Homemade Non-Toxic Liquid Hand Soap
By
I have something to say.
Commercial non-toxic liquid hand soap is way, way too expensive. Since switching over all of our household products to chemical free varieties, purchasing liquid hand soap is something that always makes me choke. We need easy access to soap at our sinks, but good grief all the options I found to order were crazy expensive -like around $5.00 for 12 ounces. Ouch.
Shame on them.
Do you know how much it cost me to make an entire gallon of non-toxic, all natural, organic liquid hand soap? Three dollars and fifty cents. Total. For an entire gallon. (A gallon, by the way, is 128 ounces. That’s some awesome savings!)
This may have been one of the easiest items I’ve ever made. It took hardly any time. And it only cost me $3.50. (Pardon my redundancy. I’m hung up on the fact that it only cost me $3.50 for a gallon of the healthiest hand soap ever. $3.50. $3.50!)
Because of this, I plan to get on a soap box (ha!) and encourage all of us to save a bunch of money by making homemade liquid hand soap.
Other recipes I’ve seen call for several ingredients I didn’t feel safe to use. Then, my friend BryAnna told me she’d been playing with making soap and had found these simple directions. She’s a genius. I love her.
Homemade Non-Toxic Liquid Hand Soap
4 ounce bar of natural soap (I used a bar of coconut oil soap from Tropical Traditions. Any natural bar of soap would work. I think the bars from Victorian Rose Soap Company would be great!)
1 gallon of water
First, heat the water in a pot, just long enough to steam:
In the meantime, grate your bar of soap.
Take the steaming water off the heat. Immediately pour the grated soap into the water. Stir the mixture, then let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Use a hand mixer to blend the soap and water mixture well. Let it sit overnight.
The next morning, use the hand mixer again to blend well. Done. You have a gallon of non-toxic liquid hand soap!
When my friend BryAnna made her batch, she found that it was quite thick and almost gel like the second day. My batch, on the other hand, was still quite runny. If your soap is too thick, you may want to blend in a little extra water. If your mixture is too runny…it doesn’t matter. It works just fine!
I had some extra pump bottles around the house which I filled and put by each sink. The remaining liquid soap, I funneled into a gallon water jug for storage.
If you’ve never tried making your own liquid hand soap, you’ve got to give this a try. So simple. So safe and pure. And so, so, so much less expensive.
Like, only $3.50 for a gallon. Or did I mention that already?
Ever tried making your own soaps? Which kind(s) have you tried? Hand soap? Laundry detergent? Bar soap?
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Could you add some essential oils to make a scented soap?
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Laura Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Yes! You definitely can. I forgot to mention it because I’m so focused on “unscented” around here because of our son’s eczema. :)
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That’s next on my to do list! Thanks for sharing!
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I have watered down Dr Bronner’s castile soap to use in a foaming hand soap pump. That has worked well…I haven’t figured out the actual cost, but your recipe sounds much cheaper.
I least expensive laundry detergent I have tried is soap nuts. I’m not sold on their cleaning ability…I may try grinding them and using as a powder to see if that works better. I would LOVE a good laundry detergent recipe that works!
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Sarah Manlupig Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
I found a laundry soap that does 50 loads at Lowes home improvement store, it has all natural oils and soap nuts in it too. it’s liquid I think I paid six dollars. I like it so far. There are recipes online for making your own laundry soap, it calls for a bar of soap and borax and washing soda. I think it makes like ten gallons. Haven’t tried it though. I’m trying this new one I found at Lowes. It says Organic on the front it is in a pouch. Can’t remember the name right now. I like it so far.
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Ginny Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 10:53 am
I have a good laundry soap…
see my blog post about it. I’ve been using it for almost 3 years now. My Hubby has sensitive skin
and it does great with his skin.
It works on cloth diapers, poop stains, etc.
Here’s the link…
http://ginnyrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/01/homemade-laundry-soap.html
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Sarah Manlupig Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 11:31 am
I’m not comfortable with Felths Napa soap… seems like a super chemical bar. I am interested in biogdegratable. I not only removed chemicals from my home for my children but for the earth too.
I make my own laundry soap, body lotion, deodorant, and I can’t wait to try this hand soap. Can you wash dishes with it?
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Laura Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Shucks, I don’t see why not. Thanks for mentioning it – I never thought of that!
