Here's another laundry detergent recipe, sent in by Martha. I haven't made it yet, but she tells me it's easier than mine:
1 quart water (4 cups)
1/6 bar fels naptha or other soap grated as fine as possible (now I soak the cube for a week or two in a cup of water).
¼ washing soda
¼ borax
½ quart hot water
cold water
Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat on low until dissolved. (now I nuke it for 5-6 minutes in the microwave). Stir in Washing Soda and Borax (pop back in the micowave for a minute or two-- but watch it as it does bubble up. I really don't think this part is necessary if it is stirred real well.). Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 1 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.
I recieved an email asking about the fabric softener, so I thought I'd just copy/paste my answer in here:
"I use 1/4 a cup per load. I have a Downy ball, so I just throw the softener in that. I have to shake the mix up every time before I use it, though. It seems to work just fine, but the scent doesn't last. I'll have to dink with the "formula" to see if I can make the scent stronger. But, my clothes do NOT smell like vinegar :)"
I've used the softener for about 3 loads so far and it works!! No static cling :) Yay. It doesn't leave a scent, though (like I said) so, I don't know if I need more scent, or to mix it with the baking powder first and let that sit...donno. But hey, what a cheap alternative, huh?
I'm trying my hand at making some homeade fabric softener, this time with a different recipe. I got the recipe from "Cheaper & Better" by Nancy Birnes. The book isn't sold at Amazon, so I got it from the library. Anyway, you only need 2c baking soda, 2c vinegar (white) and 4c water. I mixed it all in a 1/2 gallon milk jug, added some fragrance (Lavender) and mixed it up.
I put some in the load that's going through my wash right now. I hope it works. This is a very cheap alternative to store bought fabric softener (which is expensive). I also hope the fragrance keeps. I'll have to add more if it doesn't smell Lavender-y enough for me.