Have you seen those Pins floating around Pinterest about making your own laundry and dishwasher detergents with simple, nontoxic ingredients? Me too! I've never really bothered to explore them because I always thought, "Wow, that seems like a big waste of time," being that I have always been partial to my "clean" smelling scents of laundry, and the ease of adding a tablet to your dishwasher.
If it's not broke, why fix it?
Of course, Allen and I have been leaning to the "green" side for some time... And when I say "leaning," I mean just that. We always attempt to weigh the benefits when we come across a decision to be more eco-friendly or organic, but neither one of us want to seem too granola-esque.
We just want to do what we feel is best for our family.
Honestly, it all began for me when we decided to start a family.
I could swear that Allen was born with this frame-of-mind...
At the time, I worked in a PICU- full of children born with life-altering congenital defects- and Allen was {and still is} "Captain Planet"-- which is what I always called him when he called me out for throwing a soda can/plastic bottle/{insert recyclable item here} into the trash can.
When these two people decide to procreate... You get panic.
I started paying attention to everything that my body came into contact with! Literally everything.
I remember attempting to hold my breath around the nitric oxide tanks that I used at work, not to mention the aerosolized antibiotics I used to treat patients...
And what I didn't think of... Allen did.
So, we switched to organic produce, Method soaps, etc, etc, etc.
Yes, this was all before we even started TTC.
About a month later, we were expecting!
... and little B started her journey into a house of anti-granola Granolas. Ha!
We started using Seventh Generation diapers {and still do}, I continued to eat mostly organic while I was nursing her, and when we switched to formula, we went with Earth's Best.
As time went by, it was just assumed that she would eat organic solids...
{for moms starting solids-- I always used Momtastic's Wholesome Baby Food website for recipe ideas}
And now, here we are.
Maybe a little crazy... But at least that gives us a little peace of mind?
That's just a little bit of the background that has finally thrown us in the mix of making our own detergents... I will attribute this decision to the documentary
Chemerical- which my very own Captain Planet convinced me to watch the other night. I guess it was the final push we needed.
Hmmmmmm. Of course, I'm always the skeptical one...
So, you can switch to toxin-free cleaners and save money... Really?!
Well, whether or not you believe half of what the documentary claims, I thought it was worth a try...
After an hour or so of online research, I came up with the following recipes to potentially replace the household cleaners that we currently use... Not to mention, I discovered there are a ton of people that already do this!
Much to my surprise, not only are these detergents composed of the most simple ingredients, they are also so inexpensive, it is fairly ridiculous to compare it to what we already paid for the Method laundry supplies and dishwasher tabs-- which we pay $$$ for because it's toxic-free!
That was enough motivation for this momma...
So, I had to share with all of you!
Here are the "recipes" that I decided to go with after a little research:
{Disclaimer: None of the below is reflective on Method soap being unreliable in any way... Nor is it comparing these two very different detergents. It is simply to show what we were using and what we are using now. The only reason for our decision to switch is solely financially related. IF we were to buy a product, it would be a Method product. I have never been anything but happy with ALL of their products.}
1-cup Borax
1-cup Arm&Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap, finely grated
Use 1 tablespoon per load.
All of these ingredients you can find in the aisles of your local Supermarket or Superstore!
The kicker? A bar of Fels-Naptha is like $1.
The other kicker?!
This batch will last you 40+ loads, and both boxes contain enough to make almost 5 batches!
This comes out to be about 4-cents per load! 'Nuff said.
Oh, and we just upgraded to a high-efficiency washing machine, and multiple resources claimed this detergent is just as good, if not better, than other high-efficiency detergents...
A. It's much cheaper.
B. It's toxin-free!
C. It doesn't create "suds"
{I love how she cut vinyl to put the recipe on the back of her container too!}
2-cups Borax
2-cups Arm&Hammer Super Washing Soda
1-cup Lemi Shine {due to lack of ingredient}
1-cup Citric Acid
1-cup Kosher Salt
{I've seen other variations with sea salt and Epsom salt as well}
Mix all ingredients into a container
{we found these great glass air-tight containers at Wal-Mart for very cheap}
Use 1 tablespoon per load
You may also wish to use distilled white vinegar as a rinse aid if you have extra-hard water like we do!
Add 3 drops of dish soap per load for greasy dishes.
1-cup distilled white vinegar
2-cups water
1/2 teaspoon dish soap {I absolutely love Seventh Gen's Lavender Floral Mint}
15 drops essential oils of your choice
Mix and store in spray bottle.
This can be used for glass and counter tops, etc.
**********************************************
1-cup distilled white vinegar, heated on stove {do not boil}
[about] 1-cup of dish soap
{she uses Dawn, but I used Seventh Gen's Lavender Floral Mint and it seemed to do the trick-- our shower has NEVER looked so good!}
Spray warm mixture onto shower/bath and let sit for 45 minutes to 1 hour {but you can wait a little longer if you like}, and then just spray it off with our portable shower head, or wipe it clean with a sponge or rag.
Our results were nothing short of amazing!
Being that I was on a roll with my Pinterest "recipe" finds, I decided to make my own bath and shower scrub too that I had Pinned some time ago...
I usually use
Nature's Gate products in the shower, but they don't make a scrub...
My latest and greatest find is
New Harmony Soap company's Rosemary Mint face bar!! I have tried
everything for my problematic skin, and this does the trick in
one step... :)
BONUS: The company is located a block from our house!
{which I tweaked a little}
3/4-cup Sea Salt
1/2-cup Organic Raw Sugar
1-cup room temperature Coconut Oil {liquify to add to scrub container}
40+ drops of lavender essential oils
Most of the time, I don't even have to use lotion after my shower... Not that I usually have the time or energy to apply lotion, but it does wonders for dry skin!
If lavender isn't your thing, you can try these scrubs...
If you would like to explore a few other options to switch to toxic-free cleaners, check out this post by
Keeper of the Home.
happy mixing!
of course, B wasn't much into the whole tracing part...
these days, it is not uncommon to see B randomly dancing or singing...
