In a previous entry, I discussed the importance of greening your laundry routine and how to choose a chemical- and phosphate- free detergent. I also hinted that we have some recipes to make your own detergent at home. Well, faithful readers, today is your lucky day! Our dear friend Elise over at Portland’s Downtown District has generously shared her recipes for making your own laundry detergent and fabric softener at home.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients

1 bar of castile soap, grated. Dr. Bronner’s bar soap (available in your grocery store’s “natural” section, Whole Foods, or your local food co-op). You can also use any other all-natural castile soap

1 cup borax (available at Hannaford’s in the laundry section)

1 cup washing soda (also available in the laundry aisle at Hannaford’s. If you absolutely cannot find it, baking soda also works)

1/4 cup oxygen cleaner, such as OxyClean (this is optional–I add separately to the wash if the load needs extra cleaning power)

Essential oils–Again, this is optional, but add until the fragrance level is to your liking! I use tea tree oil and patchouli–you can use anything.

Directions

Grate the soap with a food processor, add the other ingredients, and process to a fine powder. Hand-grating and hand-mixing works fine, too.

Use 1 Tablespoon for a small load and 2 Tablespoons for a large load. I let the water for the machine fill a bit to dissolve the soap before adding clothes. Even in cold water, I’ve never had problems with the soap not dissolving correctly.

Laundry Rinse (aka Fabric Softener)

1 gallon white vinegar

25-30 drops essential oil- optional, but nice for fragrance

Use 1/4 cup in the rinse cycle in place of fabric softener. I don’t like sitting around waiting for the right moment in the rinse cycle, so I use an old Downy ball and throw that in when the wash starts. The agitation during the rinse cycle breaks the ball open and dispenses the vinegar. Your clothes definitely won’t smell like vinegar…the smell completely dissipates when the clothes are dry.

Vinegar gets the extra soap residue out of clothes and reduces static. I hang-dry a lot of my clothing, and using vinegar keeps the clothes soft without using the dryer. Soap residue (usually due to overuse of commercial detergents) makes clothes stiff and is the reason you need toxic fabric softeners in the first place!

About the author: Elise Loschiavo is the special Events & Public Relations Manager for Portland’s Downtown District. When she isn’t planning downtown events she is crafting or cooking up something or other in her Munjoy Hill home. Read more from this author