Homemade Laundry Soap

I love to dabble in all kinds of earth friendly, money saving, homey bits.  One that I use quite frequently is homemade laundry soap.  There are seemingly hundreds of recipes out there on the world wide web and I have tried a couple different variations.  I have made both liquid and dry powder versions.  Due to the space we have don't have, I have found that the powdered version works best for us.    This is one of my favorite powdered recipes and I have found that it works quite well for us:

2 cups Soap-finely grated (Depending on bar size, one or two bars of soap)    Fels Naptha is generally the recommended bar in recipes, but you could also try other bar soaps(steer clear of bars like Dove and other lotion/oil laden soaps).  I love to use Bella Bars, they have a nice light scent and do a great job of cleaning whatever grease and ick my hubby gathers on his clothes by the day's end. 

1 cup Washing Soda     I have read multiple reviews suggesting that Washing Soda and Baking Soda are both interchangable and are not interchangable.  I have used Baking Soda in place of the Washing Soda with good results.

1 cup Borax  Please remember that Borax is caustic and should be handled with care.  Despite warnings I don't use gloves and have had no ill effects, but those with sensitive skin should be aware.

Mix well and store in an airtight plastic or glass container - I of course use either an empty candle jar or an old mason glass topped jar with a Tablespoon tied to the side.  Function and cute.   Use approximately TWO Tablespoons per full load of laundry.   You may find that due to your water hardness, soiled clothing, size of laundry loads, you may need to adjust the amount needed per load to get the results you desire.  

It's a good feeling knowing exactly what is going into my family's clothing especially with two young boys and a baby on the way. :)  Enjoy!