laundry soap.

for about the last 6 or so months i have been making my own laundry soap! it isn't anything new or invented by me, but it works great for us! it is cost effective-which is a huge plus, and i like that it has minimal ingredients/low on added fragrance. don't get me wrong, one of my favorite things in life is good smelling laundry-so that is very important to me. but this stuff is amazing! oh yes, and it also get your clothes clean.

what you need:
arm & hammer washing soda
borax
oxiclean
fels-naptha bar soap
optional: downy scentable beads ( i will note here, at my wal-mart, when these first came out, they had tons of samples. so whenever i would walk down the laundry isle i would grab a few. so i actually never bought them, which would up your price a little bit. it also adds a fragrance that might not work for sensitive skin. when i run out of my samples, i will just add in some essential oils for extra fresh scent.)
also optional: 19 month old helper. who is obsessed with standing/walking sitting on the counter & unwraps your soap for you.

recipe:
2 cups washing soda
2 cups borax
1 cup oxiclean
1 bar fels-naptha
1 cup downy beads or 30 drops essential oil

mix together your powders.
grate or grind your soap. i have previously used my enormous cheese grater. this time i used the chop attachment to my immersion blender. i like the small pieces better.
add soap & beads or oil.
mix together well.

i have found that about 2 tablespoons is a good amount to wash with. (you can tell if you are using to much, your clothes won't feel as squeaky clean-if that makes sense.) also, i usually times the recipe by 3 since you will have such large quantities of the washing soda & borax.