I found a wonderful post on The Simple Dollar about making your own liquid laundry detergent and thought that I would give it a try. The cost per load for a front-loading washing machine is only about 1 cent and a little over 2 cents for a top-loading machine. It turned out wonderfully, but it didn't start off so well. I started the water boiling on the stove while I helped Joshua shred the soap. I looked up and out of the corner of my eye I saw flames! I had caught my hot pads on fire by turning on the wrong burner. Keith was sick and was soaking in the tub trying to feel better when I yelled out, "I'm on fire!" I have no idea why I said that, but it came out. I quickly poured some water on the hot pads, turned off the burner and all was safe. Joshua told me, "Wow, that's the first fire we had." I took this as an opportunity to "teach" the kids what to do in case of a fire. :) Ahh, teachable moments...
Update: I have used this detergent for a little over 2 months and it cleans wonderfully. The clothes look, smell, and feel clean. I think I may still be able to use this batch for at least another month (for a family of 5).