Making laundry soap

Recently, I started on an adventure in making my own laundry soap and cleaners. I'm on a mission to make things for less money and to make cleaners that really clean with natural ingredients. I've bought the ones at the store and they don't seem to really clean the way the ones I can make at home do. Most recipes have baking soda, vinegar, washing soda or borax in them. They clean very well too!

A couple weeks ago, I ventured into making my own liquid laundry soap. I spend about $20 every other month on laundry soap for a total of about $120 a year. This recipe makes it so I spent less than $10 a year. It's very simple and can be found one this website:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

I also have become concerned with how many ingredients are in items in my house particularly soaps and food. By making my own products I know exactly what is in it. I've not gone crazy and begun to make everything. Some things truly work better or cost less if bought at the store. I've focused on laundry soap, multi-purpose cleaner and fresher food.

I started making Lila's baby food at first to save the hundreds of dollars we would have spent buying it. I also wanted to make the transition to adult foods easier since they would taste the same. It does take a lot of time and planning. Looking back I wish I'd done it for Ethan. We gave him organic jarred baby food. I don't think he's harmed because I didn't make it, but I'm glad we're doing it now.