Homemade Laundry Soap

In my quest for bargains and cheaper, better ways of doing things I have discovered something new (to me) and decided to give it a shot: Making my own laundry soap. The cost savings are incredible when you figure out it will now cost me a penny ($0.01) a load!!! The other upside for me is I can use it for Eileigh's diapers, for which I'm not supposed to use any detergent with fabric softeners or additives (which generally costs more anyways). So I am pretty excited. It didn't take long to make, either- pretty simple process. I didn't add any essential oils to make it scented since this was my first try but we'll see how it goes- I might decide to add some for my next batch.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha, grated
1/2 c. washing soda (Brand to look for: Arm and Hammer Washing Soda- not baking soda!)
1/2 c. borax powder (Brand to look for: 20 Mule Team)

Place grated soap in sauce pan. Add 6 c. water and heat until the soap melts. Add washing soda and borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Pour 4 c. hot water into a 2 gallon or larger bucket. Pour your soap mixture into the bucket and stir.
Add 1 gallon plus 6 c. water and stir.
Let soap stand for about 24 hrs. and it will gel. Use 1/2 c. soap per load.
Optional: You can add 1/2 to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil for scent.
*Note: The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look. This soap is a low suds-ing soap. If you don't see suds, that is okay- suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap. We have a high-efficiency front loader and haven't had a problem since this is a low-suds soap.
**All ingredients were purchased at WinCo.