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DorthyM Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Lori, please share recipes for those. My email is duckigrrl@gmail.com. Thanks.
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Lori Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
My deodorant recipe is on my blog http://www.lorialexander.blogspot.com. It is absolutely the BEST deodorant ever. You NEVER smell. My body lotion recipe is more complicated but it is a fabulous recipe and my very favorite lotion. I will email it to both of you with my laundry detergent recipe which is so easy and works great. I will get it to you hopefully tommorrow.
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Laura Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
I’d love your lotion recipe! laura.hojnacke@gmail.com
Amy Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:52 pm
i would also like the lotion recipe too please
Shawnie Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
I would really like to try your deo, lotion and laundry det recipes too! My email is shawniejoy@comcast.net. Thank you sooo much!
Jennifer Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
I’d love your lotion recipe, too, Lori! elysesmama@yahoo.com. Thanks!!:)
jenn foy Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 11:18 pm
me three! jennprickett@gmail.com :) sorry to jump on the bandwagon and make it more complicated, but it just sounds so exciting!
Heather Lei Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 12:26 am
Lori, perhaps you should blog those recipes. It seems that many of would love your assistance. But just in case I’ll throw out my e-mail, hlambos@cox.net.
Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:38 am
Lori has these recipes on her blog – http://www.lorialexander.blogspot.com
:)
Dione Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Me too!!! proverbs31dls@aol.com Thank you:)
Jami Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Would you be willing to share your recipes with me also Lori? My e-mail is jnjregan@gmail.com. Definitely interested!!! Thanks.
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Lori Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:21 pm
My deodorant recipe is on my blog http://www.lorialexander.blogspot.com. It is absolutely the BEST deodorant ever. You NEVER smell. My body lotion recipe is more complicated but it is a fabulous recipe and my very favorite lotion. I will email it to both of you with my laundry detergent recipe which is so easy and works great. I will get it to you hopefully tommorrow.
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Rach Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 5:39 am
Can I have your recipes too? mtrunnertoo@yahoo.com Thanks!
Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:39 am
Here’s a link to Lori’s blog which has her recipes! http://www.lorialexander.blogspot.com
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Lisa K Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Me too? leeloe@hotmail.com. Thanks!
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Rebecca Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Oh, me too?!!! I would love to try making lotion!
mcpeanut7@yahoo.com Thanks!!
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Sarah Manlupig Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
We use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch.
Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:39 am
Lori has her recipes on her blog: http://www.lorialexander.blogspot.com
Here is another idea: I buy a Castile type liquid soap (at a good price through a buying club), combine with water (about 5 parts water, 1 part soap) and put in a foaming pump. Cheap and easy.
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Katie @ CookGardenSew Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
We do the same with the watered down castile soap in foaming pumps and it works great as hand AND dish soap, and the castile soap by itself works wonderfully as a pre-treat for stained laundry items.
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Love love love this! I can’t wait to make some this weekend!
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Awesome! I do this for body wash as well. A few drops of some kind of naturally antiseptic/antibacterial essence oil adds more benefit and scent.
We make our own laundry soap, which I think the basic recipe is pretty common now. I’ve made it for a 1cent/load before! Depends on the bar you use.
When we go out of town and have to stay in a motel, I always bring a few things they don’t have. Air freshener, liquid hand soap, starch… you get the idea. I dislike the little bar they give you after it’s been used a few times by little dirty hands..lol Well, one day I stopped by target and grabbed a bottle of handsoap that I had never tried. It was “Method” brand name. The soap itself is no big deal but the pump is awesome! It’s one of those foaming pumps. What is cool about this is that you need such a small percentage of soap to water ratio. It foams it as it comes out and you are left feeling like you got a whole bunch of clean. Funny how we equate suds for clean. I have been reusing this bottle for a while. I only need to add a bit of liquid soap and the rest water to refill.
We make our shampoo and conditioner too. Honestly, cause it saves me SO much money, I can’t hardly justify not doing it. I use a GREATLY diluted with water amount of Bronners liquid castille soap. I’m talking like a quarter cup for a 32oz. size shampoo bottle I refill.
Our conditioner: apple cider vinegar. No your hair doesn’t smell like vinegar, but a hint of apples. Rinsing with warm water takes care of the smell. Vinegar naturally restores the PH balance to your hair. How awesome is that! I use about 1 cup vinegar for a 32 oz bottle. You can tweak it how you like. My hair is past my bum so my ends need that PH balance. :)
Can’t wait to read other’s recipes!
