adventures in homemaking-laundry soap

i made my first batch of homemade laundry soap today. those that know me know that i enjoy experimenting; for example, when i was learning to dye yarn, i "invented" several "new" colors, such as "dead elephant grey." well, the laundry soap making was no different. when it came time to add the baking soda/washing soda, i unthinkingly poured the entire amount, all at once, into a rather hot, frothing pot of soapy water. nearly immediately, the soap volcano began, as proto-laundry soap foamed its way out of the very large (did i mention it was really hot?) pot and all over the kitchen floor, counter and both sides of the sink. (oh, and my right hand, too; i've got three blisters on my fingers.) thankfully, the foaming subsided and i was able to begin environmental remediation, the result of which is a very clean kitchen floor and very shiny kitchen sink. i was also able to salvage the mixture and finish the soap making process; it wasn't a total loss and provided some valuable instructions to insert into the recipe directions for next time.