My Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe | 4 Ingredients.

I’m sharing my easy homemade laundry detergent recipe with you.

It’s been 7 years of using this homemade laundry detergent that I think that it’s time I share it!

Our family loves it!

Not only because it’s easy to make but because it’s an amazing laundry detergent that cleans everything we throw in the washing machine.

My son has made it so many times, I wouldn’t be surprised he continues this practice when he lives on his own, someday.

It’s that easy.

What I love about this recipe is it doesn’t include borax.

Or any harsh chemicals.

It only takes 4 ingredients.

A possible 5th ingredient is adding essential oil to the laundry detergent at the end of mixing this batch.

My favorite essential oil is bergamot.

It has a relaxing and rejuvenating scent that I love so much!

But you could add any essential oil you love.

Or nothing at all.

Here is the ingredients.

This is for ONE batch.

• 5 lbs Baking soda (Walmart for under $4)

My husband buys a big bag from Costco then we weigh out 5 lbs. on a food scale.

• 55 oz. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Walmart $4.17)

• 3 lbs (BABY) Oxy Clean stain remover OR any Oxy Clean stain remover (Walmart $7.96)

Any Oxy Clean stain remover will work.

This BABY pink tub can be found here.

I have it on reoccurring order through Amazon since it is hard to find lately.

This stuff works amazingly to keep my whites white and colors bright.

• 4 bars of Kirks Unscented Castile Bar Soap (Vitacost $4.88)

The keyword, Fragrance-Free, is what you’re wanting to look for.

I love using these bars of soap when possible.

Lately, the fragrance free bars are out of stock.

So, here is a photo of other bars that are Kirk’s brand but have a different look.

$21.01 TOTAL COST (Priced in January 2022)

Equipment you will need:

• Huge bucket like this one.

Or my favorite one to use are these ones.

• Food Processor with a cheese grater. This is the exact one I have, here. But any will do.
• Long-handled wood spoon like this one. Or for a metal one, like this one.

Instructions how to make this super easy laundry detergent in 7 steps:

Step One: Open up the bag of baking powder, a box of Arm & Hammer washing soda, and a tub of Oxy Clean and pour them into the bucket.

Step Two: Open up all the bars of soap.

Now for Step Three: Place the cheese grater attachment onto your food processor.

Step Four: Take one bar at a time and grate each bar by pushing it down into the slot of the food processor.

Step Five: Empty grated soap into a bucket.

You may have to empty the grated soap from the food processor bowl after each bar of soap.

It depends on how big your food processor is.

Step Six: Stir all the ingredients together.

Once you’re done grating the bars of Kirk’s Fragrance Free Castile soap you will need to stir all the ingredients together.

Use a spoon, if you like, to stir.

But from my experience, it is best to use your hands.

Taking your hand or spoon, go all the way down to the bottom and pull up.

This will take a good 3 minutes of constant stirring.

Step Seven: After you are done, you can add 50 drops of essential oil to give it a personalized smell. (Photo of bergamot is a link.)

I love to use Bergamot essential oil.

It has a scent that the men in my life love, too.

How to use detergent when washing clothes:

Put the required amount of homemade laundry soap into the washing machine drum before putting in your clothes.

This helps to keep detergent from clumping in the soap dispenser.

Laundry detergent can be added to the barrel of both top and front loaders.

The measurements are as follows:

Small load – 1/4 cup

Medium load – 1/2 cup

Large load – 3/4 cup

Extra large – 1 cup

Things to know about the laundry soap.

One batch of this homemade laundry soap can last up to 2 months.

Depending on the size of your family.

There are no chemicals or bad ingredients in this recipe.

So, it is safe for those who have allergies and are sensitive to harsh chemicals.

You can tweak this recipe to fit your needs by adding your scent if you like.

You can make it smell like lavender or lemon by adding 50 drops of essential oil or find castile soap like Dr. Bronner’s bar soap that has a lavender scent, link here.

