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Here's a recipe donated by Nikki from Kindred Hearts at Home
Home Made Laundry Soap
I have a wonderful recipe for homemade laundry detergent! It works great, even in cold water, and it costs me less that fifty cents a gallon!!!
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha (found online) or 2 oz of
homemade lard soap
1/2 c. washing soda (has to be washing, not baking)
1/2 c. borax powder
6 c. water
4 c. very hot water
1 gal. plus 6 c. cold water
Grate soap in sauce pan. Add 6c. water. Heat and stir (softly so it doesn't foam up) until soap is melted. Stir in soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4c. very hot water into a 2 gal. bucket (or other wide mouthed container.) Stir in the soap mixture. Then stir in 1 gal. plus 6 c. of cold water. Let sit overnight. Mine sets up in a pretty big mass of gel so I shake or stir vigorously until it's broken down into a more liquid gel-like consistency. Use 1/2 cup for a medium load. Makes 2 gallons. (I find my washing soda at King Soopers. Walmart doesn't carry it. Just about everywhere carries the Borax)
You can also just mix the grated soap, washing soda, and borax and use as a dry detergent. Use 1 Tbsp per load. I find that it doesn't dissolve very well in cool water, though, so I just spend the extra ten minutes and make the liquid gel.