Homemade Laundry Soap / Detergent / Soda

So I finally caved and made my own laundry detergent and all I have to say is OH MY GOODNESS WHY HAVE I NOT MADE THIS SOONER???

I was so excited to post about my experience but then I realized that I was most likely way behind in this trend and sure enough, Kellie posted about making not only her own laundry detergent but a multitude of other cleaning products (which thankfully, I'm already doing). So I hope that it's alright if I do a repeat...because seriously, I'm pretty excited about this!!

And um, I'm having surgery today. So, yeah. *runs away*

Anyway. Finding a recipe proved to be painless and quite simple. There are of course many variations - liquid or powder, scented or unscented, the different types of washing sodas, bar soaps and other ingredients; I went with something that sounded quite simple:

1 bar soap (I used a simple bar of Ivory but there are many alternatives)
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda

Finely grate the bar of soap and stir well to combine with borax and washing soda. Store in an airtight container - use 1 to 2 tablespoons per load. You can also add a few drops of essential oil for a light scent; I used lavender.

See? Totally easy.

My husband was extremely dubious about this whole adventure. He actually got a bit angry and started ranting about how he already has to deal without paper towels and hardly ever any processed foods and the environment this and exposing our skin to chemicals that and gol ding it, he said, I want my clothes to smell all perfumey!

I explained that I had added some essential oil to my mix and that I had only made a small batch - if he didn't like how the clothes/sheets/towels came out using the homemade detergent, we'd go back to using Nellie's and there wouldn't be any harm done.

Turns out, it exceeded my husband's expectations and I am loving it. I love the way the clothes feel and smell! If you haven't tried making your own detergent give it a try!!!

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