Household Cleaning Supply and Detergent Recipes

*All of these recipes have been tested/are being used by me and my family.


Laundry Detergent
Note: This recipe makes enough to fill 2, 1 gal containers. For less, see the adjusted recipe following this one. *

• 2 cups liquid castille soap OR 1 bar of solid castille soap (we use Dr. Bronner's)
• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Super Washing Soda
• 2 gallons of water

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Boil some of the water - enough to dissolve the soap and dry ingredients - in your biggest cooking pot. 
3. Reduce the heat.
4. If using bar soap, shave/shred/chop the bar of soap into pieces and add those to the water and allow to melt.
5. Dissolve the dry mixture into the water and soap mixture on the stove.
6. Add the liquid castille soap if your using it instead of bar soap and the remaining water.

It will take a couple of days to set up, but it's usable right away. Be sure to let it cool before moving it to storage containers. When done correctly, it will have the consistency of what my friend says is like egg-drop soup. 

*Smaller batch: 

• 1/2 cup of liquid castille soap (we use Dr. Bronner's)
• 1/4 cup Borax
• 1/4 cup Super Washing Soda
• approx. 1/2 gal of water

Follow the directions the same as the ones for the bigger recipe. This is the amount we make and I store it in a previously used laundry detergent container. 


Dishwasher Soap/Detergent
1 TBSP per load yields 24oz detergent

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Super Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid (or 2 lemonade drink mix packets)
• 1/2 cup kosher salt - for scrubbing

1. Combine all the ingredients together and mix well.
2. Add to a container with a lid for storage until use.

Note: Do NOT add lemon juice to the mixture thinking it will work. It will cause the other ingredients to activate and everything will clump into a solid mass. You only need enough to fill the small compartment in your dishwasher door - NOT the big one that opens part way through the cycle. If you need a rinse agent, add white vinegar to the rinse agent compartment. 

All-Purpose Cleaner

• 1/4 Cup white vinegar
• 2 TBSP Baking SODA
• 1/4 gal (1 liter) hot water
• a few drops of essential oil - I especially love lavender and tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has natural antiseptic properties.

1. Add the ingredients to a large container - whatever you used to heat the water in is fine.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Allow to cool and then pour into a spray bottle.

Other great essential oils you can add are grapefruit, orange, and lemon.