OMG! The BEST Homemade Laundry Detergent

OK, I was very happy with my liquid laundry detergent until now. I had this friend who told me that her powder laundry detergent was better then mine. So, the fight was on. I decided to test her "powder detergent" and see for myself. I could not wait to prove her wrong. Well, how I feel defeated :( I really wanted to win this battle of who's clean best. She WON! I must say this one is definitely a keeper. As much as I love my liquid, (which I've posted here in this blog) this one will definitely replace it. I absolutely LOVE this version.  Not only is it super easy to make but it will last forever and it smells great. So far, I've had this batch for over two months and it looks like it is still full.  If I calculated it right, it should last me about a year or so. I will post an update when I finished the whole batch.  This soap is safe for HE machines. I have a top load and it works perfectly fine. It does not get rock hard. It stays nice and soft. Easy to use and make.

Please read my update below!

Ingredients:
1 (4 lb) box of Borax
1 (4 lb) box of Washing soda
1 (3 lb) box of baking soda
1 (3 lb) oxy clean
2 (14 oz.) Zote laundry bar ( or Fels Naptha) do not use bath soap, this will make your clothes dingy/stinky. It is not the same as laundry bar soap.
1-2  (55 oz.) Purex crystals ( I love the scent so I use more)

First you want to grate the Zote bar with a cheese grater. I like to use my food processor once I've completed the grating to make is very fine. I add a little of the baking soda to the processor so the soap would not stick together. Once you've done that, mix all the ingredients together slowly in a large bucket, such as a 5 gal. container. Make sure to wear something over your face when you mix these together. There is a lot of dust in the air. Store in several containers or one large one. I used a 5 gal container to store it in and refilled this jar when needed.

 I use only 2 tablespoons per large load or 3 tablespoons for an extra large load. And that is it. Believe it or not, this cleans my clothes really well. My clothes feel soft and smell absolutely great. Plus stains are removed easily ( I have a  3 year old who gets everything on him). The true test was when my husband came home with new red work shirts. Since using this soap, his shirts are still nice and bright red. No fading. It also, keeps my whites, white. Just place one spoon of detergent on the bottom of your washing machine (not in the drawer or compartment, this will make it hard and it will not work) then place clothes on top & wash.

I wish I could take credit for this recipe and so does my friend. However we cannot. All praise goes to the one who came up with it. Here is a direct link to here blog and recipe. She gives detail directions along with pictures. Enjoy!
http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent/

UPDATE: January 24, 2014 

Okay, it has been roughly a year since I've started using my homemade laundry soap. The true test came in when my hubby receive his new batch on work shirts again. As mentioned above I could tell this soap was different and the clothes seemed to come out clean and look much better than store bought. Well, now for sure I know without any doubt that my homemade powdered laundry soap is much more superior to store bought. I have attached a picture to prove (no doctoring the pictures) the difference in the work shirts since 2012 to today's new shirt. 

Left to Right: 2012, 2013 & 2014 

As you can see from the picture the left shirt was his work shirt from 2012. It's dull looking and faded. More like a pink instead of the red it is suppose to be. This shirt was washed only with the very big name brand soap. The middle shirt was from 2013, this shirt was washed only with my homemade powered laundry detergent. As you can see the middle shirt and the shirt on the right look very much alike. The color of the shirt from last year did not fade nor did the fabric wear out. It still looks very good. A matter of fact, it looks like the new one that has yet to be used or washed. That's impressive :)