Homemade Laundry Detergent and Wash Jar DIY

The Paper Mama
by The Paper Mama
5 Materials
$20
45 Minutes
Easy

I finally tried it: Homemade Laundry Detergent! And it does work. I’m not great at math so I won’t do the calculations of my costs per load… but I do know the costs are less. Because I made my own laundry detergent I need a place to store it. I found a large glass jar at the local thrift store and painted “WASH” onto it. It looks great in my laundry room.

Homemade laundry detergent is simple to make. Here's how I made mine:


Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups of  Borax (a natural laundry booster)
  • 1.5 cups  Arm & Hammer’s Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
  • 1 bar of Castille soap (I used Dr. Bronner’s peppermint bar)


Directions:

  1. Use a cheese grater to grate up your Castille soap.
  2. In a food processor, blend your grated up soap and a 1/2 cup of Borax and a 1/2 cup of Washing Soda until blended (you want those shreds of soap to be small).
  3. Pour the blended soap into a bowl with the remaining Borax and Washing Soda. Stir until it’s all blended well.
  4. Pour into a jar that has a seal (keep it fresh).
  5. When washing your clothes: Use two tablespoons to 1/4 cups of your homemade powder per load (sprinkled onto your clothes in the wash). We usually prefer to wash in cold water, and it’s been working!
  6. Enjoy all that money you’re saving.

You'll need somewhere to store your homemade laundry detergent. Why not transform a plain jar into your WASH jar? With a bit of glass paint, tracing paper, and my free "WASH" printable you can make this for your home.

Head over to my blog to get the full details for making this WASH jar: https://thepapermama.com/2013/03/homemade-laundry-detergent-and-wash-jar/

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The Paper Mama
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 8 questions
  • Em Em on Mar 12, 2019

    Castile soap is made from vegetable oil. I know people use if for hair and skin. Why would you want oil based soap in you clothing?

  • Rajshree Chaudhary Rajshree Chaudhary on Mar 12, 2019

    Is it safe for colored clothes?

  • Dan30296040 Dan30296040 on May 07, 2019

    Can you use this homemade soap in todays front loading machines?

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  • Georgi Mortensen Georgi Mortensen on Mar 11, 2019

    I also tried a home made soap mix and it cannot be put in the cups of HE front loaders. Has to go in with the clothes. My clothes started to look dull and drab. So not a real fan anymore.

  • Cindy Cindy on Mar 12, 2019

    Thank you for the replies I will try this have the dryer balls but like the softener ideas with conditioner have a few half empty bottles can use.

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