Homemade Laundry Soap

Why spend tons of money on organic or hypoallergenic laundry detergents when it is SO easy to make at home? I highly recommend this process to anyone with sensitive skin or people with babies. If you're a New Yorker and want to try some before making it, message me in the comments section and I will give you a sample or sell you a half gallon for $4.

Step One: Grate 1/2 bar soap of your choice (I like to use castille or coconut oil soap). ***

Step Two: Dissolve at low heat on stovetop in 3 c water.

Step Three: Add 1/4 c washing soda (can be ordered online if you can't find it), 1/4 c borax, 2 c hot water.

Step Four: Stir, let sit about 5 min. Add 1/2 gallon water and 2 cups, stir.

Step Five: Let sit overnight. It will come out kind of goopy and lumpy.

You don't need to use much, maybe a 1/4 cup per load. I store it in milk jugs. I wash all my laundry with it and have to make more about once every 3 months. It works GREAT in high efficiency washers-- I use slightly more than is recommended since this soap is not highly concentrated. FYI: It will not suds. This is ok. Sudsing is not necessary for cleaning.

*** Many online recipes insist you use Ivory soap. Guess what? The only thing "pure" about Ivory is the name and the color. Here is Ivory's ingredient list: sodium tallowate (that would be BEEF OR PORK FAT, which is in almost every commonly used commercial soap-- ew), sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate (palm oil or coconut oil, but there's no guarantee which), water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance (who knows from what source or whether it will make you itchy.) The first time I made it I used a coconut oil soap whose ingredients were as follows: Saponified Coconut Oil. It worked great. I have used a multitude of pure vegetable soaps and all have been fine. If you WANT fragrance I'd suggest using a lavender soap which will give a nice fresh scent.