I don’t know about you guys, but I am always looking for ways to save a buck…especially with the prices of gas and milk {not to mention, everything else} rising so steadily!
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One thing I am extremely picky about is my laundry soap. Tide 
For approximately $20 and very little effort, I created a huge amount laundry soap. I would imagine this will last us at least 3-4 months. I’ll keep you updated on that!
**UPDATE: It has officially been over a year, and I am JUST now running out of soap!
I’ve always been very interested in this, but I’m allergic to fragrances. What would you suggest for making a fragrant free soap? Would I eliminate one of these ingredients or would I just substitute it for a fragrance free version? I’m not familiar with most of these things listed so I thought I’d ask.
The only thing that really adds scent {other than the Purex Crystals – which you can easily leave out}, is the bar soap you use. The Kirk’s soap I used this go-around was pretty mild in scent – just sort of soapy. But Zote and Fels-Naptha tend to have a pretty strong scent. I’ve heard you can use any bar soap to make this, so you could just find something scent-free. And, actually, on Amazon you can get Kirk’s fragrance free!
Oh awesome. An just leave out the Purex Crystals entirely?
Yes ma’am!
Yes I agree!. I make mine scent free by not using the Purex Crystals and choosing fragrance free bar soap. I have also made it without the bar soap and it still works. if you want to add scent but don’t want to use chemical scents try using essential oils. I haven’t tried this but i think it would work.
I think EO’s would be great, Kathy!
Awesome! I made my own for awhile….but I couldn’t get myself past the fact that it didn’t smell like Tide! LOL! I think it’s awesome, though, and so easy!
Heehee! I know what you mean! I’ve done well with it because I’m so in love with the Purex Crystals scent right now!
I adore your little laundry soap station. I want to try homemade a laundry soap, I’m just waiting for my current stuff to run out. I found you via Home Stories.
Thanks! It’s amazing how much more I’m willing to do laundry now that I have a cute and well-thought-out space to do it in!
Is it good for an HE washer??
I don’t have one myself (boo!), but I have heard from others that it’s perfectly safe!
I love using homemade laundry soap!
Thanks for sharing this at Whimsy Wednesday~ You always have the BEST stuff to share and make the party look so good!
Kelly at Smart School House
https://www.facebook.com/SmartSchoolHouse
For the past couple of years I’ve been making a really similar laundry soap and I love it. I leave the Purex Crystals out cuz we don’t want the scent (like your first commenter). I’m in the process right now tracking how many loads we get out of a “batch” of soap so I can compare it with pre-made laundry soap. I’m pretty sure it will be a lot less expensive. I love the big jar you have your’s in. Have a great day.
Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life
http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com
love that huge jar you have for your soap!
and, just pinned this! thanks!
Thanks! I think I got the jar at target!
i keep seeing homemade laundry detergent and very curious to try it out for myself! glad to see its safe for HE appliances too. this seems really easy to do and a def. $$ saver! thanks for sharing – new to your site and really love all the great things you have here!! :-)
Thank you so much – I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself here! :-)
Sending the link to my nephew – he is allergic to perfumes so this may work for hime.
Great! I hope it works well for him! :-)
What a super idea!! I’m also addicted to Tide (and am awaiting delivery on my new HE washer – EEK!), but your reviews make me anxious to try it — only thing is… I’ve never heard of any of those bar soaps!! Can you use ANY bar soap or is that a french-milled type or something? I’ll try looking for it on Amazon, but I prefer to try and find something locally (east coast).
Stopping by from the Linky Party!! Thanks so much for sharing!! :)
BIG HUGS,
Amy :) at http://www.lovetocrop.com
You should be able to find at least a few of these soaps in the cleaning/laundry aisle at your local grocery store or super center. If not, definitely on Amazon. I’ve heard you can use any bar soap, but I haven’t personally tried it.
I had never heard of either of the soaps but I found the zote in the detergent isle in wal- mart. Also heard home depot has zote
I really need to do this for sure. We spend so much on laundry detergent :( I’d love for you to link up a few posts at my weekend link party@The Weekend re-Treat! on The Best Blog Recipes if you haven’t already!
Hope to see you there!
Shauna
http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://ready2loseweight.blogspot.com/
I’ve been using homemade detergent for about 4 months I love it
This is the exact same recipe i use, except instead of the oxiclean, i use the “Dirty Jobs” brand of oxi booster.. which is in a green and black container (found at wal mart). its cheaper than the oxiclean, has a heavier oxi lift, and it gets my husbands oil & grease stained clothes, squeaky clean!! ive been using this for almost 2 years now, and would never go back to buying other detergent (gain was my favorite). i spend about $16 dollars every 4-5 months
Thanks for the tip! :-) I LOVE “Dirty Jobs” – it’s one of my favorite shows!
That is a great gift idea! Thank you for sharing at Rustic Restorations Weekend!
This recipe looks great for the homemade laundry soap! I need to try it out. Thanks so much for sharing at Thursday’s Temptation. Your post got in the top 3 most viewed links so I am going to be featuring it at tonights link party!
What a great idea, I’ve never thought about making my own laundry soap, would definitely help save some money!
Is this ok to use in a front load washer? I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you so much.
I haven’t tried it because I don’t have a front loader…but I’ve heard from others who say it works perfectly!
hi, i was just curious if this is pretty mild for sensitive skin?
