My Laundry Soap Recipe

I’m going to give you the exact recipe I use for laundry soap. As you know, I am not a big fan of there is only one way to do something. I don’t like limiting people. I want them to think, be creative, and problem solve. But sometimes it is helpful to start with something known before venturing off into the realm of possibilities. I like this recipe a lot. It’s been solid for me. I hope you like it, too!

Supplies:

• 15 ounces of laundry soap bars. I make my own, but have used commercially available in the past. Two easy to find brands are Fels-Naptha and Zote. Places like Wal-Mart sell them.

• 76 ounces Borax. This is a little over one entire box, so buy two. Again easy to find in stores.

• 55 ounces Washing Soda. This is one entire box worth.

• 16 ounces Baking Soda

• 96 ounces Oxi-Clean

• 32 ounces Epsom Salt

• 60 drops Essential Oils of Choice. I like half lemon, half lavender.

• Kitchen Scale

• Large Bowl

• Cutting Board

• Knife

• Grater or blender or food processor. I use my blender, the soap comes out in smaller pieces that way.

• 2- 13 gallon trash bags.

• Large lidded container for finished laundry soap.

• Tablespoon for measuring out soap.

• Desiccant packets, optional.

How-To:

This can get a little messy, so make sure you’re working somewhere you can make a mess!

So let’s start with those trash bags. You need to put one inside the other. We are going to put our laundry soap ingredients in here to mix them together.

I like to set them on the floor. I think it’s easier to flip the bag around on the floor for mixing, so why not just keep it there?

The next thing to do is either cut up the laundry soap bars into smallish chunks, or grate the bars on your grater. If you are grating the bars, try to find the smallest holes that will still work. The finer the soap pieces, the better. If they are too big, you will find them undissolved and stuck to your clothes.

If you are using a blender/ food processor, cut your soap into small chunks, and place them in your blender or processor. You have an extra step in that you will need to add one of the powdered ingredients along with the soap so it doesn’t stick to the blades and not get processed. This could be any of them, but I think the washing soda is the easiest choice. You won’t need to weigh out the exact amount for the recipe ahead of time, because the entire box gets used. You can just use enough to make sure the soap bars aren’t sticking and jamming.

Obviously, process the soap until it is in tiny granular pieces, or as close as you can get it. If you grated your bar, simply add the grated soap to the interior trash bag.

It should look something like this, or finer.

Weigh out, using your scale and large bowl, the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the Epsom salt, and add them to the trash bag with the soap bars and washing soda. Make sure you are getting everything inside the interior trash bag.

Now weigh out the Epsom salt, and add your essential oil drops to it. Mix this around and then add it to the trash bag with the other ingredients.

Tie off the interior trash bag as tightly as you can.

Do the same with the exterior bag.

To mix the laundry soap all together, flip the bag around in all directions, multiple times. Think of it like a little workout!

Once you feel confident your soap is mixed, it’s time to put it into the container you have for storage. I use a large glass jar with a lid to store mine. I think it is around 3 gallons in capacity.

I make sure the interior bag in down in one corner of the exterior bag. I insert that corner into my container, and then cut it open so the soap mix can pour out.

I taped instructions on the front for the kids. One scoop is one tablespoon.

And there you have it!

Use this just like you would regular laundry detergent. It works for those HE machines as well.

So why did I start making my own? At first, it was price. I could make a huge batch of soap for way less than what one big jug of detergent cost me.

What kept me making it? My clothes were brighter and cleaner. It got even better once I went back to a top load washer with the center beater. Soap cleans differently than detergent, and better in my opinion. Why add optical brighteners and artificial fragrance when I can just have clean clothes?

Do you need a fabric softener? No, stop being a baby. I am partially kidding. The epsom salt acts as the fabric softener. I don’t find that I need to add any additional. I also hang out my laundry in the summer, and it comes in less stiff, but not as soft as from the dryer.

How long does the smell last? Is it strong? The smell does not linger, but since your clothes are actually clean, you don’t need to cover up with fragrance. I do not find it over powering or strong in any way, but if you’re a super-smeller, you may find it so. Of course, you can leave the essential oils out for a mostly fragrance free option.

Can I substitute any soap bar for the laundry ones? I don’t recommend you do. The thing with soap is that it is formulated it based on what it needs to do. Body bars, for example, have a high concentration of oils and butters in order to keep the skin from drying out while still cleaning your skin. That amount of oil could clog your washer. Laundry bars or highly cleansing bars are formulated to not leave any oils, they cleanse, but don’t moisturize.

Why do you make your own laundry bars? Because the commercial ones don’t always have the best ingredients, some add optical brighteners and artificial fragrances. Neither of those are good for your health.

What about stains? I find this recipe to work just fine at combating stains. If I know something has a particularly tough stain, I use some water and a bit of laundry bar and rub it into the stain. I find that to be enough, usually. Peroxide and some dish detergent also make a good stain lifter.

You mentioned desiccant packets? Yes! If you live in a particularly humid area, adding some desiccant packets to your laundry soap will help keep it from clumping together. I live out West where it is quite dry, so I haven’t had too much trouble with it clumping.

I hope you give this a try. Pretty much everything can be found at your local Wal-Mart, or sometimes even dollar stores.

Thanks for being here! See you soon!