How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent (Non-Toxic, Actually Works, and Costs Almost Nothing)

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Okay, real talk. If you have kids who spend any amount of time outside — which, if you’re here, yours probably do — laundry is not a small thing. We’re talking grass-stained knees, red Florida dirt ground into white socks, and whatever mystery substance ends up on a shirt after an afternoon in the backyard with the chickens. Our laundry pile is basically a nature journal in fabric form.

For a long time I just bought whatever detergent was on sale, told myself it was fine, and moved on. But the more I started paying attention to what we were bringing into our home — the cleaners, the food, the personal care stuff — the harder it was to ignore what was in that giant plastic jug sitting on my laundry shelf. Synthetic fragrances, optical brighteners, stabilizers with names I can’t pronounce. All going into our kids’ clothes. All sitting against their skin all day.

So I started making our own, and honestly? I wish I’d done it years ago. It’s cheaper, it’s simple, and it works. Let me show you exactly what we do.

Why We Switched to Homemade Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent

I’m not here to scare you. But I do think it’s worth knowing that a lot of conventional laundry detergents contain ingredients that aren’t fully disclosed (thanks to fragrance loophole laws), and some of those ingredients are linked to skin irritation, hormone disruption, and respiratory issues. For kids who are outside in the heat all day — which is basically nine months of the year down here in the Pensacola area — their skin is sweating and absorbing things constantly.

Making your own detergent means you know exactly what’s in it. Three ingredients. That’s it.

And the cost? I spend maybe $15-20 a year on laundry detergent now. For our whole family. It’s almost embarrassing how much I used to spend.

What You Need to Make Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent

Here’s the base recipe we’ve used for over two years now:

The Ingredients

• Washing soda (sodium carbonate — not baking soda, different thing)
• Borax (naturally occurring mineral, not the same as boric acid)
• Pure castile soap bar, grated — Dr. Bronner’s unscented is our go-to

That’s genuinely it.

Optional add-ins that we love:

• A few drops of essential oil (lavender or tea tree work well)
• Food grade diatomaceous earth — yes, the same stuff we use in the chicken coop! A small amount can boost cleaning power and works as a natural deodorizer
• Wool dryer balls in the dryer instead of dryer sheets (this isn’t in the detergent but it completes the whole non-toxic laundry routine beautifully)

Basic Supplies

• Box grater or food processor
• Large mixing bowl
• Airtight container for storage
• Measuring scoop

The Recipe (Step by Step)

Step 1: Grate Your Soap

Grate one bar of castile soap using a fine cheese grater. This is honestly the most annoying step and it takes about five minutes. My kids fight over who gets to do it now — same kids who fought over who got to hold the baby chicks, so you know the bar for excitement is different around here. You can also pulse it in a food processor until it’s fine crumbles.

Step 2: Mix Your Dry Ingredients

Combine:

• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup grated castile soap

Stir it all together until it’s evenly mixed. Add essential oils now if you’re using them — just drizzle them in and stir.

Step 3: Store It

Pour into an airtight container. A mason jar works great. A repurposed glass jar works great. Whatever you’ve got.

How Much to Use

• Standard load: 1–2 tablespoons
• Heavily soiled (hi, farm kids): 2–3 tablespoons
• HE machines: 1 tablespoon is usually plenty — less suds is actually better for HE washers

This recipe makes about 3 cups of detergent, which lasts our family of four roughly 2–3 months depending on the season. (Summer in Florida = more laundry. Always.)

Tips for Florida Families Specifically

A few things I’ve learned making this down here in the humidity and heat:

The clumping issue is real. Humidity can cause powdered detergent to clump in storage. Keep your container in a cool, dry spot — a cabinet away from your washer (which generates steam) works best. Tossing a food-safe silica packet in the container helps too. Give it a quick stir before each use and you’re good.

Hard water matters. Parts of Northwest Florida have pretty hard water, and that can affect how well soap rinses out. If you’re noticing residue, bump up your washing soda slightly — it’s a water softener and helps with that.

Sun is your friend. Line drying in the Florida sun is a free, chemical-free stain fighter. Sun naturally bleaches and deodorizes. We hang everything we can outside, and I’m convinced sunlight does more for our whites than anything in a bottle ever did.

What About Tough Stains?

I’ll be honest — this detergent handles everyday dirt, sweat, and general kid grime really well. For tougher stains (chicken coop adventures, berry picking, that one time someone sat in the mulch pile), I pre-treat with a paste of washing soda and water, or I use a small spray of Grove Collaborative’s stain remover, which fits right into our non-toxic routine.

