Eco-Friendly Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients for laundry soap

Processing laundry soap

I saved a Facebook post about making home-made laundry soap way back in January 2016 with every intention of making it right away. I had already switched over to using dryer balls instead of fabric softener/sheets and this was going to be the next step in reducing the amount of chemicals I used in my family’s laundry. I’m embarrassed to admit that I put off purchasing the supplies for three years but I finally got them in 2019. Then another year went by and March 2020 rolled around. Like many people I found I had more time to do things in my house. I pulled up the post with a recipe from Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio, and got out the supplies that had been collecting dust in my basement (Dr. Bronner’s lavender pure-castile bar soap, borax, baking soda, and super washing soda) along with a large bucket and paint stirrer to mix the items. The borax was as hard as a rock from sitting in my basement for a year so make sure you use fresh supplies.
The recipe calls for:
• 12 cups borax
• 8 cups baking soda
• 8 cups washing soda
• 8 cups bar soap, finely grated

Storing homemade laundry soap

I was a bit nervous to use my food processor to grate the bar soap since I use it for food, but I reasoned with myself that the castile soap was no different than the soap I used to clean it any way. I found that it was best to grate one bar at a time and to NOT push hard on the soap as it was grating. If you push hard on the soap it will grate into larger pieces. It is best to have smaller, finer pieces when making laundry soap. I mixed everything together in the large bucket using the paint stirrer. It took a bit of arm strength to mix it well.
I store the laundry soap in plastic containers with screw on lids to keep the moisture out. I use 1/8 cup soap for each load of laundry. The clothes come out clean and smell very good. You can use any scent you like for your soap.
With the holidays just around the corner consider making laundry soap for your family and friends. They will love it!