Another SUPER easy Laundry Soap & Fabric Softener!

This simple recipe was submitted by Helen Linda, State of Vermont Employee. She has been using this recipe for 5 years and loves how simple and cost effective it is! Thanks for sharing, Helen!!

Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Borax
• 3 tbsp Washing Soda
• 4 tbsp Dawn (for heavy soil) or Liquid Castille Soap (for sensitive skin) or a combo.
• 4 cups very hot water

Where to get this stuff:

• Borax and Washing Soda can be found next to each other in the laundry aisle of major grocery stores.
• Dawn is preferred over other dish washing soaps because it really is the best grease fighter but can certainly be substituted.
• Castille Soap can be found in any health food store, coop, etc. Dr. Bronner’s is the most popular, probably the cheapest, and likely available even in regular grocery stores and pharmacy stores.

Instructions

• Whisk Borax & Washing Soda into 4 cups very hot water until completely dissolved (I usually microwave water in a glass quart pyrex mixing cup and add ingredients to the cup and whisk).
• Pour into the jug you’re storing the soap in. Add Dawn/Castille soap and gently shake to mix, then add 4 more cups of water and gently shake to mix it all (You can just to all of this in the jug, but I get frustrated with how long it takes for the powders to dissolve at a gentle shaking pace).
• Adjust water to depending on your preference over time, this recipe tolerates a lot of variation. It will always be thin, not like store bought, but you use the same amount to twice as much, depending on how soiled the clothes are and how your washing machine handles it. My friend (who gave me this recipe) with young active kids uses all Dawn and ½-1 cup per load. I use I use 2 tbsp Dawn & 2 tbsp Castille and ¼- ½ cup per load for my two adults who do desk work.

Homemade Fabric Softener

Ingredients

• 3 cups White Vinegar
• 2 cups Hair Conditioner
• 6 cups Water

Instructions

Pour all ingredients together in a container and gently shake to mix thoroughly. Use the same way and amount you would any commercial fabric softener. (Hair conditioner can be expensive, so try getting it in bulk at discount stores to cut the cost if that’s a concern.