Natural Laundry Detergent Recipe

4 oz. of Kiss My Face Lavender Olive Oil Soap grated ($1.20) or Castille Bar-more expensive but works better
1 C. Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda ($0.50)
1/2 C. Borax ($0.21)

Total cost per batch: $1.91
This yields 10 gallons of detergent! Economical? I don't know about you, but I can't afford not to do this.
Here's how to do it:
Gather the above amount of ingredients. Then grate the bar of soap and place it into a saucepan with 4 cups of water. Heat the water on medium heat, stirring ALOT until soap is melted. Remove from heat.  (I have also had great success with using a bar of castile soap as well. I just prefer the olive oil because it is so hypoallergenic.) Put about 2 gallons of hot tap water into your 5 gallon bucket, add dry ingredients, stir, add in melted soap, stir. Top it off with more hot tap water and stir. Allow to set overnight. Choose your container of choice, fill it half with detergent, (be certain to stir it before removing the detergent as things will separate some) then top off with hot water and give it a good shake. Shake well before each use. Takes 1/4 -1/2 cup per load.
I have a top loader and I use 1/4 cup for normal clothing and 1/2 cup for towels and dirtier clothing.
NOTE TO CLOTH DIAPER USERS: This does wash cotton cloth diapers well. Just be aware that most of your major companies for covers and 'fancy' diapers will not honor their warranties if you use this because of the ingredient list. Thirsties Baby, for example will not honor it because of the borax and natural soap. So know your warranty requirements. For this reason, I do not wash my diapers in this. I use GroVia Tiny Bubbles with great success. I have no residue issues with using these two different detergents interchangeably in my washer.