More Laundry?

I swear that's all I do! Having a family of six it's a never ending battle to keep up with the laundry. Someone is always throwing dirty clothes on the floor, in front of my washer saying, WASH ME! Every morning I go around the house picking up at least 10 pairs of dirty socks! How can that be? We only have six household members! Are my dogs trying on clothes while we are away? Do we have ghosts? So to get to the point....because we do so much laundry I don't like to spend a ton of money on detergent and fabric softner, but I do like my clothes to smell yummy( not that I want to eat them, just revel in the smell of them) when I put them on.

My Question: What is your favorite laundry soap and fabric softner? Do you spend more for the scent or do you think some just wash better than others?
Give me your advice.