Make your own Powdered Laundry Detergent.

This comes from my dear friend Amber at Wonder Woolies-

"Powdered Laundry Soap
- 1 bar Fels-Naptha laundry soap, grated
- 1 c. Arm & Hammer washing soda
- 1 c. 20 Mule Team Borax
- 1 scoop (4oz) Oxy-Clean

Mix the washing soda and grated bar soap together.  Blend, 1 c. at a time, in a blender or food processor (optional).  In a bowl or container, mix all ingredients together very well.

We keep ours in a glass jar, atop the washing machine, labeled "Laundry Soap" w/the instructions "2 Tbs per load, 4 Tbs per extra dirty load".  One quadruple batch lasted over 1 year for our family of 6.  Now that's economical!

Notes:
~  Blending the grated bar soap with the washing soda prevents the soap from sticking to the blades or clumping together.  Be sure to close the lid before you start the blender.  It helps to start on low and then slowly increase the speed.  You could also mix all ingredients together if you like and then blend.  The point is to powder the grated soap so it melts effortlessly in your washing machine.  You might want to wear a dust mask for this step.

~  Find Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap at your local grocery store in the laundry soap isle OR buy it at Ace Hardware in the cleaning/laundry soap isle.  I pay about $1.29 - $2 per bar. Kristen Note here: You can also find Fels-Naptha at Walmart for around $1 a bar.

~  Zote brand of laundry soap bar is a good substitute for Fels-Naptha.  Use one small bar or 1/2 of their 14 oz bar.  Yes, that's more than 1 bar of Fels-Naptha but it works out well.

~  This laundry soap recipe really gets our boys' clothes clean despite the very hard, well water we have.  If you have softer water, or it seems too harsh on your clothes, you may want to decrease the Borax to 1/2 cup.  It's not rocket science so it's okay to play around with it a bit to see what works best for you.  :) "

Thanks Amber!

-Kristen