DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent

A friend of mine got me into making homemade laundry detergent.  I have now made it about 3 times and have found a recipe and really like.  The best part is definitely the cost savings but knowing exactly what is going into your detergent is also huge for me.  I had always bought the natural, biodegradable detergent before but here in Canada they do not come cheap.

So I did a bit of math today for you so you can see how much you actually are saving.
With this recipe I made approximately 7.25 L of laundry soap which coast me about less than $2.00 to make.  I use about 1/4 cup of detergent per load which gives me about 116 loads at less than 2 cents per load!  If I compare this to what I was buying before I was spending about  per load.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup borax
• 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup grated natural soap bar (I use a homemade bar or one by Soap Works)
• 30-40 drops pure essential oil (lemon, lavender, orange, flower blends etc.)
• 1 litre plus 8 litres of hot water

Directions

1. In a medium size pot add borax, washing soda, shaved soap and 1 litre of water.
2. Heat to a medium heat and allow soap shavings to completely dissolve.
3. Add soap mixture to a large bucket and then add the 8 litres of hot water.
4. Let soap sit until completely cool and stir a couple times if possible.
5. Once cooled whisk until fully combined.  I used my hand blender to ensure everything was combined.
6. Store in sealed containers.  I used about 1/4 cup per load and shake the bottle just before use.