Powdered Laundry Detergent

Laundry Soap- Part 2

A few weeks ago, I posted about Why I Make Laundry Soap, and I talked about two different varieties of soap.  In that post, I mentioned about my powdered variety, but when I went to make the link to the original site where I got the recipe, it was gone! The link was replaced with no helpful information regarding the making of a powdered laundry soap. I have no way to give credit to the original author, as the site is no longer in existence.

Luckily, I loved the recipe so much that I had written it out, taped it to my laundry area, and referred to it on a biannual basis before the site was altered. Here is my handwritten version.

Laundry Soap Recipe

1 (4lb, 12 oz) Box of Borax

1 (3lb, 7oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

 2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote or Fels Naptha Soap

 4 lbs Baking soda

2 Bottles of Purex Crystals (optional)

1 Large Box of Oxiclean

Using a cheese grater or similar tool, grate the bar soap into a powder or crumbles. Add to a large container. Add other ingredients and mix well. Store in a resealable container in a dry place. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load. 

Part of the reason why I love this recipe is that it is possible to alter it without too much trouble. Tonight, I didn't have quite everything I needed to make a half batch, but we needed soap! So I made it with the following changes: I only had about 2/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha, so I added the rest in grated Ivory soap crumbles. I like the smell even better I think. I also didn't have any Purex Crystals and since I don't care too much about the scent,  that was no major problem. The Purex Crystals are just for scent. I also was short of Oxiclean, but I had a box of BIZ instead, so that allowed me to have a quick substitution. 

We are back in stock with laundry soap, and this half batch will probably last me into the summer!

Why I Make Laundry Soap

Laundry soap can be a touchy issue with folks. I get it. We like to smell nice. We like to feel fresh in an ugly, dirty world. Our clothes are expensive, and we want to take good care of them. I get it. But at what cost?

Before I started making my own laundry soap, I used Tide. Tide only. Because it smelled nice, and it got nice and sudsy when I filled my washing machine with water and clothes. Tide made my house smell nice. It even smelled nice outside around my dryer vent. It's expensive though. I think we were spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 per small bottle about 4 times a month or about $17 if I bought the big one, and I needed about one and a half of those per month. So about $30 per month on laundry soap. That's about $360 per year I was spending just on detergents for me to keep our clothes clean.

A couple of summers ago when my husband and I were starting the conversation about how we could make it financially possible for me to stay home with our kids, this expense came to my mind. I had seen a couple of crazy people on Pinterest who were making their own detergents like one that was a powder. The particular one that I liked was interesting. It said it was about $17 to make a batch, so I decided to give it a shot.  (I would provide the link, but it has since been taken down. Thankfully, I wrote down the recipe.) Basically, you grind up some Zote or Fels Naptha, mix it with Borax, Oxiclean, Washing Soda, Baking Soda, and Purex Crystals, and you've got soap. One full batch takes about 15 minutes to make and about $17 in supplies, and it lasted me about SIX months! When I switched to using that soap, I saved our family about $326 per year!

Things I like about powdered, homemade laundry soap:

Cost

Fragrance is based on Purex Crystals

Ingredients are available at my local hardware

Easy storage (I use my Mega That's a Bowl from Tupperware)

Uses only about one tablespoon per load

A few months ago, I saw some Pins where some frugal folks were making their own liquid soap too, and I was curious how that worked. I got a recipe, tried it, and I liked it just as well. My husband doesn't like it as much as the powder, so I think I am going to keep a batch of both on hand.

Things that I like about liquid, homemade laundry soap:

Cost

Fragrance can be any essential oil you like (I used wild orange)

Ingredients are basically the same as the powdered version

Storage is in recycled gallon jugs from milk or other liquids

Uses about the same amount as store-bought liquid soap

You have to decide for yourself about your laundry needs, but I want you to know that I have clean clothes and an extra $300+ per year in my pocket that doesn't go to some big name company.

Link to the Liquid Laundry Soap recipe that I used: Liquid Laundry Soap