How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

I’ve been making my own homemade laundry detergent for years now.  Since I’m working on my laundry room this month for a $100 makeover project I thought I’d share the recipe with you again.  It’s super easy and will save a lot of money!  BTW, these photos are giving you a sneak peek.  You’ll get to see the whole thing on March 31!

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Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

Three ingredients is all it takes:

• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
• 1 bar Fels-Naptha

The ingredients can be a little hard to find.  In my area I can get them all at Ace Hardware.  When I bought the ingredients for this batch the girl checking me out actually asked if I was making homemade detergent.  She’s the first person I’ve ever met that knew what I was doing!  She told me she had three little boys and has been making her own for a while.  According to her, her boys are soooooo dirty it takes THREE tablespoons of detergent to get there clothes clean!

lol… Thats one big difference that you have to get used to when you start making this.  It usually only takes ONE heaping tablespoon of detergent for a regular-sized load of laundry!  That’s what I’ve been using.  (Unless Bikeman is washing clothes… I’m not sure how much detergent we went through that week.)

Start by grating your soap.  You can do this any way you like but you can see my secret weapon below.  My grandmother got me (and my sister & sil) a salad shooter MANY, MANY years ago for Christmas.  This is the only thing I use it for now.

After you grate the soap it will look like the photo below.  I’ve found that these gratings are a little big.  If I leave them this size they might not all dissolve in the wash.  So I stick my hands in and break them up a little before adding the other ingredients.  It looks like cheese, doesn’t it?

Measure out 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washing soda, and mix all together.

You’re done!  It’s that easy.

I keep a vintage Tablespoon in the jar and this is really all I use for a normal load of clothes!

I usually make three batches at a time (3 bars, 3 cups borax, 3 cups washing soda).  I need to make a note next time and see how long that lasts us.

If you like this recipe for homemade laundry detergent, check out these articles:

• How to Make Homemade Dryer Balls
• How to Make Homemade Dryer Sheets (coming soon)
• How to Make Liquid Laundry Detergent

Try it out and play with the amount you use.  I think you’ll be surprised at how little it takes!

‘Til the next project,

 Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim

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