As I was washing laundry yesterday, I was thinking about how much I like my laundry soap, and thought it would be good to blog about it. Before I begin, let me preface by explaining that I don’t recommend products on any of my sites unless I use them myself and believe them to be exceptional. With that said, let me tell you about Charlie’s Soap.
For the past year, I have used Charlie’s Soap for laundry. After sampling a small package of this soap, I loved it and purchased the jumbo container which will last our family (who currently washes 8-10 loads a week) for years. I love it because:
- It’s gentle, making it excellent for baby clothes and those with sensitive skin.
- It works great. The kids in this house know how to get their clothes dirty! I rarely remember to put stain treatment on clothes, and this soap does the job very well anyways.
- It’s inexpensive. I only need to use one tablespoon of laundry soap per load. The price per load depends on how large a container you purchase, and how many items you buy. They discount if you purchase more than one item. Depending on those variables, the price comes out to be from 10 to 18 cents a load.
- I don’t need to use any fabric softener at all. I have heard some people say that they have needed to run an extra rinse cycle, but I think this has to do with the hardness of the water. Our clothes are fine with normal rinsing. So not only is it inexpensive, but I save in fabric softener costs as well.
Update from April 2010:
After nearly three years of washing laundry for seven, eight, or nine people, plus giving some away to many friends and family who wanted to try it out, I’m just beginning to run low on that same bucket! How awesome is it to take laundry detergent off your shopping list for three years, especially for a large family who does tons of laundry? But alas, it’s finally time to order some more.
We still love Charlie’s Soap for most of the same reasons. The only change that we’ve made is our usage of fabric softener. While you can skip fabric softener when using Charlie’s Soap, I like our clothes a bit softer and I love the scent of fabric softener, so I started using it again. Other than that, it is as gentle, effective, frugal and efficient as ever!
It seems that Charlie’s Soap no longer sells the small 2.64 lb trial package (which cleans a whopping 80 loads) directly on their website. If you are new to Charlie’s Soap, you can find this small bag at Amazon. Otherwise, you can still buy the larger packages (and learn more about this wonderful laundry soap) from the Charlie’s Soap website.
For more Natural Living ideas, click here!
I never paid attention to this soap product until you posted this. . . imagine my surprise to see it’s a local company right up the road! I bought a 3 lbs. bag the other evening and will try it as soon as I run out of my Tide detergent. Thanks for the product review!
Emily
Do you buy the big bucket that does 1000 loads I think?? It was priced at 130 or so dollars? I also have a HE front load washer wonder will it work on them??
P.S. love your blog!!!
Hi Leann, I do buy the 1000-load bucket. I can’t remember what I paid, but that sounds about right. I have an HE front loader too, and it works great in mine. I use a Tablespoon per load.
You might want to start with a smaller container first to try out and be sure you like it before buying the big bucket. :-)
I make my own laundry soap and fabric softener for much cheaper and I love it. The ingredients are essentially the same for homemade household cleaners as well so that is a bonus!
Hi Emily, I started making my own laundry soap in September, and I love it too! Using about $2 worth of ingredients, we’re five months into our batch and still have a lot left! I wonder if we’re using the same recipe. I found mine from the Duggar Family website, and I shared it here: http://www.myblessedhome.net/?p=11523