It is a versatile recipe that can work for you.

Using wool dryer balls and essential oil for a fresh scent.

I love my homemade laundry soap as is.

How I get that wonderful scent into my clothes is by using essential oil & those wool dryer balls, here. (Photo is a link.)

I love to put 5 drops onto each ball (I use 3 wool balls in my dryer per drying time).

As mentioned in this post, I use Bergamot essential oil.

But here is a wonderful set of essential oils from Woolzies, here.

I’m recommending these cause of the price.

But there are so many options out there, this is just an idea.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Step by step how to make homemade laundry detergent

Prep Time15 minsActive Time30 mins

Yield: 1 Batch

Cost: 30

Equipment

• 1 Huge Bucket
• 1 Food Processor Needs to have a cheese grater attachment
• 1 2 One Gallon Jars Optional. Can use mason jars or tin laundry containers.

Materials

• 1 5 lbs. Baking Soda
• 1 55 oz. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda Detergent Booster
• 1 3 lbs. Oxi Clean Versatile Stain Remover (Baby) Any Oxy Clean Stain remover works
• 4 Bars Kirk's Natural Original Coco Castile Soap Fragrance Free Grated with the food processor

Instructions

• Open up the 5 lb. bag of baking soda and pour into bucket.
• Open box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and pour into bucket.
• Open up tub of Oxy Clean and pour into bucket.
• Open up all the bars of soap.
• Place the grate attachment onto your food processor.
• Put bar of soap into the open slot to grind it.
• As the food processor bowl fills up, empty into the bucket.
• Do this for all 4 bars of soap.
• Take your hand or large spoon and stir the ingredients. Note: Using your hand is easier to be able to reach down to the bottom and stir all the ingredients together completely
• Put into 2 one gallon jars. Will last for 2 months depending on size of family.

NotesThe best place to buy baking soda is at Costco or a local grocery store.

How to measure detergent for load:

Small load – 1/4 cup

Medium load – 1/2 cup

Large load – 3/4 cup

Extra large load – 1 cup

Can be used for front loader and top loader washing machines.

Why I make this homemade laundry detergent for my family and I.

This has been such an easy alternative to the expensive and chemical-laden laundry detergents out there.

My daughter had an allergic reaction to many of the name-brand laundry detergents.

I went on a hunt for an alternative.

In my search, I found some that were all-natural but cost way more than I wanted to spend.

It was apparent that making laundry soap was my best option.

So, I found an easy one and stuck with it.

I know what is in it.

It’s easy to make and costs way less than premade ones.

Plus, it lasts a long time.

There was no looking back.

We love making our own detergent. It’s empowering!

Plus, there are other things we can add, if we like, that can make it even more amazing.

Like the Dr. Bronner bars of soap.

The one I’m recommending is the baby unscented ones.

But if you want to add a nice fragrance, Dr. Bronner’s bars of soaps come in many pleasant scents.

You can find these bars of soap at most grocery stores or big box stores like Target, Fred Meyer, etc. (Photo is a link.)

Kirk’s soaps are getting harder to find and the prices are going up, lately.

Especially the unscented ones.

I linked a Vitacost link above (top of post) for Kirk’s bar soap that is cheap but not unscented.

Just for your convenience.

So, Dr. Bronner’s soap, here, is another option to add instead of Kirk’s soap.

Any Castile bar soap would work.

I hope you enjoyed this quick and easy Laundry Detergent Recipe and Tutorial.

I would love to hear how you like it or maybe love it as much as we do!

If you have any questions, please ask them below and I will answer them as best I can.

For housekeeping tips and ideas check out these posts, here.

Plus, I have a wonderful moisturizer recipe that I share that will heal your skin. It’s made with goat’s milk, Here is the link for that, here.

Have an amazing day!

Until next time, bye for now.

Thanks for coming by Victorian Lane Farms.