I originally tried the dried powder:
1 bar of grated Zote or Fels Naptha Soap (I got zote at Save a lot for $1)
1 cup borax (purchased at Kroger)
1 cup washing soda (also Kroger, in the laundry aisle)
Mix it all up and use 1 tbsp. per load. This lasted me as long as a regular bottle of generic laundry soap. I would venture a guess that the total cost of this was about $1.25-$1.50.
Today I mixed up the liquid variety, because I'm told that it's even more economical. I also like that I don't have to let it dissolve before adding the clothes.
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or Zote bar soap, grated
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
Lots of water
Melt grated soap slowly in 6 C hot tap water on stove. When completely melted, stir in borax and washing soda.
Add 4 cups of water to bucket
Stir in melted soap mixture.
Add 20 more cups of water.
Pour into containers.
Let set until it becomes gel like
Use one cup per laundry load. Does not make suds.
I saved one empty laundry soap bottle, cut the top off of it and was able to fill it with about half this mixture. The other half is sitting in a covered bucket in my garage. I have not had the chance to work the math on this, but logically this does save money. A box of borax is $3-$4. I've actually had a box sitting around my house for like two years. The washing soda was also $3-$4 dollars. For this liquid variety I used 1/3 of the bar of zote, so 33 cents worth. I should be able to make 10 or more batches of this with the borax and washing soda that I currently have.
