Yes, I know you can find the recipe for DIY Laundry Detergent on any number of natural/hippie/DIY/earth mother sites. So please understand that my intention is not to be redundant. However, I couldn’t resist sharing how a few simple DIYs have so positively affected my own skin.

I have really good skin-it’s combination, free of sun damage, and I’ve never had a lot of acne. But a few years ago, I started getting eczema on my legs. If you’ve ever had it, you know it can be a bit maddening. I thought I’d scratch myself to death, and I had huge red patches all up and down my legs. I’ve used creams from the dermatologist, lotions marked especially for eczema, and natural remedies. But what finally worked? A DIY laundry routine.

Store-bought products full of chemicals I can’t pronounce have all be replaced with simple solutions that *bonus* are a lot cheaper. And, I’m happy to report that in the last month my legs have cleared up! I’m wearing short skirts sans leggings for the first in a couple years.

So here’s our new routine…

DIY Laundry Detergent

1 bar Fels-Naptha
2 cups washing soda
2 cups Borax

Here’s the trick: Grate your bar of Fels-Naptha while sitting in front of your favorite tv show. (Your living room will smell divine!) Then, throw the bowl of grated soap in the food processor. This will break it down so that it won’t clump when you store it. Just remember to let it settle a minute before you take off that processor lid!

Mix all 3 ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

We use 2 Tablespoons per regular load and 3 Tablespoons for a load that’s super dirty.

Removing Stains

Again, there are a ton of fab products out there. Our go-to is Goop. However, we’ve also found that a bar of Fels-Naptha rubbed on the stain with a little water can work wonders!

DIY the Dryer Routine

We’ve found that a combination of dryer balls and homemade dryer sheets does the trick! I covered both of those how-tos for DIY Network’s Made + Remade… 

Click here to see the dryer ball how-to. 

Click here to watch the dryer sheet how-to YouTube.