honest then you should know the truth. I care about learning how to lessen my environmental impact especially if it’s convenient and more cost effective in the long run. Yeah, yeah, yeah… maybe I’m a little selfish. I’ve accepted it and you probably should too.

A friend of mine, Leslie (love ya!) gave me the idea about making my own laundry detergent a few years ago. It is not only more cost effective, but it's gentler on your body and the environment, so I thought why not? 

Plus, if you have ever heard my ramblings about how evil GMO products are or that high fructose corn syrup is basically Satan in food form then you know how I feel about additives and chemicals. My rule is that if I can’t pronounce it or it sounds obviously processed, then I don’t buy it. That, my friends, is a much easier rule to follow concerning foods. I have yet to find cleaning products, shampoo, conditions that I actually know what all the ingredients are. Even those "natural" and "organic" products have some strange ingredients-- just look at the labels!

This homemade laundry detergent consists of 3 ingredients:

• Bar Soap
• Borax
• Washing soda

Bar Soap

You can actually use ANY plant based bar soap like Tom's of Maine, Dr. Bonner's castile soap,  or Mrs. Meyers. Some people even use Ivory soap. But there are a lot of debates about which is the safest and the most efficient. All I will say that is that none of them are perfect, so make sure you know read the labels and get to know the products so that you pick the one that's right for you.

I've used quite a few of them, but in this recipe I'm using Fels Naptha mainly because I found a box on sale (remember-- I'm cheap). Lots of people have been asked me, “What the heck is Fels Naptha?! Why can't I just use regular soap?!” To which I reply it is a soap, but it’s not just any soap-- it's made to clean. It’s been around for over 100 years and it’s pretty heavy duty.  However, it is NOT body soap. It’s a cleaning product. So, please, for the love of God, do not eat it, wash your child's mouth out with it or anything else that would involve putting this inside of your body. 

So, what’s Borax? 
It’s Fels Naptha’s cousin. 

The product consists of 99.5 percent pure, naturally occurring borax so there’s no synthetic, man-made chemicals involved at all … no bleach, fragrance, or colors. But it is still not nontoxic, so treat it like you would any other cleaning product and don’t feed it to your cat or add half a box of it to your bath.

Okay, but what does it do? It can help soften hard water, be a house hold cleaner, a deodorizer, unclog drains, and can be used in some arts and crafts projects like making candles. Pretty handy stuff, right?

Washing Soda is baking soda’s bully of a sister. It has a higher pH so it packs a bit more of a punch. 

It has similar uses as Borax: water softener, bleach alternative, deodorizer, you can use it to shine your silver, and you can use it on heavy duty spills. It also should NOT be substituted for baking soda and it should not be consumed. It is even recommended that you wear gloves while handling this product due to his high pH. However, I don't and my hands are just fine. But, of course, you should wear gloves because I'm all about safety. Your safety. 

Here is what you need to make your own Laundry Detergent:

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe 

• 1 bar of plant based soap, shredded, grated, or whatever (see below)
• 1 cup of Borax
• 1 cup of Washing Soda

The hardest part is cutting up the bar of Fels-Naptha, but you have three options – chop it into small blocks, rough chop into slivers, or grate it. The first two will require the use of a food processor so if you don’t have one, then you only have one option! Lucky you! It's a pain, but look at the bright side-- you'll have really nice arms. 

My favorite option is to take the knife and rock it back and forth close to the end of the bar. By doing this little broken slivers will fall off.  Think about breaking down chocolate– very similar idea here.

Anyways, THAT is what it looks like.

As I break down the bar, I toss it into the food processor. If you have any thick pieces it will look like crumbs once you pulse it a couple of times. Trust me-- it's fine.

Now add the Borax and the washing soda to the food processor and just pulsed it a few times. The soap will just melt into the other products and it will be a nice uniform consistency. It’s ready to use! Put it in a container and stick that bad boy in your laundry room.

This is how to use it

For large loads the recommendation is 1 tablespoons, but for small loads ½ tablespoon is just fine. 

This single recipe lasted me for about 6 months when I was single and since I found The Man it lasts around 4 months now. I found the products at Ace Hardware, Walmart and Publix (Florida Grocery Store).

• Fels-Naptha: $0.99 at Publix, $1.49 at Ace
• Borax: $3.99 at Publix, $4.99 at Ace
• Washing Soda: $2.50 at Publix. Didn’t find it at Ace.

You can use the borax and the washing soda to make about 4 recipes, so if you break it down-- the cost is minimal. I love cheap stuff! 

When I find cheap things that are better for me than more expensive things it makes me feel like I’ve conquered something truly menacing… and maybe even evil. Yeaaahh… evil. I’m totally like the Harry Potter of the domestic world. Badass.

Wanna Go All Natural For Your Laundry?  
DIY Detergent Borax Free
Laundry Spot Remover
Dryer Balls
Soap Nuts
Fabric Softener 

Looking for Other Ways to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution: 
Clean up Indoor Air Pollution with these easy steps 

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