Even though homemade dishwasher detergent didn’t work out for me, I was still dedicated to trying the laundry detergent! I compared many recipes online and tried the one that seemed easiest, quickest, and cheapest.

The liquid laundry detergent recipes seem nice, but I don’t have room for gallons and gallons of it to be stored, so I went for the powder type.

Easy Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent:

• 1 cup washing soda (found at grocery store)
• 1 cup borax (found at Target and grocery store)
• 1 bar Fels Naptha soap (I’ve used Ivory as well, it is easier to grate, less caustic to the senses, although Fels Naptha is a better stain remover)

Grate the bars of soap, the finer the better.  A food processor works great for this, but I have also used a cheese grater and that was fine too.

Mix soap shavings with washing soda and borax

Use 1 tbsp powder for each load – I like to start the water, put the powder in, then wait a minute to put the clothes in so the soap can dissolve, but when I don’t, I haven’t noticed a difference.

Makes approx. 36 loads worth of detergent

Cost:

Prices at Raleys (probably cheaper somewhere else!)

• Fels Naptha: $1.49
• Borax: $4.39 (approx. 7 cups) = $.63 a serving
• Washing Soda $3.99 (approx 6 cups) = $.66.5 a serving

Total: $2.785 for 36 loads = less than $.08 a load!