If you are looking for an easy way to cut costs, adopt a “green” practice, and improve your health then making your own laundry supplies is a great place to start!
After experience some skin issues by my whole family, I decided to look into different laundry detergent options. When I thought about the fact that my skin is in contact with something I’ve washed with detergent 24/7, I realized that what I put on my clothes plays a huge part in what I put on my skin.
I had been using laundry pods, and switched to a Clear and Free formula. That was better, but still contained chemicals that I worried about with my son. After checking out a few DIY laundry detergent recipes I found one that works great for my family, and it is so easy to make!
DIY Laundry Detergent
1 bar of laundry soap (we use Ivory, can also use ZOTE)
1 cup of borax
1 cup of washing soda
You will need to shave your laundry soap into small flakes. I just bought a cheese grater for this purpose only, and shredded the soap bar like a block of cheese!
Once your soap is shredded, just mix it with your other two ingredients and you’re done! If you want a good blend for cold water washes, just blended your mixture for a few seconds in a food processor to make a very fine powder. If you prefer a liquid, just add your mixture to a container and top it off with water. The mixture will slowly dissolve in to water, giving you a liquid detergent. I use 1-2 tablespoons of detergent per load of laundry.
This recipe can save you tons of money. My total for all 3 ingredients above is about $7, and I have enough detergent to last over 1 year (with a family of 3). We have not had any skin issues with this formula, and the cleaning power is a good as my old detergent.
If you having trouble finding these ingredients, or just don’t want to make it yourself (hey, we’re all busy and sometimes don’t have time for DIY) then you can purchase my laundry soap here: www.etsy.com/crunchygranolamamas
Stay tuned for an easy way to naturally soften your clothes without the use of fabric softener.
Crunchy Granola Mama 
Love making my own laundry soap! Saves so much money and cleans so much better!!
I love saving money, so this sounds like something I’ll have to try. Thanks for sharing.
i have used this to make my own detergent, which i really enjoyed.
I cant wait to try this! I’m super excited! Does it take out stains? The great thing about this recipe is that it is consistently inexpensive, no sale needed. And at least you KNOW what’s in this..
I think it works great on stains. I use it all the time on my toddler’s clothing (which always has stains!) and his clothes come out perfectly clean.
Wow, this sounds really interesting, I’ll have to try it. I love saving money.
I am a make my own first kind of person as well . This is so cheap and lasts all year and then some for me. I actually hand wash and hang dry all my laundry .
I am not sure how it works but will try out
I would love to try this.I have to be careful about which laundry detergent I use as it causes awful eczema flare ups on my daughter if I use the wrong one.
That is why I switched to this formula! My husband and baby were breaking out from our old detergent so I needed something for sensitive skin without all of the chemicals. It works great!