A while back I stumbled upon an amazing blog called Bren Did. She has several natural cleaning solutions and I loved her recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent. I decided that when I was done with the detergent I was using (which was Mrs. Jones Soapbox and does work wonderfully..but does have borax in it) I was going to try and make Bren's version.
So I finished up our detergent and ordered my materials. Because I do not want to copy the recipe on this site, I am only going to list the materials I got and where I got them for your reference.
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Amazon
Kirk's Castile Soap - $2.18/bar
Washing Soda - $8.99/box
OxiClean Baby - $13.95/tub
Target
Epsom Salt - $3.18/4 lb {this is optional in the original recipe, but I added it in. Between smelly gym clothes and baby stains, I need all the extra help I can get}
Baking Soda - $1.24/2 lb
Total Cost
My total cost was $35.73. About $15 more than Bren's. Next time, I will go out and purchase all of my products from stores when I am on my last container so I will not be rushed.
I also made a TON of this! It will def be more than 320 loads. I am keeping a tally of how many loads I get using 1-2 Tablespoons per load and I will update back :)
My Assessment
Ease of creation - This was super simple after you get over the 'grating the soap' part. I just sat down in front of a good Netflix show with my soap and grater and grated away. After you process the soap into smaller bits {I use an old processor for that} it's just a matter of dumping and mixing the rest of the ingredients. I like how I didn't have to measure, I just poured. I used a large container that used to be used for laundry detergent to mix. Then I just put it in storage containers. Super Simple
Smells be gone? My husband stinks. Let me clarify..when he goes running, his clothes smell so bad that you can smell them from outside the laundry room, with the door closed. My old homemade laundry detergent did NOTHING for this smell. I actually had to add in TSP in order to take the smell away. With this one - it work wonderfully! I did add the vinegar into the fabric softener space to help and I am glad I did! It's just an extra helper for the laundry detergent.
I am so happy that I found this recipe! Bren provides a free printable recipe card to keep on hand. I printed it out and laminated it so I can start a 'natural cleaning recipe ring'. Thanks Bren for posting a great detergent!
Happy Cleaning!
Thanks for sharing my recipe, Stephanie! I am so glad to hear that it works well for you. Try Vitacost for the Kirk's soap. They have great sales that really help with the price.
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