DIY: Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hello there all,

There is something that I love about this whole homesteading movement that is sweeping around. We are almost regressing and going back to the way things our grandparents did things. I love that because we are recognizing the purpose of why past generations did what they did: it worked. We are losing some of the craftsmanship and quality by our recent streamlined processes. Additionally, we are being horrible to our bodies, our wallet, and the environment.

One way that I have been embracing this homesteadiness culture is that I have been making my own homemade laundry detergent for the last couple of years. Yes, I know how granola I sound right now, but it legitimately works! Also, it is waaaaay cheaper than laundry soap which can get expensive.

You only need three ingredients and a couple of kitchen utensils. These ingredients can be found at any grocery store, and you can use the Borax and Washing Soda in a million different recipes for homemade cleaning products.

                                      

Ingredients:

• Borax
• washing soda
• 1 bar of soap (I usually use bars of soap that I find in the health and beauty section which smell delicious to give my laundry a nice smell, but I have read multiple people suggest Fels-Naptha which can be found in the cleaning aisle with laundry soap).

Supplies:

• Food processor or grater (I recommend a food processor if you can because the grater kills my hands)
• measuring cups
• Airtight Container for storage
• Bowl (optional)

The steps:

1.) Break your bar of soap up to put into the food processor and pulse it until the soap chunks become broken down into finer pieces. If you are using a grater, grate away your bar into a bowl.

2.) Measure out one cup of Borax and one cup of washing soda.

3.) (Optional) Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

4.) Put all ingredients into your airtight storage container. I pour all ingredients into my airtight container and shake it around to mix it. Who wants to mess up more dishes? Plus, this gives me a reason to Salsa Dance with my growler.

5.) Store the container wherever you prefer. When it is laundry time, measure 1-2 TBSP of the detergent for each load. 

What homemade cleaning products do you make? If not, what has been stopping you?

-Autumn