In a large tub mix together 1/2 Borax and 1/2 washing soda. Grate in "some" Fels-Naptha bar soap. Mix your concoction well. Use just 1 Tbsp. per load.
I use 1 box of Borax and 1 box of washing soda, then about 1/3 bar of the soap. If I have a powdered stain treater, powdered laundry detergent, and/or powdered washing machine fabric softener I'll add some of that in too, just for the extra "oomph".
The cost of using homemade detergent is about $.01 per load. You can't beat that. Really, you can't.
This is a low-sudsing formula, when I had an HE washer I used this mix with great success. I now use it in a regular washer. It also will fill in as a dishwasher detergent in a pinch.
Some recipes call for adding water to the mix, I don't do that as it dissolves really fast in the washer and is much less messy in powdered form.
I am able to purchase washing soda at Wal-Mart and Borax at Target, but I've included links to the products on Amazon just in case you can't find them.
