how to make powdered laundry soap {natural recipe}

when i became pregnant with my first child, i began eliminating conventional cleaning products and synthetic chemicals from our home, and discovering this homemade alternative to pricey green detergents was music to the ears of this stay-at-home mama.

it's inexpensive, gentle on sensitive skin and the planet, and once you gather the ingredients, putting it together is easy.  there are only three ingredients:  borax, washing soda, and a grated bar of soap. 

borax is found on the bottom shelf in the laundry aisle of supermarkets.  there is some disagreement in the natural community about the safety of borax, but after doing research, i feel comfortable using this traditional, naturally occurring mineral salt in my home.  like many things, borax should not be inhaled and must be kept out of reach of pets and children.

washing soda is sometimes sold in the laundry aisle.  if you can't find it there, it is also called "soda ash" and stocked with pool care products or sold at hardware stores.  it can also be purchased online.  although washing soda is chemically similar to baking soda, baking soda cannot be substituted in this recipe.

you can use any bar of soap you like, as long as it isn't a "beauty bar."  fels naptha is often recommended, and using regular soap would make this recipe extraordinarily inexpensive, although you may want to be wary of using your food processor or grater on anything not completely natural.  i use dr. bronner's castile soap, in lavender and mostly followed the instructions given at healthy vegan blog.

1 bar soap, finely grated (makes ~ 1 c soap dust)
1 1/2 c borax
1 1/2 c washing soda

that's it.

store it in a lidded contained, and use 1-2 Tbsp per load.  one recipe will clean up to 64 loads.

if you're accustomed to using traditional laundry detergent, doing a load of wash with 1 Tbsp of soap sounds preposterous, but the truth is, most conventional detergents have a lot of fillers in them (as well as questionable ingredients like brighteners, enzymes, and a host of synthetic chemicals).  when we use too much soap, residues linger in clothes, which can trap odor and cause skin sensitivities.  we use 2 Tbsp on heavily soiled loads, but 1 Tbsp is sufficient for most.
 
using 1 Tbsp of laundry detergent wasn't that foreign to us, since that is the measurement charlie's soap calls for, too.  charlie's soap is the most recommended detergent for use with cloth diapers, which brings me to my biggest question:  could this homemade soap get diapers smelling sweet?

we've been using it for several month, and i've been really pleased:  our diapers look and smell clean.  (we also use a scoop of off-brand oxygen powder--natural and cheap!-- in every load and sometimes a little baking soda, vinegar, or biokleen bac-out.)  i appreciate the mild fragrance of essential oil instead of synthetic perfume on our clothes--especially for my kids' sensitive skin.

DIY laundry soap is a completely do-able step in "greening" your home.  the planet--and your wallet--will thank you.

UPDATE:  i'm back to using charlies soap on my cloth diapers.  after a few months, they seemed to retain odor (that even vinegar didn't eliminate), but it's still great on our clothes.

do you have a favorite green cleaning recipe?

shared with Your Green Resource, hosted by A Delightful Home, SortaCrunchy, Live Renewed, and The Greenback Gal.