Well, here goes my first experiment - the Laundry Sauce.

Fels Naptha isn't available here, so I've substituted MAQ laundry bar. Also, seems like Borax isn't very popular here either - I went to 3 different supermarkets and eventually I found 1 tiny 100-gram bottle (that's about 3.5 oz, or just less than half a cup), for the equivalent of just over $1 (or about the cost of a loaf of fancy seed bread, or a quart of milk, for some context - straight currency conversion never gives a real picture). And a small tub of washing soda (500-gram, or 18 oz, or just about 2 and a quarter cups), for the equivalent of about $3. I'm going to try out a small batch, see how it works and I'll post a new thread regarding the substitutes.

I'm thinking the borax might just be the snag here - with it being so pricey for such a small amount (about $2.40 per cup), it might not be worth the trouble. I will phone around various industrial/commercial cleaning companies, and try some of the factory outlets and see if I can find a larger amount of borax for a decent price. Although the washing soda isn't all that much better at about $1.40 per cup

My current "commercially bought" laundry detergent is a concentrated powder that costs about $10 for an (advertised) 120 loads, so I might make out slightly better off, but not if I have to drive around any great distances looking for the darned borax -- I'll eat up any savings in petrol