DIY Natural Laundry Detergent

There’s something incredibly satisfying about making everyday household staples yourself. Homemade laundry detergent had been on my list for a while, and after reading a few tutorials, I finally decided to give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Not only is it much more economical than store-bought detergent, but I also love knowing exactly what’s going into it.

Ingredients

1 bar natural or organic soap
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
30 drops of your favorite essential oil (I love grapefruit, tangerine, or another citrus blend.)
4 gallons plus 2 quarts water

Equipment

Cheese grater
5-gallon bucket
Mixing bowl
Immersion blender (optional)
Large stockpot
Storage containers

Directions

Grate the bar of soap using a cheese grater. Add the grated soap to a large stockpot with 2 quarts of water. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the soap has completely dissolved. Do not allow it to boil.

If using essential oils, stir them into the melted soap mixture.

Fill a 5-gallon bucket with 4 gallons of very hot water. Add the borax and washing soda, stirring until dissolved. Pour in the soap mixture and stir well. If you have an immersion blender, use it to thoroughly combine everything.

Let the mixture sit for 8 hours or overnight. Some separation and small clumps of soap are completely normal. Blend or stir well before pouring the detergent into storage containers.

Notes

Use about 1 cup of detergent per load. I reused an empty laundry detergent bottle and simply measured each load using the original cap.

This detergent is safe for HE washing machines. Because it’s made without commercial stabilizers, the ingredients will naturally separate over time. Just leave a little space at the top of your container so you can give it a good shake before each use.

You’ll also notice that this detergent produces very few suds. Don’t let that fool you—low suds doesn’t mean less cleaning power. In fact, I found it worked especially well on cloth diapers, leaving them smelling fresh without the residue that many commercial detergents can leave behind.

This was my first attempt at making homemade laundry detergent, and I was genuinely impressed. It was simple to make, cost-effective, and well worth the effort.

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