Homemade DIY Laundry Detergent

It’s taken me a little longer than I intended to get this homemade laundry detergent recipe to you guys, but finally, I’ve gotten it up for you guys!

I love the idea of making your own household products, for me, it’s really cool to be able to share your creations with the people that come over, or in my case with ya’ll!!

I’ve made this laundry detergent a couple of times now and I love it, it costs all around $20-$25 and it will last you over a year saving you a decent chunk of change in detergent in the long run.

I will say though, there’s always someone when I tell them I use self-made laundry detergent for all my laundry, they make a weird face or tell me that it’s gross or are skeptical of its effectiveness.

Honestly, I was skeptical too when I decided to try it out for the first time.

BUT…

It’s almost three years later and I’m still using this recipe!

My clothes are just as clean if not more than the other detergents you normally find at the store.

The absolute best thing about this recipe is that it’s a one time make and a one time cost “commitment” of twenty-ish dollars.

This homemade detergent will last you for an entire year. You can’t beat that!

That is based on a two-person household though, so if you have more than that you have to do laundry for it will go faster, but the detergent only requires 2 tablespoons per load so the one batch will still last much longer than what you usually buy at the store.

If it’s a large load then I’ll sometimes add a bit more than the 2 tablespoons, but that’s just my preference, it’s not a science by any means.

The reason you only have to use a couple small scoops per load is due to the fact that the detergent is made up of other laundry products that are found at your normal grocery stores.

So when putting together, it makes a much more concentrated detergent than the watered down stuff you normally buy.

Alright, I hope you guys enjoy this post. Here’s how you make the homemade DIY laundry detergent.

Supplies you’ll need:

one 64oz box of Borax
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap
1 4lb box of Arm & Hammer baking soda
1 box of arm & hammer washing soda
4lbs of Oxy Clean
Laundry softener crystals for sent (optional)
5-gallon bucket, or large mixing container
Glass jar or container of choice for storage (optional)
Spoon for stirring
Measuring spoons of choice

Side Note: This recipe can totally be done without the laundry softener crystals, in fact, I just added them to the original recipe.

I prefer to include them in my detergent because without the crystals the detergent doesn’t have much of a smell. So if you prefer a more scentless detergent just exclude them from your brew.

But if you’re curious about the softener crystals I buy for scent, I usually get these Downey Unstoppable crystals, not any particular scent either, I like to try out the different smells so I’ll usually mix up the kind.

I like the Downey Unstoppables also because as dumb as this may sound to some of you, I like the color they give to the detergent.

I sometimes store mine in a glass jar, so the little crystals make it more visually appealing in my laundry room when on display.

What can I say I’m a weirdo!

If you’re like me and care what your laundry detergent looks like when stored HAHA… I found a few cute farmhouse style containers from Amazon that are pretty reasonably priced that I linked below.

I also included some measuring scoops I really liked too if you’re interested in those.

Ok, now for the instructions.

First, I wanted to give you a fair warning before you read on

This recipe is so incredibly simple you can barely even call it a recipe, but here’s what you’re going to do:

Instructions

Take a separate medium to large sized bowl and your Fels-Naptha bars and grate each one in the bowl, then set aside.
In your 5 gallon bucket, begin to pour all of your other ingredients together in equal portions, including your grated Fels-Naptha soap you set aside.
Using your chosen spoon, mix all the ingredients together evenly.

SIDE NOTE: Keep the Oxy Clean container, you’ll need it for later

The only part of this little recipe that’s a bit of a process and a pain in the booty is grating the Fels-Naptha bars, be sure to watch your fingers towards the end of grating each bar.

I almost always accidentally add a little piece of me to the detergent because I’m so careless and clumsy.

Now, if you chose to store your detergent in something other than the 5-gallon bucket, all you’ll need to do is pour as much of the detergent you can fit into that.

Most likely not all of the detergent will fit into whatever container you chose.

So I recommend using the Oxy Clean container to store the rest, since it has a lid and keep it tucked away in a nearby cabinet somewhere for topping off the rest of the detergent when needed.

Again, this is totally optional, you use the 5-gallon bucket just fine.

Personally, I chose to use a separate container because it’s more aesthetically pleasing, also the 5-gallon bucket can be a pain to move every time I’m doing laundry.

Coincidentally, when going to take the photos for this post I accidentally dropped my container of detergent and broke it.

I put it in this mason jar temporarily to take the photos, so I decided to share some of the containers I found on Amazon that I thought was cute when looking for my replacement, feel free to check those out!

Ok, there you have it super easy just like I said!!

Now when people come over you can show them your homemade laundry detergent.

Doesn’t it look so much prettier than the store detergent bottles!!