Homemade Laundry Detergent

Well, it seems that making your own Homemade Laundry Detergent is the "IN" thing to do right now, so of course I wanted to give it a try!..

I researched what seemed like dozens of websites to check out what everyone was doing & in the end I combined different ideas to make what I thought would be the best detergent. Did I have ANYTHING to make it? Well, Yes, Yes I did (That was the Phineas & Ferb in me talking) I had Oxi Clean. Yup, that's it, 1 thing out of the list of ingredients I needed & in every "recipe" I looked at it was an Optional item.

Now if you have read my profile you know I am new to all of this and don't have a whole lot of experience in ... well... anything really... but I have to say, I am very proud & happy to say this stuff works great! But I get that you might be hesitant as I was too, so if you decide to go with my Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe you can make a "Sample" version. (Pretty smart if I do say so myself...)! ...That way you can try it out and see how you like it. if you do, YAY, you can make a bigger batch (Instructions Below), and if not you have only used up a little bit of your "New Investment" & you can go on and try out another recipe!

Okay, Now lets get this party started!

This is what you will need.

1 Box of Borax (Laundry Booster)

1 Box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Laundry Booster & Household Cleaner)

1 Box of Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

1 Bottle of Oxi Clean (Stain Remover) (Optional)

1 Bar of Fels-Naptha Bar Soap (Good for Pre-Treating Stains)

1 Bar of Scented Soap (Optional)

What you will need to prepare...

A Cheese Grater

1 Zip Lock Bag
1 Towel

1 airtight container with lid

First, lay out your towel on the surface you are going to work on. That way if you make a mess (which you will) you can just toss it in the washing machine. for a mess free clean up.

All Right, First Up

Grate your Soap & Put in a plastic bag.

Isn't this such a wonderful little grater? (Okay so I realize you can't see this but there is a container on the bottom of it so it fits together like Tupperware) Got it at The Dollar Store. :)

 REMEMBER... THIS IS NOT CHEESE, DO NOT EAT IT!!!
(See, I told you, there is the Tupperware container)

This is what it will look like once you have mixed the soaps together. 

Now its time to work on the Powders.

Add 1 Cup of Borax to your Container (See the mess... Its inevitable)

Add 1 cup of Super Washing Soda

Add 1/2 cup of Pure Baking Soda

Add 1/2 cup of Oxi-Clean

Now Add 1 Cup of shredded soap & Shake It!

Use 1 Tablespoon of detergent per load

Now you have a small sample size of this Laundry Detergent to try out. If you don't like it search the web, there are dozens upon dozens of Laundry Detergent Recipes out there. Powdered, Liquid, Ext.

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If you are curious like me you are probably wondering if the bar soap will dissolve in the washer because if it doesn't this would not be good! Well, I tested a very small amount in a bowl to show you that it will. :)

The water is soapy & there are no chunks of anything leftover. This is about 15 minutes later.. 

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Here are instructions on preparing a large batch of Laundry Detergent

6 Cups of Borax

6 Cups of Super Washing Soda

1 Cups of Pure Baking Soda

3 Cups of Oxi Clean

2 full bars of shredded soap

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 Tips & Helpful Hints:

Keep in mind you do not have to use a scented bar of soap. I did because I wanted a girly smell. The Fels-Napa soap is made for laundry and has a slight "Clean" smell. I actually debated if I should grate a bar of Pomegranate Mango soap like I did because I enjoyed the "clean" smell but I did it anyway. I suggest you grate your soap on the small part of your grater. I used the large side and blended it in the blender like another blogger suggested to make the chunks smaller, kind of a waste of time so just be smart and grate it small in the first place.