Yes! You can choose not to add the scent crystals which helps a lot. Some of the soaps can get pretty strong, but the Kirk’s soap that I used was really mild.
So awesome an so cute! Can I ask what you use to label your detergent jar? Looking for cute ways to label things. And I LOVE how you’re looks!! ;) thank you!
Thank you! I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a vinyl label. The font is Rizzetto
Question?? I have wanted to try this for years but worry that it will not clean my clothes or get rid of the stains OR smells (from 17yr old BOY-14yr old teen and 7yr old tomboy!!!) my teens do their own laundry and they go thru a TON of soap, stain remover, bleach….I’ve never bought “expensive” laundry soaps ie Tide/Gain…I usually by Arm n Hammer with a coupon when its on sale!! So finally my question is- our family averages 12-15 loads a week in Kenmore large capacity washer. I’ve estimated that I spend at least $20/month on laundry supplies. Soap-stain remover-bleach-oxy cleaner-and softener. Is this worth the time and money? Will it really clean our clothes and cut costs? my husband lost his job in Feb of this year and I am looking for ANY way to save money-but can not afford to go spend the $$ on these ingredients that I will never use if they don’t work. I am open to ANY and ALL suggestions-opinions-options.
I haven’t had any problems with staining or smells. Though, I always add the Purex Crystals which helps a lot with the scent. This should work well for you. On average this sounds like this recipe lasts about 6 months. So, you should be good at least 3 months I would think!
Could you use any other laundry detergent to start with or does it have to be arm n hammer?
Well you need washing soda. I’ve never seen another brand, but if you can find something else, I would assume it would work.
Thank you!
Just want to add a couple tips – u can add 1-3Tbsp. of a pure essential oil for fragrance… lemon or lavender are faves. Also in Canada here, I’ve never seen any of those bar soaps either, what I used was Sunlight. (found in the laundry detergent aisle of walmart.)
I wonder how much soaps I would use if I wanted go break it down a little. With just my husband and I, I don’t need to make that much. Any suggestions?
I’d just cut the whole recipe in half :-)
Can you use essential oils in it? Don’t like the purex crystals. I have seen some homemade detergents, that they added essential oil too for scent. Just wondered if it would be ok to do it to this
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why you couldn’t!
How big of a Glass jar is that laundry soap in?
I’m not sure the exact size…it’s pretty small but I have several other jars hiding in storage with the extra from my batch. It makes quite a lot!
I was very anxious to try this but had just bought a 22 lb container that I couldn’t wait for it to run out. In the mean time I tried the Purex Crystals (purple bottle) and loved it. Finally, the day before yesterday my detergent ran out…of to Walmart I went. First, I paid almost $35 including tax. All the ingredients were right next to each other except for the Purex Crystals, which I walked down the aisle for…everything so conveniently waiting for me lol. Also, my son & hubby chose the blue bottle instead of the purple one. We love freshly washed clothes with a soft scent. Secondly, mixing the ingredients was fairly easy. I used that same 22 lb container lined with a plastic bag just as suggested. When I mixed the first few ingredients I pulled the bag out and rolled it around the floor making sure I held the opening tight to mix all the ingredients. Grating the soap was the hardest…well you need a little elbow grease if you don’t have a food processor. After, adding the crystals the bag was just to heavy to pick up…I used a regular kitchen bag but you definitely need a real trash bag…the ingredients are too heavy. At the end I used my hand to finish mixing everything. I was so excited to use the soap I started doing laundry early in the morning. I was very surprised how far 2 tbsps go…it removed grease from my hubby’s work sweater…yay! The clothes smells soooo good too. The scent is not overwhelming, it’s just right! Best part, when I walk in the bedrooms…all I smell is my newly homemade soap….i ABSOLUTELY, love it! Thank you for sharing this…one final thing, this will definitely last a lot longer than the store bought detergents. I will most certainly make this again, whenever its done. Its worth all the money you spend.Thank you, Thank you!
OOH I’m SO glad you like it!!! :-)
After 8 months…I’m finally running out…I have probably enough for 2-3 more loads. I’m setting up to more right now. This is such a money saver! I absolutely love it! Thanks again.
That’s great, Rosa!
We’ve been using this same recipe for the past two years and LOVE it! We cut the bar soaps into 6 or 8 squares and then microwave t
hem in a safe dish for about a miinute. The squares will puff up quite a bit. They will be very light. Once cooled, place in a food processor and run until the puffed pieces resemble grains of sand. You can then add the other ingredients to the processor, including the Purex crystals, to mix it all or you can mix by hand in your container. No need for cheese graters or elbow grease
What an awesome tip – thanks!
I love this idea, but I just went to order the ingredients off amazon (minus the bucket and jar) and it is almost $70, not $20. Should I be looking other places? i’m sure it will still be a deal, but want to make sure I get the best price. Thanks for sharing this great idea!
Hi Michele! That’s just the price I found with ingredients purchased at my local stores. My experience a lot of times with Amazon is that they offer items in larger sizes, so maybe that’s the problem?
I’ve made this laundry soap before, and it works very well! I omitted the softener crystals because softener in the water is bad for my septic drain field, and I used Dollar Tree Awesome oxygen powder instead of oxyclean because it’s cheaper. Worked very well. I’ve tried both oxyclean and dollar tree oxy cleaner, and both worked equally well. Good stuff!
Great tips – thanks! :-)