I stumbled upon a recipe for homemade laundry detergent back in 2010, made it, used it up and didn’t remake it. Not because it wasn’t cheap, and not because making my own laundry detergent didn’t make me feel like I should wear some sort of a cape, but because I missed really good smelling clothes. And the stain-fighting power of the commercial stuff.
Don’t judge.
But then I found this stuff.
{please, take a moment to admire my gorgeous antique mason jars my hubby’s grandma gifted me with…they make my little heart go pitter-patter}
And I LOVE it! Unlike the original recipe – which is admittedly more natural – it uses OxiClean {yay for little stain-fighting ninjas!} and Purex {hello soft, good smellin’ pits!}. It’s also considerably easier to concoct as it doesn’t require melting anything on the stove, or stirring any 5 gallon buckets of snot-like goop {because it remains in its powdered form}.
So if you’re the penny-pinching, savvy type and are looking for a better, more powerful version of the DIY detergent that made the rounds a while back, you’re in luck. Make this stuff.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients:
- 1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax
- 1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
- 1 (3 lb) Container of OxiClean
- 2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote or Fels Naptha
- 1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
- 1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener
Directions:
- Grate your bars of soap in a food processor {while you can hand grate it, it’s incredibly quick and easy in a food processor – and cleans up spit-spot!}
- In a well ventilated area, preferably outside, pour all of the ingredients into a tote {or any large container will do}, and stir well. My hubby broke out his paint mixer, which he attaches to his drill, and it worked stupendously {cool, but not necessary}. If you’re working with a smaller container, it helps to layer the ingredients in smaller quantities.
Voila! You’re done. And probably set for laundry detergent for the next 6 months. Or year, depending on the size of your family and the status of your relationship with your washing machine.
The original recipe calls for 1-2 tablespoons for load. We use 2 as we have a larger machine and almost always fill it to capacity.
I made a little printable label for you {you’re welcome}, the top label says 2 tablespoons, the lower one says 1 – so simply cut out and use the one you’d need {click on the image to download}.
There’s a recipe & printable for homemade dish detergent right here {where you can see that stupendous label working it’s magic on a repurposed northern beans jar….oooooh, aaaaaah!}
So if you liked the first recipe…you’ll LOVE this one…it smells heavenly and really works well – even on those moisture-wicking {sweat-sucking} shirts my hubby wears under his bullet-proof vest every day. While body-odor inducing seizures may come in handy when putting criminals in headlocks, sweet smelling pits are always a plus upon arriving home, yes?
Everything on the ingredients should be available at your local grocery store {Meijer, Kroger, etc.} in the detergent aisle or baking aisle {baking soda}, so hop to it and whip this stuff up. You can thank me later.
Over and out.
