Homemade Laundry Detergent

I don't know how many years I have had homemade laundry detergent recipes bookmarked but never actually tried to make any.  I even lost a bar of Fels-Naptha that traveled with us through 2 moves, and the box of Borax that was intended to go with it was used on bugs in the camper instead.

I was puzzling over what I would use to store it when I realized I had a big #10 can of banana chips in storage that I had promised to open for my daughter.  I even found a printable label here to make it all fancy.  I based it on the recipe from One Good Thing by Jillee, which is a "trial size" batch.  I typically use liquid detergent, but was willing to give this a whirl because liquid recipes are more difficult and make huge 5 gallon buckets full.  I didn't have OxyClean, but a commenter said that it wasn't necessary so I just left it out.  I also used plain epsom salts in place of the crystals.  This isn't a super natural recipe unfortunately because of the fragrance in Biz, but I am still searching for a fragrance free enzyme booster.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 bar grated Fels-Naptha soap
3 cups Borax
2 cups Super Washing Soda
3/4 cup baking soda
1 cup epsom salt
1/2 cup Biz enzyme booster

All of the ingredients should be easy to find, I got mine in the laundry section of my local Publix.  I used a rotary cheese grater to grate the soap, it took no time at all.  Combine all the ingredients and shake to mix.  That's it!  Based on comments from the original recipe, I use 1 tablespoon per load in my HE washer, it would be 2 in a regular top loader.

I tested it out on a load of towels, putting the powder directly in the washer rather than the dispenser.  It worked amazingly well!  I didn't use any softener (usually I do vinegar), and they came out fluffy, soft, no static (!!!), and yet still absorbent!  WIN.  I'll update later once we've used it on clothes for a couple of weeks, but I'm already impressed.