DIY  Laundry Soap

{Save money by making your own!}

We were in the midst of #Snowmageddon here in North Carolina last week.  Perhaps you saw us on Facebook posting pictures of our snowmen and rulers measuring how many inches we got.  9 inches at my house if you wondered.  It literally shut my town down!

If you aren’t lucky enough to know a southerner here is what we built.  It was like #snOMG!!  That was the best hashtag I saw so I’m keeping it for my very own.  But what do you do with the kids when their snow clothes are wet from sledding for hours?  We only have so many pairs of mittens since we typically don’t need them.  Our dryer was running on overtime!  After painting, play doh, and finishing their class Valentines we decided to make some festive holiday laundry soap.  Girly and pretty just like it should be.

If you are on Pinterest I am sure you have seen the recipes.  There are so many.  They are basic and easy.  So easy that my 4 year old loves to help me.  I have tried both the liquid and powder recipes but like the powder better for our family.  The reason that I am sharing it here on Eighty MPH Mom is to show you that if I can do it you can too!  Plus, it is only about 10 cents per load!  I feel like I am always doing laundry for my family of 5 so that is a price I like!

What you will need:

1  4 lb Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

2  14.1 oz Bars of Zote Soap

1  4 lb 12 oz Box of Borax

1  3 lb 7 oz Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1  3 lb Container of Oxi Clean

Container of Downy Unstoppables (I used a small container but you could use larger.  Also, this is totally optional but it sure does make it smell good)

I poured the washing soda, borax, and oxy clean into a tub.  You can use a bucket with lid or make smaller amounts.  Our tub fits nicely on the shelf in the laundry room.  While Ruby was stirring that up I got started on shredding the Zote bars.

I used the shredding disc on my food processor.  How pretty is that?  Again, Ruby helped me by starting and stopping the food processor.  What a helper I have!  You can also shred with a cheese grater but this makes it go a lot quicker and easier.  Once you have all the Zote shredded switch to your normal blade.  I filled my food processor bowl with Zote and added baking soda and pulsed until it was nicely combined.

I emptied it into my tub and kept going with the Zote and baking soda until there was none left.  The Zote has a nice scent to it on it’s own so you really don’t need to add the Downy Unstoppables (there are other brands out there as well).

But I like the smell of the Downy so we add it.

Baby girl got to get her hands dirty (well clean I suppose) and have some fun mixing it up for her mama. Locals can borrow her, she knows the recipe by heart now!

Because I am cheap want to save the environment I just reuse the Oxi Clean tub and refill from the big tub when necessary.  Oxi Clean also comes with a scoop and I fill it to 1 and that cleans a load of laundry perfectly.  If you don’t have this handy scoop it is about 2 tablespoons per load of soap.  There you have it!

You never have to buy expensive laundry soap again – just use this DIY Laundry Soap Recipe!

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda-4LB (01170)Zote Soap Laundry WhiteOxiClean Versatile Stain Remover, 3 Pounds20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster, Powder, 4 PoundsArm & Hammer Natural detergent booster and freshener Super Washing Soda Detergent Booster & Household Cleaner, 55 ozDowny Unstopables Scent Booster with Softener Fabric Enhancer, Lush, 20 Fluid Ounces