For those that are interested…

We ended up saving one of the jugs from an econo-size of laundry detergent to use for this. Dan figured it out… it costs us approximately a dollar to fill the jug. Not only does it actually work, but it lasts us about a month and a half or more for a 5 person family (including a preschooler and a tween girl that has been known to change outfits and toss it on the floor when done).

You’ll need:

1/4 of a Fels Naptha bar – grated (Beyond making detergent… it’s GREAT for stains!)
1/2 cup of Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax

What we do is… (There is no real ’science’ to this…)

Fill the jug about 1/4 way full with cold water. (This will help cool the hot soap mixture.)
Boil a pot of water.
Lower the temp to approximately medium (to prevent boil over).
Melt the Fels Naptha shavings in the water. Stirring as you do so.
Now, pour the Washing Soda and Borax in.
Make sure all is completely melted before taking off the heat.
Pour into the jug.
Fill the rest of the jug with cold water.

When using, make sure to shake before pouring. The mixture will sometimes gel.

Love the site, I think it is a great idea…I look up a LOT of these sites for good ideas. Here’s my two best frugality ideas.
#1. SWAPTREE! We’ve saved sooooooo much money not buying books and DVD’s. I know you’re a fan too
#2. MagicJack.
We were paying $35 per month for our Armstrong phone, plus our pay as you go cell phones. Cell phone plans were too expensive for how much we use them. $35 per month = $420. We got the magic jack (www.magicjack.com), it runs off your internet. Paid $40 for the device to own it and then $20 per year for the service. There’s a free trial too. So this year on phone we saved a lot…
old = $420 per year plus a lot of cell phone minutes
new = $60 for device and service
savings of $360 per year, next year will be $400 since we own it already.
Feel free to research and post if you like, hope this helps! We’re pinching pennies too