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Melodya Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
wow. I left and came back to finish this post only to see a bunch of other ladies doing the same exact things! I love it! Guess my post is a little redundant though..lol
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jenn foy Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
I thought it was very helpful!
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I am totally adding this to my list! I have done the duggar recipe for laundry soap and it works fine, but smells a little gnarly. We are currently using Ecos from Costco that is made from coconut oil and smells great. I have all of the supplies to make bar soap from goat’s milk, but I will have to wait until the kiddos aren’t around to experiment with Lye for the first time. I love reading your blog. It’s so nice to find like-minded mamas out there.
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I tried this exact method to make some liquid dish soap, but I didn’t know to use the hand mixer. The texture was inconsistent… Some runny parts and some thick clumping … I just didn’t think of using the mixer. the soap wouldn’t cling to the dishes… It would immediately run off them… So I am definitely going to try making this again both for hand soap and for dish soap and try using the hand mixer. Thanks!!
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Melodya Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
I have had better luck for dish soap by filling a dish bottle half way with the soap after it’s gelled. I usually add a bit more of washing or baking soda, I’ve even added some liquid castile soap. Then fill the rest of the way with water and shake. Helps with the consistancy.
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What constitutes ‘natural’ soap?
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Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:29 am
Good question! I try to purchase soaps that have very few ingredients, and only ingredients I trust like Coconut Oil, goats milk, olive oil, things like that.
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Kim Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 8:22 am
Right, but what ingredients are safe/natural, but make the soap effective at killing germs/removing dirt?
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Jessica Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 8:49 am
This would probably be helpful to you:
http://biology.about.com/od/microbiology/a/handsanitizers.htm
Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 9:12 am
I don’t know all of the them for sure, but the soap I buy has only one ingredient: saponified organic virgin coconut oil.
The soap from Victorian Rose Soap Co. includes more ingredients, but I recognize them all: coconut or olive oil, goats milk, shea butter or cocoa butter.
I looked up Ivory bar soap ingredients: The Ivory soap bar (classic) had contained: sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance.[7] The soap bar had a determined pH value: 9.5. [2]
New varieties of Ivory soap contain altered ingredients, such as in “Simply Ivory” (or “simplement ivory”): sodium tallowate and/or sodium palmate, water, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, glycerin, sodium chloride, fragrance, one or more of the following: coconut acid, palm kernel acid, tallow acid or palm acid and tetrasodium EDTA.[3]
I don’t know what most of those are, and while they might be effective in killing germs, they also add a lot of unknown chemicals to my skin.
I wish I understood more on this subject – I really feel that (based on the fact that the soap we buy has only one ingredient) it doesn’t take much to clean the skin effectively and safely.
Hope that helps a little!
We make our own fabric softener…1 part favorite liquid fabric softener to 2 parts water and cut a few sponges in half…mix all into a 3-5 gallon bucket and add the sponges. When you dry a load of clothes toss a sponge in and the clothes come out smelling good and no static and you do not have that stinky little dryer sheet that gets caught in a pant leg or stuck to your micro-fiber rags. Also we make our own body wash…1 grated bar soap (your choice) and 4 cups of water, add together and let sit over night. stir and pour into whatever you use for body wash. if it is too thick add a cup of water at a time mix well and let it sit over night. for about $.50 i made enough to fill 3 18oz. containers.
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Melissa Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
For the dryer, a more natural option is white vinegar with sponges. Again, the heat takes care of the smell, but mine come out soft and static free! I’ve made both the powered and liquid laundry soaps from the Duggar’s, and some stains need work, but I’m willing to spend the time. My husband though doesn’t seem to think the clothes are getting clean, but I think it’s the same as the previous poster – we Americans equate the level of cleanliness with the amount of bubbles.
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Melodya Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
This is an awesome idea! I tried a similiar thing with a wash cloth and a few drops of essence oil on it but my husband didn’t care for the only oil I had on hand was lavendar… lol
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I have been wanting to try this. I saw another recipe that added glycerin and said it made it smoother and less clumpy. Do you think it’s worth the effort?
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Like others have said, I use a foaming soap pump. I am currently buying regular hand soap (without Triclosan/anti-bacterial ingredients) and using that. It lasts so much longer! I fill it 1/3 soap and 2/3 water and we seem to actually use less each time we wash our hands :)
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I can’t wait to try this! I have been looking for something like this for a while. Thanks!
