As we have shared many times before, the next stage in our savings as a family is learning to make simpler, healthier, and more natural choices while still fitting within a tight budget. With that in mind, we have started making our own homemade laundry detergent. We have two powdered recipes to share, but today we are going to show you the first one which is a classic, perfect for sensitive skin and extremely easy to make. Make sure to reference our other recipe we use for the rest of the family, towels and bedding.
Not only are we trying to be more natural and healthier in all areas of life, but ease and simplicity with a busy homeschooling family of seven is also a very key element to many things we do. We love this recipe as it seriously only takes less than 10 minutes to whip up a batch – even faster than running to the store for forgotten laundry soap – a perfect length for our busy family. 
This recipe is for powdered detergent that is equivalent to 80 light loads or 40 heavy loads of laundry. This is the one we make for sensitive skin as we have a baby (like Dreft) and a son with Eczema (like an Ivory Snow type detergent). We call this the “boy’s soap” for this reason. 
I like homemade powdered detergent over liquid at this point in our lives – it stores better and and is extremely fast and easy to make. However, we are certainly willing to try a liquid if you have a recipe you recommend!
First, here is the ingredient round-up:
- 1 bar of Ivory Soap
- 2 cups of Super Washing Soda
- 2 cups of Borax
Step #1:
- Microwave your Ivory Soap for 60-90 seconds – YES, microwave I hate grating – whether it is cheese or soap, I don’t like grating stuff. Plus it takes a long time to grate. The other benefit is that not only is it fast and easy – it is also a super fun experiment and project – your kids will love it!!
- Although it looks soft and edible, it is actually an unexpected consistency – dry and brittle – and it will process very well in a blender or food processor without taxing your equipment (I also want my food processor to last a long time!).
- Plus if any spills over off the plate, it is a way to get your microwave a bit cleaner – and the after smell makes your home smell like a clean linen smell. Very pleasant!
Step #2:
- Put the 2 cups of Washing Soda and the soap (broken up) in your blender or food processor and mix until blended well
- Then add the 2 cups of Borax and blend again until well blended
Your final product will be a nice fluffy white powder detergent that smells great and works well! We store it in a #10 can in our laundry room! This is a 40 – 80 loads worth of detergent!
Here’s how to use it:
- Light Load – 1 Tablespoon
- Heavy Load – 2 Tablespoons
Here’s the cost breakdown:
- 3 Bars of Ivory Soap sold for $1.00 = .33 per batch (we actually have a stash of the three packs we got for FREE with a sale and coupon means even cheaper )
- 76 oz. of Borax with average cost per box of $4 = $0.84 per 2-cups for each laundry batch
- 55 oz. of Super Washing Soda with average cost per box of $3 = $0.87 per 2-cups for each laundry batch
This makes the final price an average of $2.04 per batch or .03 -.06 per load (even cheaper if you get the above ingredients cheaper with sales or coupons)!
Here’s how Dreft and Ivory Snow stack up in price to this homemade equivalent.
Ivory Snow Powdered Detergent 24 oz.equal to 15 loads sells for $5 per box on average = $0.33 per load
Dreft 53 oz. Powdered Detergent equal to 40 loads sells for $12 per box on average = $0.30 per load
Our homemade laundry detergent is 90% cheaper than the store-bought detergent! Even with sales and coupons, you would need to purchase the name brands for 90% off to equal the same value.
The next recipe we will share is for the scented detergent for the rest of the family and our towels/bedding loads!
See more of our Daily Doses of Thrifty to save even more money in your household budget!
Disclaimer: Before using any homemade laundry detergent, please be sure to test it on a small piece of clothing first.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Can you use this in HE washers?
Hi Carrie – We honestly just don’t know as we’ve never had experience with HE washers. We don’t yet understand how HE washers function differently than standard washers and thus don’t know.
We do know that Brands like Tide sell a specific HE version and other brands given different directions for the same product. Do you know what the requirements are for detergent used in HE machines? Thanks so much! ~Cassie
I used it on mine it works great.
I’ve used pretty much every kind of laundry soap (both powder and liquid) in my front loading Maytag (HE) washer for about 10 years now and if there’s no specific directions I just use about half the recommended amount. But considering it’s only one to two tablespoons, that would probably be ok.
I’m going to save your recipe and when I run out of laundry detergent I will try it.
Thanks
ive been using this recipe except i used zote instead of ivory.
Do you microwave the Zote?
can’t wait for the scented recipe!
The difference between HE washer detergent and standard washer detergent is that the HE detergent doesn’t produce as many bubbles as the standard detergent. So it prevents “sudds”. That’s it.
Does this microwave trick work on any soap? Did you cut the bar up into smaller pieces? I usually use Fels Naptha in my DIY detergent. Also, why do you blend the powder, is it just to mix the powder?
Hi Evangeline – It only works on soft bar soaps (please note, I haven’t tried many other soaps, but am making a partial assumption from the ones I have tried
), others just kinda melt weird. When I microwave the Ivory, I do not cut it up at all, just stick the whole bar on a plate and then microwave! I do pop Fels Naptha in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds to soften it and then cube it with a knife before putting it in my food processor so it doesn’t have to work so hard due to the softer Fels Naptha. Fels Naptha will not “meringue” like Ivory in the microwave. I like blending in the processor/blender so it is a fine soft powder with ingredients evenly mixed, but you may not have to. I haven’t tried hand mixing since I have had the ability to process/blend with an appliance since making my own – but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work.
Hope that helps!!
Thanks so much. I do mine in the food processor too so I will def. try the microwave to at least soften the Fels.
We make our own liquid detergent that works really well. I grate a felsnaptha bar that cost $1 and heat it over low heat in a pan with just enough water to cover. It takes a few hours to melt it completely and you wa nt to do is very slowly. Once melted add 2 gallons of hot water to a separate container and then add melted soap to that. Also then add in 1/2 cup of baking soda mix and cool. I use maybe 1/4cup for a large load of clothes.
Does anyone know if this is septic safe? I would love to try it!
Ooh! I can’t wait to try this! I also can’t wait for the scented recipe!
I have used Dreft detergent for years because I am allergic to everything. I also love the smell of Dreft. I was wondering if you could take some of the Dreft detergent and mix with the Borax and Washing Soda instead of a bar of soap. And if you could, how much of the Dreft would you need to use. Dreft is so expensive, it would be nice to have the same scent and make it go further.
This detergent is so easy to make, and it works great! I tried it out on a blanket, and some dirty bibs from my 9 month old- they came out just as clean as if I had used store bought. Very excited about this! Thank you!
Can I add scent to this recipe? I don’t have sensitive skin, but not understanding if scent could be added why you wouldn’t use this recipe instead of the other – wasn’t this one cheaper to make? I may have misread..