I first posted this homemade laundry soap on December 6, 2010. After three years I'm still making it regularly and it's about all we use.

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A few months ago I was made aware of the fact that one could make home made laundry detergent - easily.
I'd considered doing this before but read something about soaking, heating, mixing, liquids, etc. and quickly moved on.  Way too much work.

This recipe, however, is super easy and takes only minutes to put together.  I've been very happy with the results, quality wise, and am thrilled with the huge cost savings.

I mix:
1 box of washing soda
1 box of Borax (found the washing soda at WalMart and the Borax at Target)
1 box of All powdered stainlifter (not a necessity, but it's inexpensive and it works)
I then grate (with a cheese grater) in some (maybe 1/3 bar) Fels-Naptha bar laundry soap

That's it.  It's all dry ingredients and it mixes really easily. And it lasts forever.

I use 1/8 cup per load of laundry, no need to use more for larger or dirtier loads. 1/8 cup does the trick.

This soap does not provide the yummy scent of Tide or other laundry soaps*. For us, it took no time at all to adjust to that.  I do use a Bounce Dryer Bar** in the dryer to give the clean laundry a bit of a nice fresh aroma.

Borax can also be used to wash dishes.  I have used the laundry soap mix in the dishwasher before and it works ok ... not great, in my opinion, but good.

Have you tried making your own laundry soap/detergent? How did it work for you? 

*If you use traditional laundry detergent, liquid or powdered, you really truly only need 1/2 as much as they tell you to use.  And, from what I've read, washing in hot water is not all it's supposed to be.  The water will never really get hot enough to make a difference or sterilize anything.

**When using regular dryer sheets, which I haven't used in ages, I cut them in half.  Just take the whole package worth and cut them in half with an electric knife. 1/2 works just as well as a whole one.