Homemade Laundry Soap and Household Cleaner Recipes

Most commercial detergents and cleaners are filled with harsh chemicals, and even the natural alternatives usually contain some toxic ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.  Most commercial detergents leave harsh perfumes, chemical brighteners, and/or fabric softeners on your clothes to cover up for the fact that the detergent really did not clean anything. Many of these additives cause skin irritations and allergic reactions for sensitive people. I am trying to avoid all unnecessary toxins, (we get enough toxins as it is!) so I've been researching homemade soaps and cleaners. Below are some safer natural alternatives, and what is really exciting is that they are much more inexpensive too!


Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

This makes lots of homemade laundry detergent for only pennies per load. These days every little bit we can save helps!

    •    1 bar Fels Naptha soap
    •    1 cup Washing Soda
    •    1 cup Borax (sodium borate)*
    •    1/2  cup liquid castile soap
    •    10 drops of your favorite essential oil (lemon, lavender, tea tree, rosemary or ?)**
    •    Aprox. 2 gallons water

Grate bar soap and melt in 1 quart of very hot water. Add liquid castile soap. Pour into a large bucket. Add enough hot water to make 2 gallons. Add the washing soda and borax and stir well. It is normal for it to thicken, gel and get lumpy as it cools. Pour into old laundry detergent bottles, if desired. Use about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup per load. Shake before using. It doesn't suds very much, if at all, but it does do a great job cleaning clothes.

I found the Fels Naptha soap at our local True Value Hardware store. I found the Borax and the Washing Soda (not baking soda) in the laundry soap area, on the bottom shelf, at our local Walmart. I usually get the castile soap from a health food store. You can also do the recipe without the castile soap, if you wish, to save even more money.

We have very hard water here in Arizona, so this works well for me. If you don't, you may have to adjust the recipe for your area, add more water, or try using less.


Recipe for Homemade All-Purpose Household Cleaner

    •    3 cups of hot water
    •    2 Tablespoons of vinegar
    •    1/4 cup of Borax (sodium borate)*
    •    1 Tablespoon of phosphate-free dishwashing liquid (like Seventh Generation)
    •    5 drops of your favorite essential oil (lemon, lavender, tea tree, rosemary or ?)**

Mix well and store in a spray bottle. Use as you would any commercial cleaner.


* There is a lot of chatter on the Internet about the safety of Borax, so I did research on it. According to most experts, Borax is a natural mineral, with a low toxicity profile. Borax is safe to use as long as you do it with common sense, keep it away from cuts, don't ingest it, and don't let your pets or children eat or play with it.

** To get the best therapeutic essential oils go to http://eopower.com now!