Easiest DIY Laundry Soap

Do you spend a fortune on laundry detergent?  Here is the easiest DIY laundry soap ever!

Are you tired of the waste the packaging generates?  This homemade laundry detergent costs pennies per load and is very high quality.

Pennies per load.  I can’t emphasize that enough.  Particularly if you are trying to stick to a tight budget!

We’ve been doing this for years and it works great!

And…in terms of an EASY DIY, this is a great place to start.

I’ve seen many variations of this recipe online.  Some have several more ingredients.  And still, some add water and gel up into a liquid form.

WE ALL LOVE CLEAN LAUNDRY

Who doesn’t love freshly washed clothes, sheets, or towels?  And who wants to keep things simple and as inexpensive as possible?

This is by far the simplest “recipe” I have used.  It really cleans our clothes and linens well.

AND it lasts a very long time, because you only need about a tablespoon per load, sometimes a little bit less.

How does it clean the clothes with such a small quantity?

I’m so glad you asked!

Once upon a time, we had a washing machine repair person here, and he told me that the biggest mistake people make when they do laundry is that they use TOO MUCH DETERGENT.

Yes, that’s correct.

Even though instinctively, it would stand to reason that more detergent would equal cleaner clothes…

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

You see, it leaves a residue, making a clean rinse nearly impossible.

In fact, it creates a more favorable environment for dirt to cling and thrive.

Don’t sabotage your efforts by using too much detergent.  In this case, less is definitely more!

We keep a dedicated tablespoon in the jar of laundry soap.  In fact, we rarely use a full tablespoon for each load.

HOW TO MAKE THE EASIEST DIY LAUNDRY SOAP

You will need 3 ingredients:

Washing Soda, Borax, and Castile Soap (bar)

If you live in a country where Borax is banned, you can make it simply with washing soda and bar castile soap.

Here in the U.S., it is banned only as a food additive.  It can still be purchased as a cleaning product.

Yes, it used to be used in the production of food.

Ew.

In some other parts of the world, it is no longer sold at all for any purpose.

So, if you are in that situation, fear not!  And your task just got one step easier.  Just ditch the borax.  It still has great cleaning power!

I recommend using either a grater or food processor to grate your soap. For years, we used a “dedicated” cheese grater for this purpose.  If I asked nicely, I could often get a helper involved.

But then, I discovered the food processor!

Obviously, the food processor makes very short work of this process, plus the grated soap is finer and more uniform in texture.

Just make sure you thoroughly clean the machine when you are finished.  My food processor has parts that are dishwasher safe, thank goodness.

Castile soap can be pricey sometimes, but I’ve found the brand, “Kirk’s,” to be fairly reasonable in cost.  I’ve seen it in many stores, as well as online.  (This is not a sponsored post, I’m just speaking from my own experience.)

Borax and washing soda are also fairly inexpensive and can be found in most grocery stores, supermarkets, as well as houseware stores.

If the washing soda gets clumpy, you can use a potato masher to turn it into more of a fine powder.

Mix your ingredients together until it resembles as fine a powder as you can get.

Víola!  Scoop out a scant tablespoon for each load of laundry.

FARMHOUSE TIP

If you’ve just purchased some washing soda, and you don’t use up the whole box, transfer the remainder into a mason jar.  Sometimes moisture gets into the box and causes it to clump, like in the picture above.  If you find that it has already clumped, and you can’t mash the clumps out, you can put it through a sifter.  Be sure to wash the sifter thoroughly after use!  If using a food processor, you won’t need to sift it beforehand, as the action of the blade will break up the clumps finely and easily.

Easiest DIY Laundry Soap

Print

Easy to make, DIY powdered laundry soap for home use

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

• 1 Bar Castile Soap
• 2 Cups Washing Soda
• 1 Cup Borax Optional

Tools

• Bowl
• Spoon
• Potato Masher
• (optional food processor)

Instructions

1. Grate soap by hand with a cheese grater or a food processor.
2. Add Washing Soda (and Borax, if using) and mix by hand or pulse with the food processor.
3. Place in a sealed container, such as a mason jar with a lid.
4. To use, scoop out one tablespoon (or a little bit less) per load of wash.

Enjoy the process!  We love our clean laundry!  And our easiest diy laundry soap!

It’s almost time for Spring Cleaning!  I’d love to know what are your money-saving laundry tips?

♥