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What about dish soap. I’ve been wondering if I could make that, but I sure do love my Dawn…
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Jill Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:09 am
Dawn is fairly cheap, widely available and biodegradable…I mix about 5 parts fawn with 1 part water and put in a foaming container. It is great and I will never go back to just using it straight out of the bottle. I think it last a lot longer this way and is perfect for washing one dish.
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Jill Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:10 am
Dawn, not fawn.
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Thanks so much for posting this! I will be making it this week!
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Wow! Thank you for sharing this!! I am thrilled that I can now try to make my own! I just want to tell you how appreciative I am of all your natural choices!!! you rock Laura!!
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I was just thinking about this today! I get so tired of buying hand soap and it is expensive and we go through it like mad. I will try this with a bar of my home-made soap soon.
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I make my own laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets. I have a recipe – a very easy recipe – for dish washing detergent and just now tonight I was trying to come up with a liquid dish soap recipe. We’ll see how successful I was in the morning. And then I just happened to see your post!! I would love to link over here to this post so my readers can see your hand soap recipe if you don’t mind.
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Oh, I forgot to add. One thing I learned is that when our bodies have a BO that basic soap doesn’t seem to get rid of, it’s due to A: ingesting strong things like an abundance of garlic. or B: it’s a bacteria that has spread, basic soap sometimes doesn’t rid this. SO many essence oils would naturally take care of this w/o messing up your body.
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Do you know of any way to make a clear soap?
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Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
I’m not sure, unless you find a clear bar of soap? I’m hoping to keep learning more about homemade soaps!
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Angela, Sami, Melodya, and Lori would you email your recipes. We are in a tight spot right now and needing to save every penny we can. Thanks. & God Bless My email is stuesse@sbcglobal.net
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I’ve made my own laundry detergent… didn’t work at all (clothes didn’t come clean, I used a dry version). And also I heard Borax is toxic, so I that was it for the detergent.
For shampoo, I don’t use conditioner at all, don’t need it. And neither does the fam. None of us have long hair, we keep our hair at a reasonable length, easier to tame, and keep tidy.
We currently use the brand “method” for our hands, cleaning stuff, and dishwashing stuff.
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Amy Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 6:57 am
I have a housekeeping business and I only use “method” brand for my cleaning supplies.
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Maybe you could put a nontoxic cleaning product recipe share (or something like that)on your long list of things to do for during the winter months? I’d be especially interested in dish soap and automatic dishwasher detergent. I’ve tried several homemade recipes of automatic dishwasher detergent but all have left little bits of food on our plates and glasses. I’m also interested in homemade shampoo and conditioner. We tried shampoo bars and I gave them a three month trial but our hair always felt greasy.
I have learned so much from you! You have changed our lives for the better in ways you’ll never know. Thank you for all of your tireless efforts to help us all live healthier, cleaner, more natural, more environmentally friendly lives.
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Lori Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 6:46 am
The only dishwasher detergent I have found that works wonderfully and is natural is Maleleuca brand. I love it. I tried the homemade stuff and it was terrible. I also tried the shampoo bars and they didn’t work at all.
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Lana Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:50 am
I use Seventh Generation dishwasher powder. I have found that only 1-2 teaspoons will do the job and one box lasts for months. So many cleaners work just as well whenI use much less. I also only use one tablespoon of laundry detergent with the same results.
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Abbie Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Natures Sunshine has dish washer fluid too. They have wonderful products!
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fantastic! trying this for sure!!! I have seen some recipes for foaming hand soap out there too…now just to try them out!
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this recipe looks interesting and definitely cheap. i, like one of the other commenters just use about an inch of Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild (unscented) mixed with water. if you put this in a foaming pump bottle it goes extremely far. (even with a three year old :) I also use the Dr. Bronners to make my laundry detergent and have found it extremely good at removing stains including newborn poop stains! We all know how hard those can be! Not to sound like a paid endorsement :) but the Dr. Bronners is a pure soap and is extremely versatile and cost effective!
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I am so thankful for this recipe. We have 11 people under one roof and this would save money. I will give it a try.
