I’m one of those people that says, “I will never…” Then months or years later I find myself doing exactly what I said I would not do. For years I said I would never teach my kids at home. Now we are starting our sixth year of homeschool. I also said, “I will never make my own household cleaners. I don’t have time for that! There are lots of natural brands out there. I will just use those.” And that’s what I did…until I did some research on Environmental Working Group and found many of the natural brands contain toxic, harmful ingredients. The laundry soap brand I was using got a B rating on EWG and included three ingredients with a D rating. These were the concerns cited for one of the ingredients: “cancer, developmental/endocrine/reproductive effects, damage to DNA, respiratory effects, chronic aquatic toxicity, general systemic/organ effects, digestive system effects, nervous system effects, skin irritation/allergies/damage, damage to vision.” This is from a brand that prides itself on being “non-toxic.”

Some brands with an A rating contain ingredients with a D rating.

So I decided to make my own non-toxic laundry soap. I searched Pinterest for recipes that did not require grating soap. First I tried a powder version. It did not clean our clothes well. Next I tried a liquid recipe. I was completely surprised that I do have time to make it! It only takes 15 minutes to make 2 gallons. It’s so easy a 10-year-old can make it, and it gets our clothes super fresh and clean. I use 1/3 cup per load, so 2 gallons makes enough soap for 96 loads. For a family of 4, I do about 10 loads of laundry per week, so one batch lasts me over two months.

I have been making my own laundry soap for about a year and absolutely love it!

When I did use store brands, I always bought fragrance-free laundry soap because I would have allergic reactions to the toxic, synthetic fragrances. Now that I make my own laundry soap, I use my all-natural Young Living essential oils to give our clothes a fresh, clean, non-toxic scent. Young Living essential oils are 100% pure and free from chemical additives and extenders, so I don’t have to worry about my family absorbing any chemicals from the laundry soap.

Non-toxic Liquid Laundry Soap

Time: 15 minutes

Makes 2 Gallons (You can easily cut this recipe in half if you want to make 1 gallon.)

Ingredients/materials:

2-gallon bucket

2 gallons water

1/2 cup Super Washing Soda

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup unscented liquid castile soap

40 drops of your favorite essential oils (I use Young Living Lavender.)

Large wooden or plastic spoon

2 1-gallon glass containers or 8 mason quart jars

Instructions:

1. Pour washing soda into bucket. Add just enough hot water to cover the washing soda, and stir well to dissolve.
2. Pour baking soda into bucket. Stir to dissolve.
3. Fill your bucket with hot water close to the 2-gallon mark, leaving 1/2 inch of space on top.
4. Add castile soap.
5. Add essential oils.
6. Stir well to mix.
7. Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour laundry soap into glass containers.

Use 1/3 cup laundry soap per load. This soap is safe to use in HE washers.

Check out my DIY laundry stain spray. It’s great to use with this soap!

Thanks to Dwelling in Happiness for the inspiration for this recipe!