Homemade Laundry Detergent

I can't remember where the idea to make my own laundry detergent came from- maybe Pinterest? In any case, it was mostly designed to help me distract myself instead of studying back during Law School. I was really happy with our use of Woolite Dark and Downy- our clothes didn't fade, and were nicely soft and scented after washing and drying. But it sounded interesting, so I thought "why not?"

I Googled a few recipes, and ended up deciding that the following was the most common recipe, so it must work:

1 bar soap, grated
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup OxyClean

I went to the local grocery store and picked up all the ingredients (I was convinced I wouldn't be able to find things like washing soda or borax, but they were all in the store). Most of the recipes called for Fels-Naptha soap, and since it's a soap designed for laundry I almost went with it. A few of the recipes mentioned that they were avoiding it because it wasn't vegan, and were using Dr. Bronner's soap instead. I've been trying to decrease my use of animal products, so I decided to go with the Dr. Bronner's. A nice bonus is that there are a variety of scents to choose from (I use almond).

After I got my supplies, I called my mom to ask to use her food processor (we don't have one, or a cheese grater). She thought I was crazy, but let me pulverize the soap (it will get almost powder-like if you put it in there long enough, unless it's a super hot day). I mixed everything together, and was all set.

For the last year or so, I've been using 1Tbsp per load (in our HE washer), with about 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle as a fabric softener, and our clothes have never looked better. I haven't noticed any fading or discoloration, and they're still soft and comfortable. They're very clean- I think the homemade detergent actually gets stains out better!

The one downfall is that the clothes come out smelling very slightly of vinegar. A lot of the people writing the recipes I found online said that they don't smell it at all, so I may be super sensitive, but it could be an issue for you if you're vinegar averse. I have found that the smell disappears if the clothes sit out while cooling from the dryer (less than 1 hour). Since I don't usually fold things and put them away right after they come out this has solved the issue for me.

Update (8/20/2014): We're still going strong with the homemade detergent more than a year later. I did recieve a sample of Norwex brand laundry detergent from hosting a Norwex party. Norwex is a very eco-conscious brand and I was impressed with the detergent's performance. If I didn't already have a big bin of pulverized soap to use up, I would consider switching. It is more expensive than making my own detergent, at $.54/load or $21.99 for a 40-load bag, but it works very well.