This is my version of homemade laundry detergent. Now, mind you, there are many different recipes that I've found on the internet and many different reports about them. I'm telling you what I have discovered and what I do, but I in no way claim to be an expert on the matter and I claim no responsibilities for results you may have that are less than satisfactory.
I have been using my homemade laundry detergent for almost four months now and I have been nothing but happy with it. It has done a smashing job of removing both odor and dirt from my clothes, which is considerable in a home with so many little people. My whites have looked white and my colors have been bright.
The recipes that I have found for laundry detergent all list the same three ingredients, borax, washing soda and a bar of soap. When I went looking for those ingredients, I discovered that I was not able to find washing soda anywhere. It is available for order on-line, but I wasn't too fond of the prices I saw attached to it. I decided to research the differences between washing soda and baking soda; they are not at all the same. The two have different chemical compositions. Washing Soda is Sodium Carbonate while Baking Soda is a Sodium Bicarbonate. The nuts and bolts of this is that Washing Soda has an Alkalinity of around 11 (which is why we don't use this in our baking) and Baking Soda has an Alkalinity of about 8.1 (7 is neutral.) This means that Washing Soda is far more caustic or reactive than Baking Soda. Hmmm? This information made me curious and made me want to experiment. I don't necessarily like the idea of washing my clothes in a caustic detergent, doing so would be awfully hard on my fibers (and the word 'caustic' just sounds so nasty.) So, I decided to make laundry detergent using the less caustic but still effective Baking Soda.
My Recipe for Laundry Detergent
1 bar of Zote Laundry Soap 
2 cups Baking Soda
2 cups Borax (easy to find in the laundry aisle)
Grate the bar of Zote using food processor. You may need to cut it into a couple of chunks to fit it through the feed hole. After Zote is grated I switch to my processing blade and add in the remaining ingredients. Blend until a fine powder is formed. I store this mixture in a large 1/2 gallon mason jar.
Use 1 Tbs per load of laundry. For a very heavily soiled load I will use a heaping Tbs. This is a highly concentrated mixture and does not create suds. I always use at least the warm cycle on my washing machine. This mixture is also eco-friendly! When comparing this mixture to the very frugal detergent I was purchasing from the warehouse store, I estimate my homemade version costs me less than 1/2 the price per load.
As I said, this has worked wonderfully for me. My clothes smell fresh and clean and I have not had any problems with dirt or stains.
Tuesday: Homemade Granola Bars