Laundry Detergent DIY

A year's worth of laundry detergent & fabric softener for just $25?! Sign me up! I've been meaning to make my own laundry detergent for a while but I couldn't find a recipe that I liked. I definitely wanted it to be a dry mix. I searched Pinterest for a while and put together pieces of a few different recipes. The OxyClean is optional but I am picky and really wanted to make sure this stuff would clean our clothes. The Purex Crystals are also optional, but adding this is having fabric softener built in. YES! And is smells ahhhhhhhmazing! I love things that smell pretty.

Products Used: 4lb Box Borax, 4lb Box Baking Soda, 55oz Box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 55oz Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softner, 3lb Container OxyClean and 3 Bars Ivory Soap.

Okay so start off by getting a large garbage bag and a medium sized box. This is going to make it easier to mix. You definitely want to do this outside because all of the products will dust up and make you sneeze. You really don't want those chemicals getting into your rug or anything.

Now start pouring the Borax, baking soda, washing soda and crystals (not shown) in and mix it up!

Okay this next part is where you will spend most of your time, but I promise it's still really easy! I cut up the soap bars into small chunks. I read somewhere that you should use wax paper but I didn't have any and it still worked just fine. Pop it in the microwave for about a minute or less. You will see the soap begin to fluff up and when it stops growing, take it out. 

FLUFF! After you take it out of the microwave, wait a few minutes for it to cool before you crush it. It has some hot spots so be careful. It kinda feels like hot wax from a candle. 

More FLUFF just because! I felt like a little kid playing with this stuff at first. After a few minutes, I was over it and just wanted to hurry up and finish it. My impatience grrrr lol

I just crushed it using my fingers, it was a foamy consistency and pretty easy to mash up.

Okay here is everything mixed up. You want to make sure you have a nice durable trash bag so you can shake, shake, shake it too! 

This bag was seriously heavy! That's A LOT of detergent! YAY!

Drumroll Please! Here is the finished product. Now for my next load of laundry, I only need to add 1-2 TABLESPOONS of this stuff. Yes, you heard that right! Tablespoons.

 I could probably fill more than 10 mason jars with all of the detergent I made. It looks pretty and smells like heaven! Can't wait to use it!