I scoured the Internet to find a homemade laundry soap that would work for our family.  I settled on this one because:  It is simple. Easy to make.  And easy to store.  The recipe is a conglomerate of all the non-borax detergent mixes I found.  One day I would like my kids to be able to do the laundry and the thought of a slightly caustic detergent made me nervous.

This is a great starter DIY thrifty project.

When I decided to start making/using homemade laundry soap I was quite hesitant and decided to start with just my clothes.  It was the only way to know for sure if it would cause a skin reaction or not get the clothes clean.  And, if someone was going to get an entirely new wardrobe due to a soap malfunction it should be me, right?

This soap was surprisingly wonderful.  The clothes are left smelling clean.  My machine has not become dysfunctional.   It also seems perfectly suitable for a front load washer, in my opinion, because I have not entered my laundry room and found it to be a mountain of suds.  The added bonus is I have not had to clean my washer since using this stuff.  In the past I would occasionally get a funky smell in the wash and have to run a cleaning cycle with a special detergent.  With this detergent, I have not had to do that.

I have even washed cloth diapers with this soap concoction and it has worked well.  If I have a particularly yucky mess, I add Oxiclean in the drum.  An example of a “yucky mess” would be the laundry following a stomach bug.  I want the added security of disinfection without bleach.  I will say no more.

Homemade Laundry Soap

For this you will need a mixing bowl, cutting board and knife (or a mandolin), One cup measurer, Tablespoon Measurer, and a storage container that will hold 4 cups. We use a wide mouth mason jar.

1 bar of Ivory Soap

¼ Cup Kosher Salt

1 Cup Baking Soda

1 Cup Super Washing Powder

Begin by shredding the soap bar.  I have used both a mandolin, box grater, or cut it by hand.  All work well.  Just get the bar soap as fine as you can.

Put the shredded soap in a mixing bowl.

Add the salt and mix it by hand until the salt breaks down the soap even further.

Add the baking soda and mix.

Add the washing powder and mix.

Put it in your chosen container.

Use one tablespoon per laundry load.

I have a super capacity machine so I use a rounded tablespoon.

The best part of this soap is it’s extreme value.

By my calculation it is 5 cents per load.   I knew it would be a savings but I was not expecting that level of value.  To get started was a bigger chunk than buying traditional detergent but I have not had to buy anything else all year.

Here is the product breakdown.  I used the scanner on my phone to find the prices so you may be able to find these products even cheaper.  I purchased all of these items at our local Walmart.

Ivory Soap – 10 Bars – $6.70

Kosher Salt – 48 oz – $7.96

Super Washing Powder – 55 oz – $7.59

Baking Soda – 16 oz – $.64

I purchased a humongous box of baking soda. But if I had to do it over again I would buy the little boxes from the baking aisle.  In my head, it seems it would keep its properties better than my now 9-month-old huge box.  But I am no chemist so take my word with a grain of salt (or baking soda).

Now, go enjoy your homemade laundry detergent.