About a year ago I discovered this homemade laundry powder recipe from Soule Mama, and I’ve been using it ever since…mostly. When I first started making it, I grated the soap by hand, which I loathed. I began dreading the process whenever my batch ran out, and eventually went back to my favorite laundry soap, only occasionally making the powder. For Christmas this year, I gave away several dryer balls along with a jar of laundry powder to friends and family, and during the hand-grating process, I wised up and streamlined the process.

I only purchase Dr. Bronner’s soap when it’s on super sale, which is quite rare, so my preferred castile soap is Kirk’s, which I get for 99 cents a bar. I have also used Fels Naptha, but stopped after reading it contains icky petroleum.

First I cut each bar into more manageable chunks using the blade on our cheese board.

Then using the grating attachment on my food processor, I run each chunk through the machine. It easily fits 10 bars at a time.

Finally, I transfer the gratings to a large bowl, change to the standard “S” blade, and run the gratings through the machine again. In my experience, this is a must to ensure the soap fully dissolves in the wash.

Following the recipe, I mix the other ingredients in a large bowl (my sinuses prefer this done outside), and transfer to large jars, adding up to 50 drops of essential oil to each batch. So far, these are my favorite combinations:

• Clove, Sweet Orange and Peppermint
• Lemon & Lavender
• Peppermint
• Rose & Grapefruit

I use anywhere from 1/16 to a 1/4 cup per load, depending on load size, stains, etc.

Again, a quart jar of the laundry powder along with several wool dryer balls makes a fantastic gift.

Happy Laundering!