Homemade Laundry Detergent

Laundry detergent is totally necessary for getting through college smelling fresh. Detergent bottles however, are not. Non liquid detergent options are totally viable.

 

 Ella and I are starting to experiment with a homemade laundry detergent recipe that my sister shared with me. If it ends up working well, it will be cheaper, more natural, and plastic free. 

The process of blending the detergent itself was very easy.

The recipe includes....

- One bar of soap chopped (I used Dr. Bronner's Rose and Lavender Scent)
- 1/2 cup of borax
- 1 cup of washing soda

It is recommended to use a wet cloth over the blender to avoid a powdery mess. (Especially if you are using your mother's kitchen)

  

I am storing my detergent in washed out pickle jars. One load of laundry requires just a tablespoon, so these jars will last a while.

 

 The biggest challenge of the endeavor was finding the borax and the washing soda. I wasn't able to find them at either Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, and I needed to blend my detergent before going to school, so I ordered them on amazon. Unfortunately this meant they came wrapped in plastic bag. Though since these boxes can make about over ten jars of detergent this project is indeed avoiding a lot of plastic use, and I am reusing the plastic bags to store the very powdery boxes.