Laundry Detergent Blues

We do a lot of laundry. Too much for just two people. Yes, we go to the gym so there are workout clothes that add to the day's pile. Yes, Matt washes his referee uniforms frequently during basketball season. Yes, we have two dogs that seem to be messier than a fleet of toddlers at times. And yes, I have been known to forget about a load and have to rewash it a time or two. We just plain go through detergent REALLY quickly.

I've been thinking about making my own laundry detergent since it is, according to the where website I found the recipe, about 1/4 the cost of traditional laundry detergents. I just don't know. There are plenty of environmental reasons to do it. It wouldn't be expensive to try it, and it would save some money, but it is enough to make the effort worthwhile? It is only three ingredients...Just mix them and store or wash... But would the life expectancy of our clothes go down after plenty of washings with the homemade stuff?

We just purchased a bottle of off-brand, super watered down, liquid suds last night. Maybe after that is gone, I'll try it out and report back about whether or not it's worth it.