How to Make Natural Laundry Powder

I find that essential oils are a natural compliment to herbal medicine. Although I don't use them much for healing purposes, I do like to use them around the house, especially when I make my own cleaning products.

One of the easiest home cleaning products to make is actually laundry powder. My recipe uses just four ingredients: castille soap, washing soda, baking soda and two kinds of essential oils. It's natural, eco-friendly and inexpensive to make. I will show you how.

Things You'll Need

• 1 bar castille soup
• Washing soda (Borax)
• Baking soda
• Lavender essential oil
• Measuring cup
• Box grater
• Brown paper bag

Instructions

1. Gather the ingredients. You can find castille soap in health food stores. Washing soda and baking soda are supermarket staples. You can also find the lavender essential oil at your health food store. All of these ingredients are also available online.

2. Using a box grater, grate the castille soap and measure the amount once you are finished.

3. To a small brown paper bag, add equal parts castille soap, washing soda and baking soda. For example, if you measured one cup of castille soap, use one cup of washing soda and one of baking soda (washing soda is also called Borax).

4. Add 10 drops of lavender essential oil to the paper bag. You can substitute with tea tree oil or even grapefruit essential oil. If you want, you can also combine the lavender and grapefruit and use five drops of each.

5. Shake the bag to disperse the oils. Use half a cup of the mixture for a large load of laundry. Adjust the amount according to load size or how soiled the clothing is. If it's more soiled, use more of the laundry powder.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of using essential oil, you can also buy scented castille soap.