Homemade Laundry Detergent

Photo by Life as a aHealthy Mom

I have been making homemade laundry detergent for almost a year now.  I used to buy a liquid detergent made without harmful chemicals from Trader Joes, but it ended up costly me about $8 a month.  The cost to make an equivalent of 2 MONTHS worth (average of 7 loads a week) comes to....drum roll please.................about $5! That is about a 1/3 of the money I used to spend over a two month period.

I purchased all items (except the essential oil, which I had on hand) at my local Walmart.  The price for a box of Borax was $3.38 (4 pound 12 oz), a box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda was $3.24 (55 oz), Arm and Hammer Baking Soda for $2.12 (4 pounds), and Kirk's Castile Soap is $3.11/3 bars).

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Here is the recipe:

2 cups Borax
2 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
2 cups Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
3 bars Kirk's Castile Soap, grated
20 drop of essential oil of your choice (I typically use lavender)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Place in a container.  Use 1 tablespoon for each load.