DIY Laundry Detergent

So, I know this isn't food, but I'd like to branch out to include other crafty home projects.  This is one I started a while ago.  I'd thought about making laundry soap for a while, but never took the steps to do so until one of my friends from work told me how easy it was and how well it worked (thanks, Kerry)!

the ingredients

You will need:
1 bar of Ivory soap, grated (I used the fine grate on my box grater)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda (the only place I found washing soda was Fred Meyer, so look there)

this is me stirring fast

Directions:
Grate the bar of soap with your grater.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Put in a container with a lid (a 24 oz container or larger should work best).

the finished product, in its natural environment

And there you have it!  I suppose you could add a few drops of an essential oil if you wanted it to smell scent-y, but I prefer unscented laundry soap.  The soap itself smells like Ivory, but I've found that after washing and drying, the laundry doesn't have much of a smell at all (other than the smell of clean!).  Try it, it's easy and cheap considering how many jars of the stuff you can make after the initial purchase of the ingredients.

Oh, and I almost forgot, you only need to use about a tablespoon of detergent per load.