Photo courtesy: Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
It’s no secret that one of my absolute favorite green cleaning products is Dr. Bronner’s castile soap. I use it in everything from my homemade floor cleaner, to my homemade laundry detergent (both liquid and powdered version), and even as a body wash and hand soap! But besides the many uses I’ve found for this amazing soap, there are other reasons that this cleaner is at the very top of my green cleaning arsenal of products.
I’ve written a few posts already on how to make your laundry routine more natural and eco-friendly:
- Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
- Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent
- Natural Ways to Freshen Your Laundry
And today, I have another awesome laundry post about a new, natural way to soften your laundry, without the use of any chemicals or dryer sheets – have you seen what’s in those things?
Up until now, my laundry drying routine has been very basic: we line-dry as much as possible during the warmer months, but we do have to crank up the dryer during the cold, winter months. As I’ve talked about in my post on naturally freshening your laundry, all I do is add some vinegar to the wash cycle (to help soften), and use a homemade dryer sheet in the dryer (mainly for fragrance).
I’m so excited to bring you today’s sponsor, but first, let’s talk about laundry, shall we? One of the very first things I did when I started my journey to a greener, more eco-friendly lifestyle, was change up my laundry routine. I went from using commercial laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and dryer sheets, to making homemade liquid laundry detergent, powdered detergent, and using natural products to freshen our laundry.
My recipe for liquid laundry detergent is the best thing that’s happened to my laundry routine, so when I finally ran out of my first batch, I was more than excited to make some more!
However, with my now 7 month baby hanging on my every limb 
I knew I didn’t want to be handling boiling water around him. So I went on a search, made some tweaks, and came up with this great powdered detergent recipe!
It’s much easier and quicker to make than the liquid version, but I still prefer the liquid version just because I’ve never been a big fan of powdered detergent. Plus the liquid one just lasts for so much longer! But if you’re in a hurry and don’t have the time to whip up a batch of liquid detergent, this recipe for the powdered stuff will work just as well!
What you need:
The very short ingredients list.
- 1 bar of castile soap (or Fels Naptha or Ivory), finely grated
- 1 cup borax
- 1 cup washing soda
- 3-5 drops of essential oils (optional)
What to do:
- After finely grating the bar of soap, add it to a bowl along with the borax and washing soda.
I used the smallest side of the grater to get it really fine.
- Whisk together very well to make sure it is all evenly distributed. Then, add the essential oils (if using) and mix very well to distribute the oil throughout.
All mixed together.
- Put in an air-tight container to prevent clumping.
The batch fit perfectly into a yogurt tub - hello, reusability!
That’s it! Three ingredients and three easy steps will get you a quick batch of laundry detergent!
I use about 2-3 tablespoons of powder for a load in cold water, depending on the size; but you should experiment to find what works for you. Don’t forget to read up on how to naturally freshen your laundry!
Again, I still prefer the liquid version but that’s just a personal preference. I could see this powdered version coming in handy if we’re traveling or visiting family and don’t want to lug around a jug of detergent with us
NOTE: For HE/Front-loading washers - Since this detergent is low-suds, it’s PERFECT for HE/front-loading washers, but you just want to use less detergent (about 1 tablespoon).
Where can you buy washing soda? Here are some tips on where to find washing soda (which is NOT the same as baking soda!)
- in the laundry aisle
- in the pool cleaner aisle at Walmart, brand name is AquaChem. Just make sure the only ingredient listed is sodium carbonate!
- call this phone number 1-800-524-1328 and have the UPC code 33200-03020. The service will ask for your zip code and then tell you places in your area that sell the item.
- you can make your own by cooking baking soda in the oven until it becomes washing soda!
| HOW TO: Make Powdered Laundry Detergent |
- 1 bar of castile soap (or Fels Naptha or Ivory), finely grated
- 1 cup borax
- 1 cup washing soda
- 3-5 drops essential oils
- After finely grating the bar of soap, add it to a bowl along with the borax and washing soda.
- Whisk together very well to make sure it is all evenly distributed.
- Add the essential oils (if using) and mix very well to distribute the oil throughout.
- Put in an air-tight container to prevent clumping.
- Use 2-3 tablespoons per load.
[tssig]
If you’ve read my Liquid Laundry Detergent or Powdered Laundry Detergent posts, you may be wondering how I’ve tackled the issues of fabric softener and dryer sheets. Read on to find out why I don’t use these products and how I naturally freshen my laundry without the use of harsh chemicals.
It’s easy to guess why I don’t like the liquid softeners – I hate the idea of artificial fragrances and residues left on my clothes, when it’s supposed to be in the washing machine to get washed! But what about the dryer sheets? What could possibly be wrong with dryer sheets? Well, besides the artificial fragrances (again), a quick online search returns a long list of some interesting chemicals - Benzyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, Chloroform, A-Terpineol, among others that are neurotoxins, carcinogens, and even listed on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste List! For a complete list of what’s actually in your dryer sheets, along with their health risks, visit this link.
There are a couple of things I do both in the washer and the dryer that work really well at getting my laundry feeling and smelling fresh and clean:
Baking Soda: I add about 1/4 cup baking soda to the wash basin while it’s filling with water and let it dissolve before adding the clothes. Baking Soda helps to not only soften the clothes, but it also regulates the pH level of the wash water. It’s is also very effective at reducing odors in the laundry. (For HE/front-loading machines, I just add it into the detergent cup.)- Vinegar: Instead of using a liquid fabric softener, I use some good
old vinegar in the rinse cycle of my washer. If you have a fabric softener dispenser just pour 1/4 – 1/2 cup into the dispenser and you’re good to go. If not, you can just use an old Downy ball or just manually pour it in during the rinse cycle. Vinegar helps to soften the clothes and if used during the rinse cycle, it won’t leave your clothes smelling like a salad. 
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Homemade Dryer Sheets: So after using the vinegar and baking soda for a while and being very happy with the way my laundry felt, I still wasn’t happy with how it smelled. I knew I had to do something in the dryer but didn’t know what, until I came across this awesome way to make a homemade version of dryer sheets:
*Take a small piece of cotton cloth (cut-up shirt, washcloth, etc.), soak it with water and wring it out so that’s it’s just damp. Take your favorite essential oil (lavender, orange, tea tree, etc.) and put about 10 drops all over the cloth. After you’ve run your clothes through the dryer using heat, throw the wet cloth into the dryer and run the dryer again on a NO HEAT cycle for about 10-15 minutes. When you take out your clothes, they’ll smell so fresh and clean but without such an overpowering scent as with commercial dryer sheets. Just keep wetting the cloth and using it over and over again until the smell runs out. Then toss it in the wash and start all over again!
EDIT: I’ve been asked a few times if you could just add the essential oils (EO) directly into the homemade liquid laundry detergent and bypass the second drying cycle, and the answer is absolutely! For that size batch, I would try about 1 oz. of oils and go from there. The only reason I don’t do this personally is because I like to control which loads get the EO treatment, ie: our clothes – most of the time, and the baby clothes – barely ever. One day I hope to be hanging all our clothes to dry outside, then we can do away with the dryer completely!
Try these 3 methods of freshening your laundry and you’ll never go back to store-bought fabric softeners again! Just remember, if you’re looking for that really strong, chemical smell that comes from commercial products, these methods are not for you! But if you want your clothes to come out of the laundry smelling clean and fresh, there’s nothing better than natural products like vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils.
Let me know how it works out for you!
Where can you buy essential oils? You can find them at any health food store that sells natural and organic products. If you can’t find a store near you, you can always purchase them online. Mountain Rose Herbs has really good quality oils – love them!
*affiliate links included in this post
