Homemade Laundry Soap

I know what you are all thinking  have I gone a little nutty? yes I am making my own laundry soap. Lets face it laundry is inevitable no matter who you are, clothes need to be cleaned and I would rather have them smell yummy! Don't you hate it when you buy fresh smelling laundry detergent for really dirty laundry and they don't turn out "fresh" smelling. In my attempt to go back to the basics, this is an essential task.  This recipe has 5-6 ingredients and makes enough for 150 loads!

1 Box Borax 4lbs
1 Box Baking Soda 4lbs
1 Box Washing Soda 3 lbs
1 Bar ZOTE SOAP 14 oz
1 Bar Fels-Naptha Soap 5 1/2 oz
Optional: Purex Fabric Crystals

Grate the bars of soap-  it can be done in a food processor or with a hand grater. I did it by hand it's easier to clean up. The ZOTE soap was a harder soap that when grated turned into a pink powder. With the Fels-Naptha it was softer like cheddar cheese. Once grated I broke it up into smaller pieces by hand.  In a large bowl or bucket mix everything together  There is an option to put in fabric softening crystals. I read about them someplace and they were on sale, so I figured I would try it out. How easy was that?!! Now you are ready to wash. Just put in 2 heaping Tablespoons into the washer.  I hope you find this as easy as I did and at least try it out. Homemade Laundry Soap makes great gifts, and inexpensive. Just bottle up quart and attach a cute little tag.