This recipe came to be because of my daughter’s intense skin reactions.  Her skin would flare up if a detergent came within 10 feet of her (okay, not really, but not too off the mark).  After doing a ton of research and coming up with some pretty strange combinations I fell back on a simple recipe that blends baking soda with washing soda and a gentle soap. 

When I first made this I was so worried that it wouldn’t be strong enough to clean up a newborn’s (a-hem) laundry “messes”.  Not only did this mixture do the trick but it even got out “things” I was sure would leave stains but I was too tired to really worry about pretreating. 

The only downside to this laundry soap is that it doesn’t leave towels feeling fluffy like store bought brands will do.  To offset this, use vinegar as a fabric softener to help keep the fibers plush.  Don’t worry- your laundry will not smell like vinegar when it comes out.  It just smells clean!

Make it Yourself:

1 cup washing soda

1 cup baking soda

2 bars of a gentle soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s)

In your food processor attach the top-feed shredder and shred the soap through it.  Once done, switch the attachment for the blade and pulse until the soap is fine.  Add in the remaining ingredients and blend together for about 10 seconds.  Carefully pour into your storage container.

If you do not have a mixer, grate the soap using a cheese grater.  Once done mix all the ingredients together.  Doing it this way will look different than if you had used a food processor.  It will have larger pieces of soap in it but don’t worry.  This should break down pretty easily in your washing machine.

Use 1-2 tablespoons for a regular load of laundry.  You can use an extra tablespoon if your laundry is heavily soiled. 

You should get about 50-60 loads of laundry out of this and it’s safe to use in all types of washing machines.