I use soap nuts for laundry. I had to make myself NOT watch the load since it does not make suds. I also have a He washer. I have two teenage boys who play outside hard and it gets them clean. I have a tub next to the washer and can see what comes out and I am here to tell you the water is filthy until the last rinse and they come out clean. BTW with soap nuts it is a natural fabric softener so you do not need anything in the dryer. I LOVE my soap nuts. If it can clean two teenage boys clothes then it can clean anything. I keep a bar of fels naptha near by for serious stains..
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JanaC2 Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 5:34 am
We use soap nuts with great success as well. When my little one (now 2 yrs old) started developing skin irritations (hives, eczema and hypopigmentation) we began researching all sorts of natural beauty products and tried homemade recipes for everything from lotions and calming salves to sunscreen and shampoo. Some of the products were successful and others we will not try again because of the cost/time involved (our experiences are recorded here – http://wp.me/p1BPh9-7e).
I am eager to try this simple recipe for hand soap as we are now using diluted Castille soap and I’m up for a change!
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Rebecca Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Ditto on the soap nuts!! Works great and no need for fabric softener. About half our our laundry is work/play clothes that are VERY dirty and sweaty. The clothes are fresh and clean, no scent!! Best place to buy is Ebay. Buy the NaturOli brand. You can buy the 5# ‘pieces’ for $45 and it does 800+ loads. (they guarantee that 1# will do 160 loads AT LEAST. In my experience, you get more like 200 loads, so the 5# should do 1000 loads!!)
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I am SOOOOOOO going to try this!! I hate buying liquid hand soap because your right it is RIDICULOUSLY expensive!!
Thanks for sharing this!!
Dana
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Lori, I’d love your laundry soap, lotion and deoderant recipes please. email to cheribear1968@roadrunner.com
Thanks!
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I raise dairy goats and make my own goat milk soap. It has coconut oil, palm oil and olive oil in it. I have quite a few customers and some good testimonials too. I’ll have to try it in a liquid form though, sounds interesting and less messy than a bar.
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Wait. You mean I can have handsoap that smells anyway I want it to? My favorite bar of soap in liquid/gel form? Larua, you are AWESOME!
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You must have been eavesdropping on conversations I’ve been having with my husband – the ones where he asks me if I can find healthy, non-toxic hand soap (in a dispenser) or figure out how to make it!
THANK YOU for sharing this with us – and to BryAnna for sharing her recipe with you! I’m off to make non-toxic liquid hand soap :)
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Thanks for the clean post! I appreciate it!
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This is exciting…I agree with another poster…you need to have a recipe share or something! I’ve tried homemade dishwashing detergent and it was a joke…although it did ok for a bathroom scrub. Really would like to make these kinds of things at home!
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I make bar soap with coconut oil, canola oil, and castor oil. I just tried a new version with added honey and oatmeal. I’ll see how that turns out in a few weeks.
In the summer when I’m not teaching, I make my own laundry detergent and hang the clothes outisde to dry on the line. I do use the Fels Naptha soap in the recipe, which isn’t all natural, but it’s inexpensive and has many uses. If you wet it and rub it on your stains, it works really well to remove them. Also if you get into poison ivy, just wash with Fels Naptha and it clears it up quickly.
I also experimented with dishwashing soap and made a recipe that had vinegar, tea tree oil, lemon juice and liquid castile-which I made by grating a bar of Kirk’s and mixing with water. For me, it worked pretty well for a few weeks, and then seemed to be leaving a film on the dishes. If you alternate it with regular detergent, it works and saves money–it just doesn’t work well over a long period of time.
I made my own deodorant this summer as well–equal parts of baking soda and corn starch mixed with coconut oil and a few drops of tea tree oil. It works quite well!
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This now on my “cooking goals” for Aug! Thanks for a great, simple idea. Keep up your great work!
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I just published my hand and body lotion recipe for anyone that is interested!
http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-hand-and-body-lotion-recipe.html
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I love this recipe for hand soap. If it turns out too thin or runny then use a foamer bottle. If you buy foam hand soap just save the bottle and fill with this recipe. I have saved huge on hand soap by adding water to about 1/3 liquid hand soap and 2/3 part water to top off the foamer bottle mix well and it lasts 4X longer that way. If you get bar soap on sale with a coupon the cost is lower than $3.50 per gallon. I got ivory bar soap free with coupons. so with this recipe I could just make my own hand soap for free.
