In the past, I’ve talked about how to save on store bought laundry detergents and what a good price is. Y’all always surprise me with how resourceful you are and many of you prefer to make your own! If this is new territory for you, there are lots of options and certain products that are required if you want to make sure your clothes are actually clean.

I’m more of a cost-savings kind of girl than an “all natural” products person, but you get the advantage of both with these if you do them right.

You can do either a powdered laundry detergent or a liquid version. There are pros and cons to both. The powdered detergent takes up less space in your laundry room, but it may not dissolve as easily if you are a cold-water washer. This means you end up using more ingredients to get the same level of clean. Both recipes are fine to use with HE washers, although you may be able to reduce the amount needed.

Recipes for Homemade Laundry Detergent

Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe

(Yields 3 cups = 40 loads)

1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar (you can also use Ivory, Dr. Bronner’s Bars or another soap you like)
1 c. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 c. 20 Mule Team Borax

Grate the bar of soap with a small cheese grater or put it in an old food processor until powdered. Combine the three ingredients into a large container. You can get creative with a pretty glass jar like the one above or just reuse an old plastic container. For a small or un-soiled load, use approximately 1 tablespoon of your soap. For heavy or very dirty laundry, use 2-3 tablespoons.

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe

(Yields 2 gallons = 64 loads)

1/3 bar Fels-Naptha Soap Bar (you can also use Ivory, Dr. Bronners Bars or another soap you like)
1/2 c. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 c. 20 Mule Team Borax
A bucket or storage container

Read More→