Laundry Detergent from Scratch

This week has been an excellent study in how to make things at home instead of buying them. The Bahamas are prohibitively expensive. Almost everything that we buy costs two to three times more than it would in the nearby U.S., if it's available at all. This has meant a lot of cut backs in the way that we shop. I think that Jon has suffered the most from this. He's significantly cut back on his snack foods. To buy his peanuts, we have to drive an hour (gas is $6 a gallon), and pray that they have them in stock, of course we'll stock up on other items while we're there. There's only one store on the island that has a laundry detergent that's dye and perfume free, but they usually only have one in stock, if that. Further, although we're currently on a septic system, once we've built The Whistling Duck, our plan is to use rainwater harvesting and grey water gardens. We need to be able to do things in a less toxic way.
What to do?

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've read quite a number of "how to" articles about laundry detergent over the last couple of weeks. One of the most common ingredients, Borax, is highly debated. Borax is toxic, and used in pesticides, yet the toxicity in such diluted amounts is perhaps negligible. It's used as an effective stain lifter and boosts the power of your homemade detergent. However, since it's bad for greywater, as are products with salt, I opted not to use it.

My Recipe

You'll need: hot tap water, a large container or pitcher for mixing, a wooden mixing spoon, a one gallon air tight container for your detergent when finished.

~1/4 cup Washing Soda
You can find this in the store, or make your own from Baking Soda
~1/4 cup Baking Soda
~3/8 cup Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap
Any of his 18-in-1 liquid soaps will do, or your local castile soap
*20-ish drops of lavender essential oil
This step is optional. You may use any essential oil that you wish, or skip this step and leave it scent free

In the mixing pitcher, pour a about 3-4 cups of hot water. Stir in the Washing Soda and Baking powder slowly, stirring with the wooden spoon until they dissolve. Add the Dr. Bronner's or other castile soap, stir, then add drops of essential oil as desired. Add water to fill the pitcher.

Pour mix into 1 gallon container and if your pitcher was smaller than that, add water until the container is full. Close and gently swish to mix.

Use approximately 1/3 cup per load.

For more recipes, try The Humbled Home Maker

My laundry smelled clean and fresh, with a hint of lavender. It's not a strong detergent, so if you have a heavy duty load, it's probably best to pretreat stains. The next time we have a heavy load, I might opt to double the amount, or add a little more castile soap. Over all, the results were pleasing. It's also nice to know that neither my daughter or myself are likely to have allergic reactions to such a toxic free laundry soap!