Homemade Laundry Soap And Fabric Softener

With a family of 6 I am always looking for ways to save money. Our family spends about $40 a month on laundry soap (and that is the cheap kind). I would only spend about $5 a month on fabric softener but because of the cost I would only use fabric softener on my bed sheets and towels. That was also not the only headache I had, I had old towels that were a good condition but through constant use had the musty old water smell that just would not come out. So I did some searching and finally on pintrest.com I found a recipe for both. I decided what do I have to lose. It took about $20 total to make them. The laundry soap calls for fels-neptha or  zote soap. However I like my laundry soap to have fragrance and did not want to spend an additional $5+ for laundry crystals. So I modified the recipe and bar soap that I like the scent of. It does the same thing as Fels-Neptha and Zote soap. Yes it does dissolve Most of the bar soaps come in a 4 pack, and you only need 3. You can use the 4th bar to make either hand soap or body wash but that is another post;-) 

With the fabric softener the person who posted the recipe (again on pintrest) use suave rosemary mint conditioner. Here again you can use any conditioner that you like the scent of. Also a concern my husband had was the vinegar ingredient. He was afraid everything would smell like vinegar. For those who feel the same, no there is no scent of vinegar on the clothes after washing. The vinegar in the fabric softener takes the hard to get out smells out. So after I made the laundry soap and Fabric softener (which took roughly 20 minutes) I tried it out. My clothes came out so clean and they smelled so good and yes they were very soft. So I decided to do a load of towels. Well needless to say the musty old water smell that I could never get out with other laundry soap and fabric softener came out with this. I am a firm believer that it must be the vinegar. I do not know how long the laundry soap and fabric softener will last or how many loads as of yet. You will have to check back. I am guessing I have maybe 4 months worth of laundry soap (give or take) and may 1 - 2 months of fabric softener (and that is using it with every load) this is with a family of six. I am also taking a guess that this will save me over $60 a month. We shall see! Below are pictures, the laundry soap would not fit in one container so there is 2. Also below is the recipe! 

Homemade Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener




Laundry Soap


A. 1 Box of Borax (4lb 12oz )
B. 1 box of Armor Hammer Baking Soda (4lb)
C. I box of Super Washing Soda (55 oz)
D.  Oxy Clean ( 3.5 lbs)
E. 3 Bars of Soap ( you can use any bar if you would like to add fragrance, its cheaper than laundry crystals, or you can use zote soap or Fels-Naptha)


Note: all of these are in the laundry Aisles except for the regular bars of soap


Line a large pan with a garbage bag. Pour the entire box of borax, baking soda, super washing soda, and oxy clean into the garbage bag lined pot. Use a cheese grader and grade the bars of soap and add it to the pot. Mix all of the ingredients together. Add to any storage container of your choice and you are done. When you do laundry all you need is 2 tablespoons of the laundry soap. Note: Everything in the recipe does dissolve.


Fabric Softener


A. 6 Cups of water
B. 3 Cups Of White Vinegar
C. 2 Cups of Conditioner of your choice 
Note: I used Suave Aloe -Vera + Ginseng but any conditioner that has a scent you like works.


In a 1 gallon container add the water, vinegar, and conditioner.  Mix the ingredients together.
Note: Do Not Shake It Will Foam up. After it is well mixed it is set to use. All you need to do is add about ¼ cup to the rinse cycle.