For our natural coop cleaning routine (which absolutely generates its own laundry situation), I’ve written more over at Natural Chicken Coop Deodorizer and Cleaning Routine (What Actually Works for a Backyard Flock) — same philosophy, different space.

Making This a Homeschool Moment (Because Of Course We Do)

This is one of those practical life skills that fits right into our Charlotte Mason approach — learning by doing, learning things that matter. When we make a batch of detergent, we talk about what each ingredient does. Washing soda cuts through grease. Borax is a naturally occurring mineral found in the earth. Soap molecules surround dirt and lift it away from fabric.

That’s chemistry. That’s practical science. And it sticks way better than a worksheet.

If your kids are into nature journaling, this kind of observation — watching how things clean, what works and what doesn’t — fits beautifully into the kind of real-world learning we talk about in Charlotte Mason Nature Study Journal Prompts by Season (For Real Kids Who’d Rather Be Outside). Same curious, hands-on spirit.

This is also just the kind of thing kids in the 1990s watched their parents do without thinking twice — making do, using simple things, not everything coming from a plastic bottle with a cartoon character on it. I love giving my kids that same experience. There’s something grounding about knowing how to make the things you use.

The Full Non-Toxic Laundry Routine (What We Actually Do)

In case you want the whole picture:

• Detergent: Homemade powder (recipe above)
• Fabric softener: White vinegar in the rinse cycle (about ½ cup — no, your clothes don’t smell like vinegar, I promise)
• Dryer: Wool dryer balls with a drop of lavender essential oil if I’m feeling fancy
• Stain treatment: Washing soda paste or Grove Collaborative spray
• Sunlight: Whenever possible — free, effective, zero packaging

Simple. Cheap. Clean.

One More Thing on the Non-Toxic Front

If you’re in the process of cleaning up your home products overall, laundry is a great place to start because it touches everything your family wears. But it doesn’t have to happen all at once. We’ve slowly swapped things out over a couple of years — cleaning supplies, personal care, food storage. If you’re looking for a good next step after laundry, Grove Collaborative is where I order a lot of our refillable cleaning stuff and it’s been a game changer for reducing plastic and keeping things simple.

You’ve Got This

If you’d told me five years ago I’d be grating soap bars and mixing up laundry detergent in my kitchen, I’d have laughed. But here we are, and honestly it’s one of those small changes that just makes me feel good every time I do it. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about making intentional choices where you can, one batch at a time.

Your kids’ clothes are going to get dirty. That’s a feature, not a bug. Let them play. Let them dig. Let them chase the chickens and come in smelling like Florida sunshine and adventure. We’ll handle the laundry.

📖 You Might Also Like:

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is homemade laundry detergent actually effective on heavily soiled clothes?

Yes — especially with this three-ingredient recipe. Washing soda is a powerful cleaning booster, borax softens water and lifts grime, and castile soap does the actual scrubbing work. For extra-dirty loads (think: kids who spend real time outside), use 2–3 tablespoons and consider pre-treating stains with a washing soda paste. Sun-drying after washing also helps lift any remaining residue and naturally deodorizes fabric.

Is borax safe to use in laundry detergent for kids?

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used in household cleaning for over 100 years. When used in laundry (not ingested or applied directly to skin), it is widely considered safe. That said, if you have concerns, you can simply omit it and double your washing soda — the detergent will still work well. As with all cleaning products, store it out of reach of young children.

Can I use homemade powdered laundry detergent in an HE (high-efficiency) washing machine?

Yes! HE machines actually do better with low-suds detergents, and homemade powder creates far less sudsing than commercial detergents. Use just 1 tablespoon per load in an HE machine. If you notice any residue over time, you can run an occasional empty hot water cycle to rinse the drum.

How do I keep homemade powdered laundry detergent from clumping in humid climates like Florida?

Humidity is the main enemy of powdered detergent — especially in Florida! Store your detergent in an airtight container away from the steam your washer generates. A cabinet across the room or in a closet works well. You can also toss a food-safe silica gel packet into the container to absorb moisture, and just give the powder a quick stir before scooping. It’s a minor inconvenience for a product that costs almost nothing and works great.

How much does it cost to make homemade laundry detergent compared to buying it?

Significantly less. A box of washing soda, a box of borax, and a bar of castile soap together cost roughly $10–14 and will make multiple batches of detergent — enough to last a family of four several months. Compared to $15–25 for a name-brand detergent that lasts just a few weeks, the savings add up fast. Many families report spending $15–25 per year total on laundry once they switch to making their own.