I received several emails asking about washing soda, so here is a picture of what you are looking for (not sure about you, but I’m so much better when I know what something looks like). I found mine in the detergent aisle near the laundry supplies. Good luck!
And again, the recipe is one bar of shredded (grated?) Ivory soap, one cup washing soda, one cup Borax. I triple the recipe and it works great. One of our members has sensitive skin and has no problem with this recipe.
Let me know if you tried it and how you like it.
UPDATE: Meet Borax
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (14)
Hi. Just wanted you to know I am praying in FL for Ryan and your family! I love the idea of homemade laundry soap… might be a silly questions… but how much do you use for a large load? What do you store it in to make it easy to use? Do you add it to the water or put it in your dispenser? Thanks for sharing.
i’ve used it for over a year and LOVE it!
oh! and you just need 1-2 T of it in each load…put it in the dispenser just like you would any powder detergent!
does this detergent work in an HE washer as well? I just can’t imagine how much money you save by doing this!!! You’re amazing 🙂
What’s borax?
I’m going to try this. I’m having to constantly change my detergents because of children who have reactions…..Thanks so much! I’ll let you know what I think after I give it a try.
I’ve used this before and liked it, but I have to admit that I’ve been too lazy to continue doing it . . . maybe your pose will be the inspiration to start it back up again! I also have made dishwasher detergent that works rather well 🙂
Borax is a powdered cleaner (green box), you should be able to find it in the laundry aisle or with other cleaners. I’ve even seen it at Home Depot and Ace Hardware.
i was wondering the same thing – can it be used in the HE washers? would be awesome for our family. continuing to pray for all of you!
ladies: I do not have an HE washer…. does someone out there have one that uses homemade detergent and can answer this?
and, I use 1-3 T just like Courtney depending on how dirty I think the clothes are…it’s totally a mental thing with me.
I store it in a bucket (I’m so high tech) by the side of my washer and I add it to the water just like my mom taught me. 🙂
Anon- you probably already saw, but I updated the post with a picture of Borax.
Paula – when I’m in a pinch I use Cheer Free and Gentle and Downy liquid… no dryer sheets! Recently I switched to dryer balls (found at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond), four of them, instead of fabric softener.
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we love that recipe but did you know that there is a liquid version of this. same ingredients but it makes 10 galons.
Thank you so much for the photos. I am definitely a visual learner. I’m heading to Wally World today and plan on trying your recipe in the near future. Thanks again!
Sorry, one more question now that I’ve read everyone else’s comments. When you say 1-3 T are you meaning 1-3 tablespoons? That doesn’t seem like very much when I think of how much laundry soap I use.
Amy – yes, we mean tablespoons. I was skeptical at first but my clothes come out clean and smelling like Ivory soap so now I ‘trust’ the recipe. I think we are conditioned to thinking we need a lot more than we really do…
Thanks for letting me know what the washing soda was (both on my blog and here!!) I check your blog daily and I’m praying for your family!