Did you know that you can make your own easy homemade laundry detergent? It takes just two ingredients, and some extras if your loads need it. You’ll save money and still have clean laundry with little effort. I like making my own detergent because for $6 I can get a TON of detergent and I know exactly what’s in the detergent so I can avoid dyes and scents when I wash sensitive loads like cloth diapers.
Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients
- 1 bar Zote laundry soap (I found it at Big Lots for $0.90 a bar!)
- 1 box Borax (Can be found in the laundry care section of most stores) – $3.97
- Empty storage bottle
Instructions
- Grate the bar of Zote into a large bowl. You can use a small grate cheese grater or a zester but keep in mind that they will end up waxy feeling and will need to be washed.
- Pour in half the big box of borax into your bowl.
- Mix your ingredients together well.
- Pour into container of your choice. And old powder laundry detergent bottle will work great or use a tupperware with a tight lid or an apothecary jar to make your soap look stylish in your laundry room.
Extras
To give this detergent a scent boost you can add in half a bottle of the Downy Unstoppables, Gain Fireworks, or Purex Crystals. I use Purex Crystals for baby (in the pink bottle by the Dreft) because it smells great but is still dye free.
I have also added 1/3 tub of OxyClean before for an added stain fighter.
If you cannot find the Zote soap most stores sell the Fels-Naptha brand I have seen this one at Kroger and Walmart. Zote is a little harder to find but it smells better in my opinion.
You can also replace the borax with Arm & Hammer super washing soda (both are laundry boosters).