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Thanks for the hand soap recipe! I love using anything w/no chemicals and I have 12 grandkids that always are washing their hands. (thank goodness!) This is a great money saver! Will be making a batch today. :o)
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Thank you! I will be making some soap for us this weekend!
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Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
BTW, you wrote “hand mixture” a few times… did you mean “hand mixer?” :)
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Laura Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Oh DUH. Thanks for letting me know of the typo that I wrote not once but TWICE!!! Fixed it! :)
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Laura, thank you so much for posting this! I was wondering, what about at the kitchen sink. . . .does it kill germs from say, raw chicken or eggs. Those are the things that I get a little nervous about getting washed off my hands, counters, dishes, etc. . . because of the dangers of getting sick. Would this soap be reliable to kill those germs after handling raw chicken or eggs?
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Carrie Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 10:54 am
I would like to know the answer to this as well!
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caroline Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Use vinegar for your surface cleaner. My sister is a dialysis nurse and this is. What is what they use to clean machines in between patients.
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Lisa Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Thanks! I guess I was hoping to see if this soap really would disinfect my hands after handling those items. I have also heard about the benefits of vinegar as a cleanser!
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Caroline Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Wow, I was typing on my phone earlier and I’m embarrassed at my degree of typos. HOW you wash your hands matters more. Check this link http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1213399&page=1
Carrie Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Do you use the vinegar to disinfect dishes too? (i.e. the knife I use to cut raw meat, the cutting board, etc)
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Caroline Reply:
July 29th, 2011 at 10:58 am
I heat-sani most dishes in my dishwasher. I know I shouldn’t run my knives through the washer but I do aanyway :) The washer is suppose to be more earth friendly than hand washing anyway. I do have a spray bottle of vinegar for cutting boards surfaces that don’t fit in. I wash and then spray down. Since with hand washing a good scrub matters more than what you use, I would assume that surfaces would be about the same.
Good post!! As a veteran soapmaker and a generational medicinal herbalist, I can not emphasize enough the need to clearly LABEL everything homemade. The soap dispensers are easy enough to figure out, but someone could confuse the recycled gallon jug for something else.
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Thanks so much Laura! I’ve been slowly but surely switching over to making things myself instead of buying products with chemicals and ‘who knows what’.
DEODORANT- Lindsay @Passionate Homemaker’s recipe with my own modifications so it can be in a ‘stick’ form , works GREAT!! http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/02/homemade-all-natural-deodorant.html (probably where Lori got the recipe)
IMMUNE BOOSTER- based mine on this: http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Double-E-Immune-Booster_Organic
HEALING SALVE-(like a triple antibiotic ointment) based mine on this: http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Eden-Salve_Organic (also works for diaper rash)
BUG SPRAY- works GREAT!! Bought this mix to make my own: http://www.bulkherbstore.com/The-Vinegar-Of-The-Four-Thieves
HAND CREAM – whipped shea butter and coconut oil – recipe from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0mkatyC74c (the lady from MadeOn – thanks Laura!)
DIAPER RASH OINTMENT – same recipe as the hand cream, with zinc oxide powder added (find on Amazon)(I did 20% by weight, so 4 ounces cream to 1 ounce zinc oxide)
LAUNDRY SOAP – Made by God – Soap nuts!!!! Works great and no need for fabric softener. About half our our laundry is work/play clothes that are VERY dirty and sweaty. The clothes are fresh and clean, no scent!! Best place to buy is Ebay. Buy the NaturOli brand. You can buy the 5# ‘pieces’ for $45 and it does 800+ loads. (they guarantee that 1# will do 160 loads AT LEAST. In my experience, you get more like 200 loads, so the 5# should do 1000 loads!!)
Next on my list – hand soap, shampoo/conditioner, lip balm, and sunscreen (lotion with zinc oxide powder?).
You can’t do everything at once, but do one thing at a time. :) A recipe share sounds GREAT!!
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I make my own laundry soap and bar soap. Bar soap is used to make laundry soap too. Cheap and easy. Just use shortening, lye and water. A great school lesson on how just touching lye water will burn you, but you can make soap and not hurt yourself. If you want the easy, cheap recipe let me know.
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Love this – I just discovered this same trick a few months ago and I was shocked how easy and inexpensive it is. I sometimes add essential oils and I have started using this soap for everything – hand soap, body wash (my husband hates using bars), washing dishes, and shampoo. So inexpensive and so healthy!
