Cheap Laundry Soap

I've been making my own laundry soap for a while, but in much smaller batches. This is a similar recipe to what I've been doing, but on a much larger scale. I'm starting to find that with the more practical daily things I make (soap, lip balm, laundry soap, shampoo) that the trick is to make large batches infrequently. This way you aren't constantly trying to keep up with the demand of using it. Plus, for many items, soap especially, it is just as easy to make a large batch as a small one.


I found this recipe on Pinterest (can't tell that I'm loving that site, can you?). Really though, the proportions are identical to several recipes I've found. The nice thing about this recipe is that there is no measuring. All you need is around 15 oz of soap, 1 (4 lbs) box Borax, 1 (4 lbs) box washing soda, 2 (2 lbs)boxes of baking soda. Don't bother being exact about the soap, the bars I have are about 4 oz. Eventually I would like to switch to using my homemade soap for this, but I was short at the time so I used a pure coconut soap. The only thing to remember for the soap, is to use soaps with animal fats or those with a high concentration of saturated fats. Olive and vegetable oils tend not to wash away completely. Vegetarians can use a coconut oil soap like I used above. Some recipes call for fels naphtha soap, which is a solid laundry detergent bar. I passed on this because I'm pretty picky about ingredients and the listings on the package are pretty vague. Part of the DYI benefits are controlling what you are exposed to, after all, so why not be picky?


Let the grating begin! Ok there is an easier way... A food processor with a grater attachment makes quick work of this. Really though, if you have a TV show or a movie you want to watch, just sit down and grate the soap while you relax.


One piece of advice here... I would mix it all in a garbage bag next time. Everything involved is a fine powder and it's hard to mix without breathing a bunch of it. Not too fun. Next project is to get a container to hold it all in.

Above may not look like much (even the picture doesn't really do it justice), but it is super concentrated and fills about 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket. For each load you only need 1 tablespoon! The whole batch costs under 20 dollars and should last about 9 months to a year. I personally think it cleans much better than regular detergents and the ingredients are better for you.

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Location:5th St NE,Rochester,United States