Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

Borax Laundry Booster, 76 oz Box ($10.29)
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 4 lb ($9.49) (only needed if you have hard water)
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, 55 oz ($10.52)
Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar  4 bars ($0.97/ea -$3.88 - Local Walmart Price )
Oxiclean (free/sensitive), 3lbs ($7.05) (optional)

Total cost of ingredients: $41.23  (all items, except the Fels Naptha were purchased from Amazon.com with no shipping costs).

Directions:

Grate the Fels-Naptha (I use a handheld grater, but a food processor also works... you want a fine consistency like finely shredded cheese).

Measure 1 cup of each of the powders per bar of Fels-Naptha used. If your powders are lumpy, a sifter can be used to sift the ingredients and work out the lumps.  Stir all items well.  If you, like I, have issues with asthma and allergies, you may want to wear a facial mask while mixing the ingredients.

My Results:
I made a test batch (1 cup of each of the powders and 1 grated bar of soap) to be sure that my family could use the detergent without a problem.  It has worked well; I have eczema and severe allergies and have had no issues with the laundry detergent.

I then bought 3 additional bars of the Fels-Naptha.  I have enough of the Sodas and Borax to make an additional partial batch or to use for other cleaning tasks around the house.  Baking soda is wonderful for removing baked on stains from pots and pans without scratching; it also removes grease from the stovetop without scratching.  But I digress.

The 1/3 batch I made has lasted 5 weeks already and I have about 1/3-1/2 of it left.  So I'm estimating that it would last 8 weeks at least.  Thus I am assuming the full batch of ingredients would last 24 weeks or more (that's roughly 6 months).

Previously I was buying, Purex Ultra Free & Clear Concentrated Liquid - a 4 pack of 96 Load bottles (150 oz) would cost $44.73 (from Amazon).  In my local grocery store I was paying roughly $6/33 load bottle.

I would use 1-2 bottles (33 load) a month so figure $12/month (not counting the cost of Oxiclean  ($7.05) that I added to my husband's work clothes or other heavily stained items).  I also use the Oxiclean to remove tea stains from plastic jugs/pitchers, or baked on stains in dishes as well as a presoak for extremely stained clothing.

If you don't have Hard Water, like I do, then you can omit the baking soda which will save even more money on the total cost of the detergent. (Buying store brand baking soda will also reduce the cost)

Even if we figure that the batch of laundry soap I made only lasts 4 months, I'm still saving money. ($2/mo for 4 months... if I'm correct on the 6 month estimate, then I'll save $5/mo).

I'm also producing less waste... (no more plastic detergent bottles to get rid of).  I mixed and stored my detergent in an empty ice cream pail I already had (so no cost there).  All of the detergent ingredients come in paper/cardboard except the Oxiclean, so less plastic waste in the landfill.

Not everyone would be willing to go to the effort; personally I believe it's well worth it and my clothes are cleaner without the drippy mess of liquid detergent.