Homemade Laundry Detergent

A couple months back I told you all about my homemade body scrub; which I'm still using and absolutely love!  In that same post I wrote that I'd be doing more tutorials on natural items.  Well, I'm keeping my word and today I'd like to tell you a bit about homemade laundry detergent.

I've told you before that I like to save money wherever I can.  I also like to avoid harsh, unnatural chemicals as much as possible.  This laundry detergent gives me the best of both worlds!

I've seen lots of laundry detergent recipes out there.  Many are very good.  This is the one I've chosen to use and so for it's been great.

You'll need a 4 lb. box of Borax, a 4 lb. box of Baking Soda, a 3 lb. box of Washing Soda, and 3 bars of Fels Naptha soap (grated).  You can actually use any bar soap you'd like.  I just love the smell of Fels Naptha and it's specifically made for laundry.

You just throw it all together and mix it up.

Now you may notice that my container seems a little small for all those ingredients.  I actually split the recipe in half, simply because of the size of the container I have.  Cutting it in half means I spent about $5 all together on this batch of detergent.  The last batch I made (also a half batch) lasted me 6 months.  This averages out to less than $1 per month on laundry detergent.  Can you believe it!?!?  I'm only doing laundry for two people, so those of you with children or more people in the house will probably use it up quicker, but it's still going to be an incredible bargain.

I use a 2 tablespoon scoop and usually use warm water, just to make sure everything dissolves well.  I haven't had any issues at all with residue.  My clothes are clean every time and they smell great!