A great gift idea: Make homemade laundry soap.

Powdered Laundry Soap

2 cups finely shredded Fels Naptha or Zote grated soap
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
1 cup borax

Combine ingredients, and store in an airtight plastic container. Use 2 tablespoons per laundry load.

Liquid laundry soap

1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap
1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax, 20 Mule Team
Water

Grate 1/3 bar of soap. In a large pan (reserve this pan for soap making only), put 6 cups of very hot water and grated soap. Stir in wash soda and borax. Using a wooden spoon, stir until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and stir until it thickens (about 15 minutes). Watch closely to prevent it from boiling over. Remove from heat. In large bucket, pour 1 quart of hot water and stir in the soap mix. Add another 5 1/2 quarts of water. Mix to combine. Set aside for 24 hours to form a thick gel. For ease of use, pour into a container with a lid (can reuse an old laundry soap container or milk jug) and shake before using. Use 1/2 cup of soap for machine load of clothes.