Favorite Laundry Detergent

Things I will do to avoid doing laundry:

• Organize my cookie cutters
• Pull weeds from the flower beds
• Rearrange all the food in the pantry, ending with it all back in the same place it started

 

It’s not putting the clothes in the washer, or switching them to the dryer that I avoid like the plague. It’s hanging and folding all. the. clothes. Putting them away is pretty much my least favorite chore. But when I mix up a batch of this detergent, I want to fold everything. Seriously, this stuff smells that good. I almost named this post How to Make Laundry Detergent That Smells Like Baby Angels, but didn’t want to oversell it 😉

It only takes about 15 minutes to mix up, less time if you use a food processor to shred the bar of soap. I love this recipe because you don’t have to heat/melt down the soap like you do for liquid DIY detergents. Here is what you’ll need:

• 3 cups Borax

• 2 cups washing soda

• 3/4 cup baking soda

• 4.5 cups Oxi Clean

• 1 heaping cup fabric softener crystals

• 1 bar, (shredded) Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap

What makes this detergent different from other DIY laundry detergent is this soap. It’s great for those with sensitive skin, like my kids have, and smells so much better than the bars of soap usually used for making your own detergent.

To make the detergent, just mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. The key is to shred the soap finely so it can dissolve easily.

Once it’s all mixed up, store it in an airtight gallon size container. When you’re ready to use it, put 2 tablespoons of detergent into the drum of your washing machine. I have a front loading washing machine and run most loads with cold water, and this detergent does a great job getting clothes clean and keeping whites bright! Let me know if you try it out!

*Update*

A few months ago, I started adding these Wool Dryer Balls to each load in the dryer. I love how they help soften the clothes, and that they are toxin-free. Bonus: they even help cut down on drying time!