Our Homemade Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener

                                      Fabric Softener and Laundry Detergent!


I get SO many questions about this so I'm actually quite excited to have it in one place so I can just share the link with whoever when I need to. :) We have been using these about a year and it has saved us so much money it's ridiculous! This big batch of laundry detergent can last 5-10 months depending on the size of your family and it costs no more than $30! Bear with me as this post may be long!

For the "Laundry detergent" what we use is:

20 mule-team Borax Laundry Booster


Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda


4lb Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda


2 bars of Dr. Bronners Castile Soap
You can actually use a few other kinds of soap. The most popular for homemade detergent is Fels Naptha. You can also use Ivory. Anything else, I haven't tried so I can't recommend it.

Oxyclean
Again, you don't have use the actually oxyclean brand, there are organic alternatives and store brands as well. This last batch I made I used the Food Lion brand All Fabric Bleach instead and I love it.


And lastly you'll need a Large Container...
This is the exact one I bought, but they are sold individually at walmart and not in sets... It was only about 6 bucks.

To make it, you will need to either grate the bars of soap down with a cheese grater or put it in a food processor until it's broken up and almost powder-like. I have tried both ways. I like the results of grating it better, but it's WAY more time consuming... I normally have the Hubs do one bar and I'll do the other. If you do choose to use a food processor, it's alot faster but the clean up is a little harder.
Whichever way, you'll want the soap to resemble either grated cheese or a thick powder.

After you've  done that, you just combine all the other ingredients (the whole entire boxes!) and mix it all together for 5 minutes. You want to make sure you mix it good and well so everything gets evenly distributed. When you're through you can take some from the large container and put it in a smaller one for easier handling.
The BEST thing about this recipe is, it only takes 1-3 TABLESPOONS a load. For me it varies depending on what I'm washing. I use 3 tbsp for towels, bedding and work clothes, anything else just depends on what I feel like using! :)

So that's about it for the detergent....Next time I make it I'll take pictures.





The whole making a fabric softener was so crazy to me. At first I was scared, then I wasn't sure if I liked it! Buuuuut, I stuck it out and I will never switch back. The difference is amazing to me. I can not believe how crazy soft my clothes are and I dont worry about the icky chemicals from "parfum or fragrance" in traditional fabric softeners.


For "Fabric Softener" we use:

3 cups of White Distilled Vinegar
BEFORE you freak out and think that your clothes are gonna smell like vinegar, think again... This was my biggest fear, and I was completely shocked when I realized that you can't smell the vinegar at all! Use organic or not, lately I've been using just regular kind as it's cheaper. :-/

6 cups of hot water

2 cups of hair conditioner
I loooove Renpure Organics! For this and for my hair! Again, you can use whichever kind you like when we are in a pinch financially I use Suave, just make sure you have atleast 2 cups for it!


You will need to make sure you have a container that holds atleast 15 cups (you need room to stir).

In whichever order you please, mix the 3 ingredients and let it set overnight.

Whatever you do DO NOT SHAKE THE CONTAINER!  I learned this the HARD way... You end up with a nasty foam that will not mix together with the remaining liquid...

So just stir it! It won't take long! I reused a empty Dr. Bronners liquid bottles and use that to squirt the softener into my Downy ball using the same measurements as you would a normal liquid fabric softener. This batch lasts me about 4-6 months depending on how much I use and how often I actually get around to laundry (hehe).

If you have any questions about either of these let me know!!!