I am trying to create a cleaner home environment for my family.  I have eliminated all chemical cleaning products and now use vinegar, lemon juice water solution for my kitchen, baking soda to scrub and hydrogen peroxide for stains. I realized that even though I was providing my children with a clean kitchen and less chemicals in the air for them to breathe, I was still dressing them in clothes washed in harmful chemicals. I had these chemicals touching their soft skin 24 hours a day!

Laundry detergents contain phthalates, chemicals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive system harm in lab tests.    I have been trying to avoid exposing extra hormones to my children but I was placing phthalates next to their skin daily.   I was also using fabric softener which deposits even more phthalates on your clothes. I needed to find a safe alternative that would clean my clothes and not cost me an expensive, organic price.

When I was trying to find a recipe for homemade laundry soap, I referred to my list of safe cleaning products to make sure it was made with approved ingredients.  When researching healthy home care products I found the EPA has certain cleaning products that they approve as safe for the environment.  Not only do I want to have safe chemicals in my house, I try to help protect the environment and doing something positive for the future of my children.  I found a homemade laundry soap recipe, It is made with EPA approved green ingredients that are easy to find, and costs less than $2 for 200 loads of laundry.

It is made with Borax, Washing Soda, Water, and Fels-Naptha Laundry Soap, I was able to pick up all of these ingredients at my local grocery store.  After making one batch of this recipe there is so much Borax and washing soda  in these boxes I will have enough to make at least 15 times more of the same recipe.  I used Fels-Naptha bar soap for my homemade laundry soap, this is also a fantastic spot stain fighter, it will remove blood and grass stains, and costs a fraction of a stain fighting spray like Shout.  Buy an extra bar as a laundry pre-treater for bad stains.     If you don’t like the smell of Fels-Naptha soap or want something even more sensitive, you could choose an unscented bar of soap or something sensitive like Ivory soap.

I have used this laundry soap for five weeks now and I am very pleased with the results.  The stains are removed with no discoloration to my colored clothes and whites are white, and my clothes come out clean and fresh.   My husband, who is extremely picky and slow to accept my green and hormone free changes, he only liked to use Gain laundry soap up to this point.  I asked him what he thought of the laundry detergent and he said, “It works good!”   I am comfortable recommending this recipe to my friends. It would save them a lot of money on laundry soap, they would be using an environmentally safe product, and to keep phtalates off of  their clothes.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

• Use an old pan, and an old spoon that you will not need for cooking again, so your food does not taste like soap
• Grate or finely cut up one bar of soap
• Place ground soap in the pan with the 4 cups of water, on the stove top over low heat.
• Stir constantly until soap dissolves and blends with the water
• Use a clean 5 gallon bucket with a lid
• Fill bucket half full with hot water
• Add the melted soap and water mixture to this bucket
• Add the washing soda and borax
• Stir all ingredients until they combine
• Fill the bucket to the top with water
• You can add 10 drops of an essential oil like lavender (optional)
• Cover the bucket and let it cool and set up overnight
• In the morning it will turn into a big bucket of thick gel
• Stir it up and It will turn into a liquidy lumpy jello consistency
• Use your mixing spoon to stir it up before you scoop up your laundry soap for each load
• I use 1/3 cup of laundry detergent per load

Now that you are eliminating the chemicals in your detergent stop using fabric softener! To eliminate static, use dryer balls such as Dryer Magic Dryer Fluff balls to fluff and soften clothes, or 1/4 cup of white vinegar in your rinse cycle. The vinegar will deodorize your clothes, naturally soften them, and keep your laundry machine clean and free from hard water buildup as well.

A list of harmful chemicals people use in their households and safe alternatives recomended by the EPA.

An article from NaturalNews.com on harmful chemicals and ways to avoid them in your life.