Been using liquid homemade soap for about two years. Love it, but because I am single I don't use a lot of it, and by the end of the bucket it is very thick because of evaporation. (Yes, I cover it.)
I am making a new batch pretty soon and will be returning to powder. I am switching it up a bit, and this may be helpful for the odor issue. What I am doing is making the standard dry mix, and then adding a small box of commercial powder. Big Lots had 15 load Tide for $2.99, so that will probably be what I use. Basically, I am going to use two bars of Fels Naptha, finely grated using a rasp, a whole box of borax, a whole box of washing soda, and then will divide it in half and add a dollar store box of powdered bleach. I have no issues with fragrance of chemicals, so this works well for me.
Edited for spelling.