laundry powder, take 2

Last March, I made laundry powder for the first time. Y'all, I saved a bunch of money. (Which I spent in other areas.) I just made my third batch, so I only spent $30 on laundry powder for the entire year. I realize that when we have children, it won't last as long, but I think it will be totally worth it, even then.

I made a few changes to make it stronger. I added more soap (increased from one bar to three) and tons more essential oil. It works so well! I add a little white distilled vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. I'm super happy with my laundry. Except the folding part. (And no worries, you won't smell like vinegar if you use it in the rinse.)

Homemade Laundry Powder
Ingredients
3 bars Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap
1 box (55 oz) Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 box (76 oz) 20 Mule Team Borax
1 small container (32 oz) Clorox Oxi Magic (bleach-free)
4 lbs Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
10 "shakes" of essential oil, optional

Directions
Using a food processor, grate Fels-Naptha Bar Soap; also, have blade in place at bottom to make smaller crumbles of soap. In a large bowl or bucket, mix all powders, and then add grated soap. At this point, you can stop; add 4 good shakes of essential oil and stir really well. I choose to process mine a bit further to have a really fine laundry powder. I wanted to be sure it dissolved well. I ran small batches back through my food processor, and then added essential oil. I bought a large glass jar for the soap that sits on my dryer.

FAQs
*I use 1-3 tablespoons per load, depending on a small, medium or large load. (I saved the scoop that came in the Oxi Magic.)
*If you can't find or don't like the idea of Fels-Naptha, you can use Ivory, Zote or castile soap.
*I'm sure you can substitute other brands of ingredients. I found all of mine, except for baking soda, on the laundry aisle. Just look on the bottom shelves.
*There is a debate about the toxicity of borax. I did appropriate research and found that it LARGE amounts it can be toxic to rats. Since I only use 1-3 tablespoons per load, depending on the size of my load, I feel that the clothes are sufficiently rinsed of borax. Also, borax does not contain boric acid, which is toxic.
* This soap doesn't suds. Soap (laundry, hand soap, etc) has a foaming agent added. Although we don't have an HE washer, I've read that this soap works well with those machines.