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Oh I am excited for this and the lotion– I think I just found this year’s Christmas gifts! :)
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We also use foaming soap dispensers and just put in a ratio of 1/7 or 1/8 soap to water. It works just fine and costs very little–I’d love to try this recipe and see if it works in the foaming dispenser, that would cut the cost by even more!
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With out a preservative, how long does this keep before growing mold? It seems a gallon would take a LONG time to use. My understanding is that is the biggest drawback to any water based soap or cosmetic product. I make and use my own bars for about $1 each and this would be great for me other than I fear growing bugs. Any ideas on a natural preservative? As far as I understand vitamin E, which first comes to mind, isn’t truly a preservative that will stop bacterial growth in solution.
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Heather in Michigan Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Wow, good point. No one wants MOLD in their soap. Thanks for mentioning. (could simply make a smaller batch instead of a gallon…)
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Nicola Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 8:58 am
I make my own liquid soap from scratch. I use 100% organic ingredients which I saponify (basically adding the lye) & cook & then add water to dilute the soap gel. I do not use a preservative & have been told that handmade soap is good for 3 years without a preservative. I do not have a batch of liquid soap that I have made that is 3 years old but I do have some that is over a year old & it is still good to use. I can’t really comment on grating a soap bar to use but I imagine that as long as it is all natural ingredients you will be fine for as long as it will take to use up the batch.
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Home made laundry soap: 2 cups 20 muleteam borax; 1 bar grated laundry soap such as Zote or Fels Naptha; 2 cups washing soda (I’ll tell you how to make your own washing soda at home at the end)1 cup any version of powdered oxyclean(I buy mine at the dollar store-it makes a double batch) Blend the grated barsoap with all the other powdered ingredients in a huge bowl. Add any desired essential oils at this time they are optional 10 to 20 drops. Place by small cups full into a blender and blend well until powdery and store in a plastic flip top lid. The scoop cup from the dollar store version of oxyclean is perfect for a washer load! Add about two rounded tablespoons per washer load. Use cold water(saves more money). TO MAKE WASHING SODA AT HOME: Washing soda is simply baking soda that has been heat processed to cause a chemical change in the ingredients. I buy mine in a huge bag from the club discount stores. Measure it& spread it out placing it into a pyrex type glass baking dish and bake the baking soda for 30 minutes at 350 or an hour at 250. You can see like tiny heat streams rising from the baking soda as it bakes. It is undergoing a chemical reaction.Wash all your preparation equipment out by hand because something in the dish soap reacts with the zote soap and it leaves a film in the dishwasher(no there won’t be any buildup on your clothing. Can’t find Zote soap? Check out your local Mexican grocery store (Mercado), the older women in Mexico(they use washers now) washed their clothing in the river with a scrub board and Zote soap. If it can clean clothing in dirty river water, think what it an do in a washing maching! HOMEMADE electric dishwasher detergent recipe: 2 cups washing soda; 2 cups 20 mule team borax; 1 cup any cheap coarse salt; 2 packets of generic unsweetened lemon flavor only koolaide…Yes Koolaide, it is citric acid! Of course you can go buy some plain citric acid from any whole food store…but you’ll also pay an arm and a leg! Walmart carries it for 12 cents a package last I knew. I had some left over store bought detergent and threw that in with my first batch… but this stuff works much better than any store bought detergent I ever tried…. Why lemon? It has a nice scent and it won’t stain anything tupperware or otherwise. BTW FYI Borax is not boric acid which is dangerous and can be toxic. Borax is found in the desert and is a natural element that just happens to be a good dirty fighter. The instructions for this detergent is a heaping teaspoon per detergent cup but I use a little bit more: adjust up or down per your water’s hardness. You know those hard tro remove silerware scratches on plates and bowls…it removed the majority of them just when I thought I was going to have to spring for new dishes!
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Lori Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Wow! I never heard that you could turn baking soda into washing soda. I have been using the washing soda for years now and it works great. When I run out of it, I will try the baking soda. I use almost the same recipe but make it into a gel since I wash almost everything in cold water.
I have tried many different homemade dishwasher detergent recipes and none never worked well at all. I love Malaleuca’s but it is expensive. When I run out, I will have to try your recipe. Lots of great ideas. Thanks!
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Caroline Reply:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:32 am
Has anyone ever tried turning baking soda to washing powder in a crock pot? I’m feeling tempted.
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