Make Your Own Laundry Powder

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I’ve been making my own laundry powder since my daughter was a baby almost eight years ago. Since I was washing cloth diapers, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t washing them in chemical-laden laundry detergent. This method was so successful, I began using it on our clothes as well, and haven’t looked back since!

It is really ea sy to make your own laundry powder, and it isn’t expensive at all. You can find all the supplies you need right at Wal*Mart (washing soda, tea tree oil)- so they aren’t hard to locate, either!

So first, grab your supplies:

Since I no longer store my food in plastic containers, I used a Tupperware Bagel Keeper for my laundry powder. It is nice and square and deep with an easy flip-top lid. I am not sure if they still sell them, but you can use just about anything. Although I like using mason jars for so many things, glass in the laundry room isn’t something I want to risk.

Lea’s Laundry Powder Recipe

1. Dump a whole box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda in your container:

2. Next, add 20 drops of tea tree oil, and 15 drops lavender oil if you’re using.

3. Add the second box of washing soda. Mix well. I like to close the lid, flip upside-down and and shake to mix well. The oils may clump, so you’ll want to open it when you’re done mixing and check for lumps - if you find any, smash them with a spoon to break them down.

That’s it!

I use 1 TBSP Lea’s Laundry Powder per load of laundry. That’s it! I do have a front-loading washing machine, so you may need to double it for top-loaders.

Please leave a comment and let me know how this works for you :)

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proud contributor
Lea Harris founded Nourishing Treasures in 2006. A mom passionate about her family's health and well-being, Lea believes education is power. Encouraging others to take baby steps in the right direction of health for their families, Lea's goal is to raise awareness of what goes into our mouths and on our bodies, providing natural alternative information that promotes health and prevents disease by using traditional foods and nature's medicine.

Lea is a Certified Health Coach graduate from Beyond Organic University, and a Certified Aromatherapist graduate from Aromahead Institute.

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You can also find me on Learning About Essential Oils forum, and Fido Fermentation Facebook group.

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Make Your Own Laundry Powder — 24 Comments

  2. Nice! I’ll try it for sure! Can you tell how much soda is in one box (as I don’t live in US…)?
    And also, do you know what tea tree oil does to the clothes?
    Thanks a lot.

    • It’s a 55 oz box.

      Tea tree oil doesn’t leave residue on the clothes at all - the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the TTO help to clean :)
      NaturaLEA recently posted..Health Benefits of Chia Seeds - and a challenge

  4. I notice that other recipes mix in borax and a bar of grated fels-naptha soup into the washing soda as well??? Is there any reason those products wouldn’t work with it as well or do you think they are not very naturaL??? Just curious as I am researching making my own Laundry soup. I like adding the essential oils too.
    Beth

  5. Hi Lea,
    just came across this and I’m thinking of trying this recipe since I think I may be allergic to our cheap laundry soap (and we can’t really afford to buy the expensive one anymore).
    I was wondering if I could add fragrance oils from my (Brambleberry) soap-making supplies? Not sure if this would stain the clothes or something…
    Thanks!
    Irma

    • Yes, you can! It won’t leave stains. If you’re doing it for fragrance and not to clean, throw in a “rag” or something with the fragrance oils in the dryer with your damp clothes and as they dry they will pick up the fragrance :)

  6. Great idea! For now, I’m back to using the soap nuts I bought a while ago. Since they have no fragrance, I will try the rag with fragrance oils in the dryer :D

  8. Hi there,

    This sounds wonderful. Do you know if it works for HE washers? I see you said it works for front-loaders, but I’m not sure if all front-loaders are HE. Ours is HE.

    Thanks,
    Randa

  10. I LOVE making my own laundry powder. It’s better for me, my clothes and my pocketbook :) :) It’s been really helpful, especially now because I’m in-between jobs. So it allows me to wash my clothes for just pennies :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

  11. This looks nice and easy. I currently use Charlie’s - but once I get to the bottom of my current humongous black bucket, it would be nice to have something less expensive and home-made to try.

    Do you happen to have a DIY dishwashing detergent? We’re using Seventh Generation powerder but it clumps up so hard, I can barely get it out of the box - I need to attack it with a fork each time I try to use it. I did buy it in bulk and I’m at the end of the carton so maybe that’s why - not sure - lol - but I don’t want to buy anymore.

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