We’ve been researching homemade laundry detergent and deodorant for a while and today we finally decided to make some.

I was a bit apprehensive about leaving my Tide behind, but I was willing to give it a try for the sake of cutting way back on the cost of detergent which is very expensive.

We also wanted to make our own deodorant since many of them have aluminum which is a known carcinogenic with a recent study linking aluminum to breast cancer in women.

We searched online through recipes, watched videos of people making laundry soap and deodorant, and realized this is very going to be very simple as well as inexpensive to make.

After making our first batch, we tested it immediately to see if we would need to tweak the recipe in anyway. I was extremely surprised and pleased at how beautiful and clean our homemade detergent made our clothes. I actually was shocked. When the washing machine stopped, I scooted in to smell the wet clothes, and I could smell the lavender only slightly.

We threw the clothes in the dryer and when they were half way done, I took a towel out to smell it…yup, still smelled fresh and clean. LOL I put it back in till it was completely finished and the smell was only very very light with a crisp clean smell instead.

It was quite amazing. I took it around to everyone in the family and everyone agreed that it smelled fresh and clean.

Awesome! I am really excited now. I don’t think we will ever buy Tide or any other laundry detergent again.

Here is the cost breakdown for each:

Tide- $36.00 per month

Our homemade detergent- $5.25 for almost a full gallon.

We don’t know how long it will last, so I’ll report back on December 6th exactly one month after making this batch. We only needed to use 1/2 cup for an extra large load, and I’ll be experimenting with different amounts to find the perfect balance. As it is right now, its super clean with only a faint hint of lavender.

Here is our recipe if anyone wants to give it a try:

Homemade Laundry Detergent

6 cups baking soda

6 cups Borax

1 bar of Kiss My Face Lavender Olive Oil Soap (or any other 8 oz soap of your choice)

30 drops of Lavender essential oil (or any essential oil of your choice)

Directions:

Grate bar of soap with a hand grater or in a food processor with grating attachment. Mix borax, baking soda and grated soap together and add lavender oil. Store in container of your choice…it will make almost one gallon.

Homemade Deodorant

Another thing I was a bit skeptical about was making our own deodorant. I’ll report back after a month of using this recipe as well. It was extremely easy to make and it should last us a long time. I go through one bar of deodorant ever four months, so the cost isn’t really an issue for me.

Dom on the other hand goes through a bar a month. After we made it, I had to immediately try it. LOL I was surprised at how light the scent was and how well it works. I’ve been wearing it for a few hours now and so far its working. Dom used it before heading off to work today, so he’ll tell me tonight how it works. He took his other deodorant to work with him just in case this recipe is a dud.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Arrowroot powder

3/4 cup Baking soda

3/4 cup Organic coconut oil

1/4 tsp Tea tree oil

8 drops of Lavender oil

Directions:

In a bowl using a pastry cutter, mix arrowroot powder, baking soda and coconut oil. After working it all together it should be a firm consistency but dissolve easily when rubbed through fingers. Add tea tree oil and lavender oil and mix until blended. Store in bowl of your choice.

When applying it, simply scoop out a very small amount with your finger and apply. I bet it would work great on feet too!

In other news around here, Betty Complex laid her first egg! We were so excited this morning.

Betty Complex is our Black Sex Link chicken. I didn’t think she’d lay yet since she is in the middle of molting, but she did! Here’s her very first egg:

Below is I took a photo of her egg next to eggs we purchase locally…they are extra large eggs:

Update!

We did a second load of laundry and it was perfect. Instead on adding 1/2 cup of detergent to an extra large load, we added 3/4 cup to an extra large load and that was perfect. If we wanted more fragrance we could add 30 more drops of lavender (or measure out how much that is)

The deodorant was PERFECT! This is too much information, but we stink here on the farm. LOL Yup, hard work, getting a sweat going and poof! we’re the only ones that can stand each other. SO, after one whole day of wearing the homemade deodorant, there is not one hint of odor! No greasy feeling. And Dom said that at work and this morning he stills smells fresh. Yup this stuff works!

Tagged as: Homemade Deodorant, Homemade Laundry Detergent